Burma

§1. Burma Introduction

Background:
  Despite multiparty elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition
  party winning a decisive victory, the military junta ruling the country
  refused to hand over power. Key opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize
  recipient AUNG San Suu Kyi, under house arrest from 1989 to 1995, was again
  placed under house detention in September 2000; her supporters are
  routinely harassed or jailed.

§2. Burma Geography

Location:
  Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between
  Bangladesh and Thailand

Geographic coordinates:
  22 00 N, 98 00 E

Map references:
  Southeast Asia

Area:
  total: 678,500 kmē
  land: 657,740 kmē
  water: 20,760 kmē

Area - comparative:
  slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries:
  total: 5,876 km border countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India
    1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km

Coastline:
  1,930 km

Maritime claims:
  contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the
    continental margin
  exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
  territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate:
  tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon,
  June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower
  humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April)

Terrain:
  central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands

Elevation extremes:
  lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m

Natural resources:
  petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some
  marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower

Land use:
  arable land: 15%
  permanent crops: 1%
  permanent pastures: 1%
  forests and woodland: 49%
  other: 34% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land:
  10,680 kmē (1993 est.)

Natural hazards:
  destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during
  rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts

Environment - current issues:
  deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate
  sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease

Environment - international agreements:
  party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
    Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
    Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
  signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
  strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes

§3. Burma People

Population:
  41,994,678
  note: estimates for this country explicitly 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 and
    growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and
    sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 29.14% (male 6,245,798; female 5,992,074)
  15-64 years: 66.08% (male 13,779,571; female 13,970,707)
  65 years and over: 4.78% (male 895,554; female 1,110,974) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate:
  0.6% (2001 est.)

Birth rate:
  20.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate:
  12.3 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate:
  -1.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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: 0.81 male(s)/female
  total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  73.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 55.16 years male: 53.73 years
  female: 56.68 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  2.3 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  1.99% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  530,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  48,000 (1999 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Burmese (singular and plural)
  adjective: Burmese

Ethnic groups:
  Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Mon 2%, Indian 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: 83.1%
  male: 88.7%
  female: 77.7% (1995 est.)
  note: these are official statistics; estimates of functional literacy are
    likely closer to 30% (1999 est.)

§4. Burma Government

Country name:
  conventional long form: Union of Burma
  conventional short form: Burma
  local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the US
    Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar)
  local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw
  former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma

Government type:
  military regime

Capital:
  Rangoon (regime refers to the capital as Yangon)

Administrative divisions:
  7 divisions* (yin-mya, singular - yin) and 7 states (pyine-mya, singular -
  pyine); Chin State, Ayeyarwady*, Bago*, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah
  State, Magway*, Mandalay*, Mon State, Rakhine State, Sagaing*, Shan State,
  Tanintharyi*, Yangon*

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: Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Peace and
    Development Council Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992); note - the
    prime minister is both the chief of state and head of government
  head of government: Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Peace and
    Development Council Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992); note - the
    prime minister is both the chief of state and head of government
  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
  elections: none; the prime minister assumed power upon resignation of the
    former prime minister

Legislative branch:
  unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw (485 seats; members elected
  by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
  elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened
  election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NLD 392,
    SNLD 23, NUP 10, other 60

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 (proregime) [THA
  KYAW]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [U KHUN TUN OO];
  Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (proregime, a social
  and political organization) [THAN AUNG, general secretary]; 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

International organization participation:
  ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol,
  IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
  WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador-designate U LINN MYAING chancery: 2300 S
    Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 332-9044
  FAX: [1] (202) 332-9046
  consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  chief of mission: Permanent Charge d'Affaires Priscilla A. CLAPP embassy:
    581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521)
  mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96546
  telephone: [95] (1) 282055, 282182
  FAX: [95] (1) 280409

Flag description:
  red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, all in
  white, 14 five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of
  rice; the 14 stars represent the 14 administrative divisions

§5. Burma Economy

Economy - overview:
  Burma has a mixed economy with private activity dominant in agriculture,
  light industry, and transport, and with substantial state-controlled
  activity, mainly in energy, heavy industry, and the rice trade. Government
  policy in the 1990s has aimed at revitalizing the economy after three
  decades of tight central planning. Private activity markedly increased in
  the early to mid-1990s, but began to decline in the past several years due
  to frustrations with the unfriendly business environment and political
  pressure from western nations. Published estimates of Burma's foreign trade
  are greatly understated because of the volume of black-market, illicit, and
  border trade. A major ongoing problem is the failure to achieve monetary
  and fiscal stability. Burma remains a poor Asian country and living
  standards for the majority have not improved over the past decade.
  Short-term growth will continue to be restrained because of poor government
  planning and minimal foreign investment.

