2002 Edition
CIA World Factbook 2002 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
Background
Despite multiparty elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party winning a decisive victory, the ruling military junta 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.
Geography
Area
total: 678,500 sq km land: 657,740 sq km water: 20,760 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than Texas
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)
Coastline
1,930 km
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m
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
Geographic coordinates
22 00 N, 98 00 E
Irrigated land
15,920 sq km (1998 est.)
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
Land use
arable land: 14% permanent crops: 1% other: 85% (1998 est.)
Location
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand
Map references
Southeast Asia
Maritime claims
contiguous zone: 24 NM territorial sea: 12 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Natural hazards
destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts
Natural resources
petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower
Terrain
central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands
People and Society
Age structure
28.6% (male 6,158,039; female 5,905,314) 15-64 years: (male 905,476; female 1,130,881) (2002 est.)
Birth rate
19.65 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate
12.25 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Ethnic groups
Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
1.99% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths
48,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
530,000 (1999 est.)
Infant mortality rate
72.11 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Languages
Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Life expectancy at birth
57.07 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility rate: 2.23 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write total population: statistics; estimates of functional literacy are likely closer to 30% (1999 est.)
Nationality
noun: Burmese (singular and plural) adjective: Burmese
Net migration rate
-1.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Population
42,238,224 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 2002 est.)
Population growth rate
0.56% (2002 est.)
Religions
Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%
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: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Government
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*
Capital
Rangoon (regime refers to the capital as Yangon)
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
Country name
conventional long form: Union of Burma conventional short form: Burma local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar) former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma 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
Diplomatic representation from the US
Permanent Charge d'Affaires Priscilla A. CLAPP embassy: 96546 telephone: [95] (1) 282055, 282182 FAX: [95] (1) 280409
Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador U LINN MYAING consulate(s) general: New [1] (202) 332-9044 chancery:
Executive branch
chief of state: Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. 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 Sr. 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
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
Government type
military regime
Independence
4 January 1948 (from UK)
International organization participation
ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
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
Legal system
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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
National holiday
Independence Day, 4 January (1948)
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
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Economy
Agriculture - products
rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products
Budget
revenues: $7.9 billion expenditures: $12.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (FY96/97)
Currency
kyat (MMK)
Currency code
MMK
Debt - external
$6 billion (FY99/00 est.)
Economic aid - recipient
$99 million (FY98/99)
Electricity - consumption
4.432 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports
0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports
0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production
4.766 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel: 83.3% hydro: 16.7% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Exchange rates
kyats per US dollar - official rate - 6.8581 (January 2002), 6.7489 (2001), 6.5167 (2000), 6.2858 (1999), 6.3432 (1998), 6.2418 (1997); kyats per US dollar - black market exchange rate - 435 (yearend 2000)
Exports
$1.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities
apparel 55%, foodstuffs 18%, wood products 13%, precious stones 2% (2000)
Exports - partners
US 27%, India 16%, China 7%, Japan 6%, Singapore 6% (2000 est.) note: as narcotics, teak, and gems - or the largely unrecorded border trade with China and Thailand
Fiscal year
1 April - 31 March
GDP
purchasing power parity - $63 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 42% industry: 17% services: 41% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita
purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
2.3% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 32.4% (1998)
Imports
$2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities
machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, food products, textile fabrics, petroleum products
Imports - partners
China 26%, Singapore 23%, South Korea 15%, Japan 10%, Taiwan 10% (2000 est.)
Industrial production growth rate
NA%
Industries
agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
20% (2001 est.)
Labor force
23.7 million (1999 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture 65%, industry 10%, services 25% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line
25% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate
5.1% (2001 est.)
Communications
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)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 3 (1998)
Radios
4.2 million (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)
Telephones - main lines in use
250,000 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular
8,492 (1997)
Television broadcast stations
2 (1998)
Televisions
320,000 (2000)
Transportation
Airports
80 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways
total: 8 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
Airports - with unpaved runways
2 1,524 to 2,437 m: Heliports: 2 (2001)
Highways
total: 28,200 km paved: 3,440 km unpaved: 24,760 km (1996)
Merchant marine
total: 35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 382,386 GRT/582,084 DWT note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 5, Japan 4 (2002 est.) ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 21, container 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 1
Pipelines
crude oil 1,343 km; natural gas 330 km
Ports and harbors
Bassein, Bhamo, Chauk, Mandalay, Moulmein, Myitkyina, Rangoon, Akyab (Sittwe), Tavoy
Railways
total: 3,991 km narrow gauge: 3,991 km 1.000-m gauge (2000 est.)
Waterways
12,800 km note: 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels
Military and Security
Military branches
Army, Navy, Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure
$39 million (FY97/98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
2.1% (FY97/98)
Military manpower - availability
males age 15-49: 12,211,144 note: both sexes liable for military service (2002 est.) females age 15-49: 12,223,069
Military manpower - fit for military service
males age 15-49: 6,502,013 females age 15-49: 6,491,732 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age
18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually
males: 486,432 females: 470,667 (2002 est.)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international
despite renewed border committee talks, significant differences remain with Thailand over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic guerrilla rebels, refugees, smuggling, and drug trafficking in cross-border region; Burmese attempts to construct a dam on border stream with Bangladesh in 2001 prompted an armed response halting construction; Burmese Muslim migration into Bangladesh strains Bangladesh's meager resources
Illicit drugs
world's largest producer of illicit opium, surpassing Afghanistan (potential production in 2001 - 865 metric tons, down 21% due to drought, and to a lesser extent, eradication; cultivation in 2002 - 105,000 hectares, a 3% decline from 2000); 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 This page was last updated on 1 January 2002 Benin