Burma
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See regional map VIII and IX
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: 41,277,389 (July 1990),
growth rate 2.0% (1990)
Birth rate: 33 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 97 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 53 years male, 56 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 4.2 children born/woman (1990)
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: 16,036,000; 65.2% agriculture, 14.3% industry, 10.1% trade, 6.3% government, 4.1% other (FY89 est.)
Organized labor: Workers' Asiayone (asso-ciation), 1,800,000 members, and Peasants' Asiayone, 7,600,000 members
Government
Long-form name: Union of Burma; note—the
local official name is Pyidaungzu
Myanma Naingngandaw which has been
translated as Union of Myanma or Union
of Myanmar
Type: military government
Capital: Rangoon (sometimes translated as Yangon)
Administrative divisions: 7 divisions* (yinmya, singular—yin) and 7 states (pyinemya, 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 since 18 September 1988)
Legal system: martial law in effect throughout most of the country; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 4 January (1948)
Executive branch: chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council, State Law and Order Restoration Council
Legislative branch unicameral People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw) was dissolved after the coup of 18 September 1988
Judicial branch: Council of People's Justices was abolished after the coup of 18 September 1988
Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government—Chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council and Prime Minister Gen. SAW MAUNG (since 18 September 1988)
Political parties and leaders: National League for Democracy, U Tin Oo and Aung San Suu Kyi; League for Democracy and Peace, U Nu; National Unity Party (promilitary); over 100 other parties
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: People's Assembly—last held 6-20 October 1985, but dissolved after the coup of 18 September 1988; next scheduled 27 May 1990); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(NA total) number of seats by party NA
Communists: several hundred, est., primarily as an insurgent group on the northeast frontier
Other political or pressure groups: Kachin Independence Army; Karen National Union, several Shan factions (all insurgent groups); Burmese Communist Party (BCP)
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 $280. The government reports
negligible growth for FY88. 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: $11.0 billion, per capita $280; real growth rate 0.2% (FY88 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 22.6% (FY89 est.)
Unemployment rate: 10.4% in urban areas (FY87)
