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| Introduction | Burma |
| Background: | Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; independence outside of the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as president, and later as political kingmaker. Despite multiparty elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory, the ruling junta refused to hand over power. NLD leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and 2000 to 2002, was arrested in May 2003 and is currently under house arrest. Her supporters are routinely harassed or jailed. |
| People | Burma |
| Population: | 42,720,196 note: estimates for this country take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 27.6% (male 6,023,874; female 5,774,055) 15-64 years: 67.5% (male 14,317,308; female 14,504,500) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 927,570; female 1,172,889) (2004 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 25.7 years male: 25.2 years female: 26.3 years (2004 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 0.47% (2004 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 18.64 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Death rate: | 12.16 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | -1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 68.78 deaths/1,000 live births female: 62.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 74.78 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 56.01 years male: 54.22 years female: 57.9 years (2004 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 2.08 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 1.2% (2003 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 330,000 (2003 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 20,000 (2003 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases: | typhoid fever, dengue fever, malaria, leptospirosis overall degree of risk: very high (2004) |
| Nationality: | noun: Burmese (singular and plural) adjective: Burmese |
| Ethnic groups: | Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5% |
| Religions: | Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2% |
| Languages: | Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 85.3% male: 89.2% female: 81.4% (2002) |
| Government | Burma |
| Country name: | conventional long form: Union of Burma conventional short form: Burma local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar) note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw |
| Government type: | military regime |
| Capital: | Rangoon (regime refers to the capital as Yangon) |
| Administrative divisions: | 7 divisions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne) : divisions: Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Yangon : states: Chin State, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Mon State, Rakhine State, Shan State |
| Independence: | 4 January 1948 (from UK) |
| National holiday: | Independence Day, 4 January (1948) |
| Constitution: | 3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); national convention started on 9 January 1993 to draft a new constitution; progress has since been stalled |
| Legal system: | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992) head of government: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992); note - the appointed Prime Minister, Gen. SOE WIN (since 19 October 2004), is not the head of government elections: none cabinet: State Peace and Development Council (SPDC); military junta, so named 15 November 1997, which initially assumed power 18 September 1988 under the name State Law and Order Restoration Council; the SPDC oversees the cabinet |
| Legislative branch: | unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw (485 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NLD 392, SNLD 23, NUP 10, other 60 elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened |
| Judicial branch: | remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of the executive |
| Political parties and leaders: | National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, chairman, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, general secretary]; National Unity Party or NUP (progovernment) [THA KYAW]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [KHUN HTUN OO]; and other smaller parties |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | All Burma Student Democratic Front or ABSDF; Kachin Independence Army or KIA; Karen National Union or KNU; National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB [Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals legitimately elected to the People's Assembly but not recognized by the military regime (the group fled to a border area and joined with insurgents in December 1990 to form a parallel government); several Shan factions; United Wa State Army or UWSA; Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (progovernment, a social and political organization) [THAN AUNG, general secretary] |
| International organization participation: | ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador LINN MYAING chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 consulate(s) general: New York FAX: [1] (202) 332-9046 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9044 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Permanent Charge d'Affaires Carmen M. MARTINEZ embassy: 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521) mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96546 telephone: [95] (1) 379 880, 379 881 FAX: [95] (1) 256 018 |
| Flag description: | red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, 14 white five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 14 administrative divisions |
| Communications | Burma |
| Telephones - main lines in use: | 357,300 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: | 66,500 (2003) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: barely meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is fair domestic: NA international: country code - 95; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 3 (1998) |
| Radios: | 4.2 million (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations: | 2 (2003) |
| Televisions: | 320,000 (2000) |
| Internet country code: | .mm |
| Internet hosts: | 3 (2003) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 1 note: as of September 2000, Internet connections were legal only for the government, tourist offices, and a few large businesses (2000) |
| Internet users: | 28,000 (2003) |
| Transportation | Burma |
| Railways: | total: 3,955 km narrow gauge: 3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
| Highways: | total: 28,200 km paved: 3,440 km unpaved: 24,760 km (1996 est.) |
| Waterways: | 12,800 km (2004) |
| Pipelines: | gas 2,056 km; oil 558 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: | Bhamo, Chauk, Mandalay, Moulmein, Myitkyina, Pathein, Rangoon, Sittwe, Tavoy |
| Merchant marine: | total: 31 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 384,529 GRT/608,609 DWT foreign-owned: Germany 6, Japan 4 (2003 est.) by type: bulk 8, cargo 18, container 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 1 |
| Airports: | 79 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways: | total: 9 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 69 under 914 m: 31 (2004 est.) 914 to 1,523 m: 20 over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 |
| Heliports: | 1 (2003 est.) |
| Military | Burma |
| Military branches: | Army, Navy, Air Force |
| Military manpower - military age and obligation: | 18 years of age for voluntary military service for both sexes (May 2002) |
| Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 12,450,884 females age 15-49: 12,457,077 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 6,609,995 females age 15-49: 6,595,611 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 441,333 females: 440,914 (2004 est.) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $39 million (FY97) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 2.1% (FY97) |
| Transnational Issues | Burma |
| Disputes - international: | despite continuing border committee talks, significant differences remain with Thailand over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities; groups in Burma and Thailand express concern over China's construction of 13 hydroelectric dams on the Salween River in Yunnan Province; India seeks cooperation from Burma to keep out Indian Nagaland insurgents |
| Refugees and internally displaced persons: | IDPs: 600,000 - 1,000,000 (government offensives against ethnic insurgent groups near borders; most IDPs are ethnic Karen, Karenni, Shan, and Mon) (2004) |
| Illicit drugs: | world's second largest producer of illicit opium (potential production in 2003 - 484 metric tons, down 23% due to eradication efforts and alternate development; cultivation in 2003 - 47,130 hectares, a 39% decline from 2002); surrender of drug warlord KHUN SA's Mong Tai Army in January 1996 was hailed by Rangoon as a major counternarcotics success, but lack of government will and ability to take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort; major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption; currently under Financial Action Task Force countermeasures due to continued failure to address its inadequate money-laundering controls |
| This page was last updated on 16 December, 2004 |
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