GDP:
  purchasing power parity - $63.7 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  4.9% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita:
  purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 42% industry: 17%
  services: 41% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line:
  23% (1997 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 32.4% (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  18% (1999)

Labor force:
  19.7 million (FY98/99 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture 65%, industry 10%, services 25% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
  7.1% (official FY97/98 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $7.9 billion
  expenditures: $12.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion
    (FY96/97)

Industries:
  agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood and wood products;
  copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals;
  fertilizer

Industrial production growth rate:
  NA%

Electricity - production:
  4.813 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
  fossil fuel: 68.56% hydro: 31.44%
  nuclear: 0%
  other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption:
  4.476 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports:
  0 kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products:
  paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, pulses; hardwood

Exports:
  $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999)

Exports - commodities:
  apparel 36%, foodstuffs 22%, wood products 21%, precious stones 5% (1999)

Exports - partners:
  India 13%, Singapore 11%, China 11%, US 8% (1999 est.) note: official trade
    statistics do not include trade in illicit goods - such as narcotics,
    teak, and gems - or the largely unrecorded border trade with China and
    Thailand

Imports:
  $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1999)

Imports - commodities:
  machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, food products

Imports - partners:
  Singapore 28%, Thailand 12%, China 10%, Japan 10%, South Korea 9% (1999
  est.)

Debt - external:
  $6 billion (FY99/00 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $99 million (FY98/99)

Currency:
  kyat (MMK)

Currency code:
  MMK

Exchange rates:
  kyats per US dollar - official rate - 6.5972 (January 2001), 6.5167 (2000),
  6.2858 (1999), 6.3432 (1998), 6.2418 (1997), 5.9176 (1996); kyats per US
  dollar - black market exchange rate - 435 (yearend 2000)

Fiscal year:
  1 April - 31 March

§6. Burma Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  250,000 (2000)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  8,492 (1997)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: meets minimum requirements for local and intercity
    service for business and government; international service is good
  domestic: NA
  international: 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 (1998)

Televisions:
  320,000 (2000)

Internet country code:
  .mm

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:
  500 (2000)

§7. Burma Transportation

Railways:
  total: 3,991 km
  narrow gauge: 3,991 km 1.000-m gauge

Highways:
  total: 28,200 km
  paved: 3,440 km
  unpaved: 24,760 km (1996)

Waterways:
  12,800 km
  note: 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels

Pipelines:
  crude oil 1,343 km; natural gas 330 km

Ports and harbors:
  Bassein, Bhamo, Chauk, Mandalay, Moulmein, Myitkyina, Rangoon, Akyab
  (Sittwe), Tavoy

Merchant marine:
  total: 37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 411,181 GRT/632,769 DWT
  ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 20, container 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum
    tanker 2
  note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of
    convenience: Japan 2 (2000 est.)

Airports:
  80 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 9 over 3,047 m: 3
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
  914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 71 over 3,047 m: 2
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 15
  914 to 1,523 m: 22
  under 914 m: 32 (2000 est.)

Heliports:
  1 (2000 est.)

§8. Burma Military

Military branches:
  Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower - military age:
  18 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
  males age 15-49: 12,050,964 females age 15-49: 12,070,017
  note: both sexes liable for military service (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
  males age 15-49: 6,425,514 females age 15-49: 6,419,677 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
  males: 470,667 females: 479,691 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $39 million (FY97/98)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  2.1% (FY97/98)

§9. Burma Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  sporadic border hostilities with Thailand over border alignment and ethnic
  Shan rebels operating in cross-border region

Illicit drugs:
  world's second largest producer of illicit opium, after Afghanistan
  (potential production in 1999 - 1,090 metric tons, down 38% due to drought;
  cultivation in 1999 - 89,500 hectares, a 31% decline from 1998); 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; becoming a major source of methamphetamine for regional
  consumption
