Burma (Myanmar)

Airports

total: 83 usable: 78 with permanent-surface runways: 24 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 38

Highways

total: 27,000 km paved: bituminous 3,200 km unpaved: gravel, improved earth 17,700 km; unimproved earth 6,100 km

Inland waterways

12,800 km; 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels

Merchant marine

47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 665,628 GRT/941,512 DWT, bulk 15, cargo 15, chemical 1, combination bulk 1, combination ore/oil 1, container 2, oil tanker 2, passenger-cargo 3, refrigerated cargo 5, vehicle carrier 2

Pipelines

crude oil 1,343 km; natural gas 330 km

Ports

Rangoon, Moulmein, Bassein

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

Telecommunications

meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is good; 53,000 telephones (1986); radiobroadcast coverage is limited to the most populous areas; broadcast stations - 2 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV (1985); 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 11,199,531; females age 15-49 11,273,643; males fit for military service 5,979,710; females fit for military service 6,034,810; males reach military age (18) annually 445,933 (1994 est.); females reach military age (18) annually 430,738 (1994 est.); both sexes liable for military service

Agriculture

accounts for 40% of GDP and 66% of employment (including fish and forestry); self-sufficient in food; principal crops - paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, pulses; world's largest stand of hardwood trees; rice and timber account for 55% of export revenues

Budget

revenues: $8.1 billion expenditures: $11.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992)

Currency

1 kyat (K) = 100 pyas

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $158 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.9 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $424 million

Electricity

capacity: 1,100,000 kW production: 2.8 billion kWh consumption per capita: 65 kWh (1992)

Exchange rates

kyats (K) per US$1 - 6.2301 (December 1993), 6.1570 (1993), 6.1045 (1992), 6.2837 (1991), 6.3386 (1990), 6.7049 (1989); unofficial - 105

Exports

$613.4 million (FY93) commodities: pulses and beans, teak, rice, hardwood partners: Singapore, China, Thailand, India, Hong Kong

External debt

$4 billion (1992)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

Illicit drugs

world's largest illicit producer of opium (2,575 metric tons in 1993) and minor producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; opium production has doubled since the collapse of Rangoon's antinarcotic programs

Imports

$1.02 billion (FY93) commodities: machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, food products partners: Japan, China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia

Industrial production

growth rate 4.9% (FY93 est.); accounts for 10% of GDP

Industries

agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood and wood products; petroleum refining; mining of copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

30% (1993 est.)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $41 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$950 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

5% (1993 est.)

Overview

Burma has a mixed economy with about 70% private activity, mainly in agriculture, light industry, and transport, and with about 30% state-controlled activity, mainly in energy, heavy industry, and foreign trade. Government policy in the last five years, 1989-93, has aimed at revitalizing the economy after four decades of tight central planning. Thus, private activity has markedly increased; foreign investment has been encouraged, so far with moderate success; and efforts continue to increase the efficiency of state enterprises. Published estimates of Burma's foreign trade are greatly understated because of the volume of black market trade. A major ongoing problem is the failure to achieve monetary and fiscal stability. Inflation has been running at 25% to 30% annually. Good weather helped boost GDP by perhaps 5% in 1993. Although Burma remains a poor Asian country, its rich resources furnish the potential for substantial long-term increases in income, exports, and living standards.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Area

total area: 678,500 sq km land area: 657,740 sq km comparative area: 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

Environment

current issues: deforestation natural hazards: subject to destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September) international agreements: party to - Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

10,180 sq km (1989)

Land boundaries

total 5,876 km, Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km

Land use

arable land: 15% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 49% other: 34%

Location

Southeastern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand

Map references

Asia, Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

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

Natural resources

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

Note

strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes

Terrain

central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands

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*

Capital

Rangoon (sometimes translated as Yangon)

Constitution

3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); National Convention started on 9 January 1993 to draft chapter headings for a new constitution

Digraph

BM

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador U THAUNG chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 332-9044 or 9045 consulate(s) general: New York

Executive branch

chief of state and head of government: Chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992)

FAX

[95] (1) 80409

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

Independence

4 January 1948 (from UK)

Judicial branch

none; Council of People's Justices was abolished after the coup of 18 September 1988

Legal system

has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Member of

AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Names

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

National holiday

Independence Day, 4 January (1948)

Other political or pressure groups

National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), headed by the elected prime minister SEIN WIN (consists of individuals legitimately elected to Parliament 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; Kachin Independence Army (KIA); United Wa State Army (UWSA); Karen National Union (KNU); several Shan factions, including the Mong Tai Army (MTA); All Burma Student Democratic Front (ABSDF)

People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw)

last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened; results - NLD 80%; seats - (485 total) NLD 396, the regime-favored NUP 10, other 79; was dissolved after the coup of 18 September 1988

Political parties and leaders

Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), leader NA; National Unity Party (NUP; proregime), THA KYAW; National League for Democracy (NLD), U AUNG SHWE

State Law and Order Restoration Council

military junta which assumed power 18 September 1988

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

military regime

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: (vacant); Deputy Chief of Mission, Charge d'Affaires Franklin P. HUDDLE, Jr. embassy: 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon mailing address: American Embassy, Box B, APO AP 96546 telephone: [95] (1) 82055, 82181

Birth rate

28.45 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate

9.84 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Mon 2%, Indian 2%, other 5%

Infant mortality rate

63.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Labor force

16.007 million (1992) by occupation: agriculture 65.2%, industry 14.3%, trade 10.1%, government 6.3%, other 4.1% (FY89 est.)

Languages

Burmese; minority ethnic groups have their own languages

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 59.98 years male: 57.94 years female: 62.15 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 81% male: 89% female: 72%

Nationality

noun: Burmese (singular and plural) adjective: Burmese

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population

44,277,014 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

1.86% (1994 est.)

Religions

Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist beliefs 1%, other 2%

Total fertility rate

3.64 children born/woman (1994 est.)