| GEOGRAPHY |
| 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
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 |
| Capital: |
Rangoon (government refers to the capital as Yangon) |
| Location: |
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
22 00 N, 98 00 E |
| Area: |
total: 678,500 sq km
land: 657,740 sq km
water: 20,760 sq km |
| 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: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| 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 |
| Elavation
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 |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
military junta |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
7 divisions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne)
: divisions: Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Yangon (Rangoon)
: 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); Union Day, 12 February (1947) |
| Constitution: |
3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); national convention convened in 1993 to draft a new constitution but collapsed in 1996; reconvened in 2004 but does not include participation of democratic opposition |
| 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: Prime Minister, Gen SOE WIN (since 19 October 2004)
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 (SLORC); the SPDC oversees the cabinet
elections: none |
| 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 allowed by junta to convene
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NLD 392 (opposition), SNLD 23 (opposition), NUP 10 (pro-government), 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 (progovernment) [THA KYAW]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [KHUN HTUN OO]; and other smaller parties |
| PEOPLE |
| 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.) |
| 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 |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| 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 - 2, Intelsat (Indian Ocean), and ShinSat |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 1, FM 1 (2004) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
2 (2004) |
| Internet country
code: |
.mm |
| Internet hosts: |
3 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
28,000 (2003) |
| TRANSPORT |
| 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
by type: bulk 8, cargo 18, container 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 1
foreign-owned: Germany 6, Japan 4 (2004 est.) |
| 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
over 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 16
914 to 1,523 m: 20
under 914 m: 31 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
1 (2003 est.) |
|
