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$Unique_ID{COW00625}
$Pretitle{261}
$Title{Myanmar (Burma)
Statistical Profile of Burma}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Central Intelligence Agency}
$Affiliation{United States Government}
$Subject{km
rate
state
fy88
government
military
burma
national
total
billion}
$Date{1990}
$Log{National Anthem*52500010.aud
Map of Myanmar (Burma)*0062501.scf
Flag of Myanmar (Burma)*0062502.scf
}
Country: Myanmar (Burma)
Book: CIA World Factbook
Author: Central Intelligence Agency
Affiliation: United States Government
Date: 1990
[Hear National Anthem]
[See Map of Myanmar (Burma)]
[See Flag of Myanmar (Burma)]
Statistical Profile of Burma
Geography
Total area: 678,500 km2; land area: 657,740 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries: 5,876 km total; 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: edge of continental margin or 200 nm
Extended 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
Natural resources: crude oil, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper,
tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas
Land use: 15% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures;
49% forest and woodland; 34% other; includes 2% irrigated
Environment: subject to destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding
and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); deforestation
Note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes
People
Population: 40,451,732 (July 1989), growth rate 2.0% (1989)
Birth rate: 33 births/1,000 population (1989)
Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1989)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1989)
Infant mortality rate: 99 deaths/1,000 live births (1989)
Life expectancy at birth: 53 years male, 56 years female (1989)
Total fertility rate: 4.2 children born/woman (1989)
Nationality: noun--Burmese; adjective--Burmese
Ethnic divisions: 68% Burman, 9% Shan, 7% Karen, 4% Rakhine, 3% Chinese,
2% Mon, 2% Indian, 5% other
Religion: 85% Buddhist, 15% animist beliefs, Muslim, Christian, or
other
Language: Burmese; minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Literacy: 78%
Labor force: 15,800,000; 65.6% agriculture, 13.7% industry, 9.8% trade,
6.6% government, 4.3% other (1988)
Organized labor: Workers' Asiayone (association), 1,800,000 members, and
Peasants' Asiayone, 7,600,000 members, integrated into the country's sole
political party
Government
Long-form name: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma; note--may
be changing to Union of Burma
Type: military government
Capital: Rangoon
Administrative divisions: 7 divisions* (yin-mya, singular--yin) and
7 states (pyine-mya, singular--pyine); Chin State, Irrawaddy*, Kachin State,
Karan State, Kayah State, Magwe*, Mandalay*, Mon State, Pegu*, Rakhine State,
Rangoon*, Sagaing*, Shan State, Tenasserim*
Independence: 4 January 1948 (from UK)
Constitution: 3 January 1974 (suspended)
Legal system: People's Justice system and People's Courts instituted
under 1974 Constitution; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 4 January (1948)
Branches: under the now suspended Constitution, the Council of State rules
through a Council of Ministers; National Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw or People's
Congress) has legislative power: nine-member military State Law and Order
Restoration Committee governs, pending new elections
Leader:
Chief of State and Head of Government--Gen. SAW MAUNG (since 18 September
1988)
Suffrage: universal over age 18
Elections: National Assembly and local People's Councils elected in 1985,
dissolved after 18 September 1988 coup; election scheduled for May 1990
Political parties and leaders: National League for Democracy, led by
U Tin Oo and Aung San Suu Kyi (since December 1988); promilitary National Unity
Party; over 180 other parties
Communists: 15,000 est., primarily as an insurgent group on the northeast
frontier
Other political or pressure groups: Kachin Independence Army; Karen
Nationalist Union, several Shan factions (all insurgent groups)
Member of: ADB, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
IDA, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IRC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador U. Myo AUNG; Chancery at
2300 S Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 332-9044 through 9046;
there is a Burmese Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador Burton LEVIN; Embassy at 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon
(mailing address is G. P. O. Box 521, Rangoon or
Box B, APO San Francisco 96346); telephone 82055 or 82181
Flag: 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
Economy
Overview: Burma is one of the poorest countries in Asia, with a per
capita GDP of about $200. The government reports slightly higher growth
for FY88 than for the previous year. The nation has been unable to achieve any
significant improvement in export earnings because of falling prices for many
of its major commodity exports. For rice, traditionally the most important
export, the drop in world prices has been accompanied by shrinking markets
and a smaller volume of sales. In 1985 teak replaced rice as the largest export
and continues to hold this position. The economy is heavily dependent on the
agricultural sector, which generates about 40% of GDP and provides employment
for more than 65% of the work force.
GDP: $9.3 billion, per capita $230; real growth rate 2.2% (FY88)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 17.8% (FY88)
Unemployment rate: 10.4% in urban areas (1986-87)
Budget: revenues $1.1 billion; expenditures $2.2 billion,
including capital expenditures of $1.2 billion (FY88 est.)
Exports: $322 million (f.o.b., FY88);
commodities--teak, rice, oilseed, metals, rubber, gems;
partners--US, Japan, EC, India, Africa
Imports: $629 million (c.i.f., FY88);
commodities--machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, food products;
partners--US, Japan, EEC, China, Thailand
External debt: $6.7 billion (December 1988)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.1% (FY88)
Electricity: 945,000 kW capacity; 2,900 million kWh produced, 75 kWh
per capita (1988)
Industries: agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood and
wood products; petroleum refining; mining of copper, tin, tungsten, iron;
construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer
Agriculture: paddy, beans, pulses, maize, oilseeds, sugarcane, peanuts;
almost 100% self-sufficient; most rice grown in deltaic land; an illegal
producer of opium poppy and cannabis for the international drug trade
Aid: NA
Currency: kyat (plural--kyats); 1 kyat (K) = 100 pyas
Exchange rates: kyats (K) per US$1--6.4792 (January 1989), 6.3945 (1988),
6.6535 (1987), 7.3304 (1986), 8.4749 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
Communications
Railroads: 3,991 km total, all government owned; 3,878 km 1.000-meter
gauge, 113 km narrow-gauge industrial lines; 362 km double track
Highways: 27,000 km total; 3,200 km bituminous, 17,700 km improved earth
or gravel, 6,100 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways: 12,800 km; 3,200 km navigable by large commercial
vessels
Pipelines: crude, 1,343 km; natural gas, 330 km
Ports: Rangoon, Moulmein, Bassein
Merchant marine: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 393,839
GRT/621,983 DWT; includes 3 passenger-cargo, 13 cargo, 3 roll-on/roll-off cargo,
1 container, 2 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 5 chemical, 7 bulk
Civil air: 17 major transport air