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East and Southeast Asia
Page last updated: July 24, 2024
Burma is home to ethnic Burmans and scores of other ethnic and religious minority groups that have resisted external efforts to consolidate control of the country throughout its history. Britain conquered Burma over a period extending from the 1820s to the 1880s and administered it as a province of India until 1937, when Burma became a self-governing colony. Burma gained full independence in 1948. In 1962, General NE WIN seized power and ruled the country until 1988 when a new military regime took control.
In 1990, the military regime permitted an election but then rejected the results after the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and its leader AUNG SAN SUU KYI (ASSK) won in a landslide. The military regime placed ASSK under house arrest until 2010. In 2007, rising fuel prices in Burma led pro-democracy activists and Buddhist monks to launch a "Saffron Revolution" consisting of large protests against the regime, which violently suppressed the movement. The regime prevented new elections until it had drafted a constitution designed to preserve the military's political control; it passed the new constitution in its 2008 referendum. The regime conducted an election in 2010, but the NLD boycotted the vote, and the military’s political proxy, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, easily won; international observers denounced the election as flawed.
Burma nonetheless began a halting process of political and economic reforms. ASSK's return to government in 2012 eventually led to the NLD's sweeping victory in the 2015 election. With ASSK as the de facto head of state, Burma’s first credibly elected civilian government drew international criticism for blocking investigations into Burma’s military operations -- which the US Department of State determined constituted genocide -- against its ethnic Rohingya population. When the 2020 elections resulted in further NLD gains, the military denounced the vote as fraudulent. In 2021, the military's senior leader General MIN AUNG HLAING launched a coup that returned Burma to authoritarian rule, with military crackdowns that undid reforms and resulted in the detention of ASSK and thousands of pro-democracy actors.
Pro-democracy organizations have formed in the wake of the coup, including the National Unity Government (NUG). Members of the NUG include representatives from the NLD, ethnic minority groups, and civil society. In 2021, the NUG announced the formation of armed militias called the People's Defense Forces (PDF) and an insurgency against the military junta. As of 2024, PDF units across the country continued to fight the regime with varying levels of support from and cooperation with the NUG and other anti-regime organizations, including armed ethnic groups that have been fighting the central government for decades.
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand
22°00' N, 98°00' E
Southeast Asia
Total : 676,578 km²
Land: 653,508 km²
Water: 23,070 km²
Slightly smaller than Texas
Area comparison map:
Total: 6,522 km
Border countries (5): Bangladesh 271 km; China 2,129 km; India 1,468 km; Laos 238 km; Thailand 2,416 km
1,930 km
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
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)
Central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands
Highest point: Gamlang Razi 5,870 m
Lowest point: Andaman Sea/Bay of Bengal 0 m
Mean elevation: 702 m
Petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower, arable land
Agricultural land: 19.2% (2018 est.)
Arable land: 16.5% (2018 est.)
Permanent crops: 2.2% (2018 est.)
Permanent pasture: 0.5% (2018 est.)
Forest: 48.2% (2018 est.)
Other: 32.6% (2018 est.)
17,140 km² (2020)
Mekong (shared with China [s], Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam [m]) - 4,350 km; Salween river mouth (shared with China [s] and Thailand) - 3,060 km; Irrawaddy river mouth (shared with China [s]) - 2,809 km; Chindwin - 1,158 km
Note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Indian Ocean drainage: Brahmaputra (651,335 km²), Ganges (1,016,124 km²), Irrawaddy (413,710 km²), Salween (271,914 km²)
Pacific Ocean drainage: Mekong (805,604 km²)
Population concentrated along coastal areas and in general proximity to the shores of the Irrawaddy River; the extreme north is relatively underpopulated
Destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts
Strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes; the north-south flowing Irrawaddy River is the country's largest and most important commercial waterway
Total: 57,527,139
Male: 28,387,831
Female: 29,139,308 (2024 est.)
Comparison rankings: female 27; male 27; total 27
Noun: Burmese (singular and plural)
Adjective: Burmese
Burman (Bamar) 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%
Note: the largest ethnic group — the Burman (or Bamar) — dominate politics, and the military ranks are largely drawn from this ethnic group; the Burman mainly populate the central parts of the country, while various ethnic minorities have traditionally lived in the peripheral regions that surround the plains in a horseshoe shape; the government recognizes 135 indigenous ethnic groups
Burmese (official)
Major-language sample(s):
ကမ္ဘာ့အချက်အလက်စာအုပ်- အခြေခံအချက်အလက်တွေအတွက် မရှိမဖြစ်တဲ့ အရင်းအမြစ် (Burmese)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Note: minority ethnic groups use their own languages
Buddhist 87.9%, Christian 6.2%, Muslim 4.3%, Animist 0.8%, Hindu 0.5%, other 0.2%, none 0.1% (2014 est.)
Note: religion estimate is based on the 2014 national census, including an estimate for the non-enumerated population of Rakhine State, which is assumed to mainly affiliate with the Islamic faith; as of December 2019, Muslims probably make up less than 3% of Burma's total population due to the large outmigration of the Rohingya population since 2017
Burma’s 2014 national census – the first in more than 30 years – revealed that the country’s total population is approximately 51.5 million, significantly lower than the Burmese Government’s prior estimate of 61 million. The Burmese Government assumed that the 2% population growth rate between 1973 and 1983 remained constant and that emigration was zero, ignoring later sample surveys showing declining fertility rates and substantial labor migration abroad in recent decades. These factors reduced the estimated average annual growth rate between 2003 and 2014 to about .9%. Among Southeast Asian countries, Burma’s life expectancy is among the lowest and its infant and maternal mortality rates are among the highest. The large difference in life expectancy between women and men has resulted in older age cohorts consisting of far more women than men.
Burma’s demographic transition began in the 1950s, when mortality rates began to drop. Fertility did not start to decrease until the 1960s, sustaining high population growth until the decline accelerated in the 1980s. The birth rate has held fairly steady from 2000 until today. Since the 1970s, the total fertility rate (TFR) has fallen more than 60%, from almost 6 children per woman to 2.2 in 2016. The reduced TFR is largely a result of women marrying later and more women never marrying, both being associated with greater educational attainment and labor force participation among women. TFR, however, varies regionally, between urban and rural areas, by educational attainment, and among ethnic groups, with fertility lowest in urban areas (where it is below replacement level).
The shift in Burma’s age structure has been slow (45% of the population is still under 25 years of age) and uneven among its socioeconomic groups. Any economic boost from the growth of the working-age population is likely to take longer to develop, to have a smaller impact, and to be distributed unequally. Rural poverty and unemployment continue to drive high levels of internal and international migration. The majority of labor migration is internal, mainly from rural to urban areas. The new government’s growing regional integration, reforms, and improved diplomatic relations are increasing the pace of international migration and destination choices. As many as 4-5 million Burmese, mostly from rural areas and several ethnic groups, have taken up unskilled jobs abroad in agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, and domestic service. Thailand is the most common destination, hosting about 70% of Burma’s international migrants, followed by Malaysia, China, and Singapore.
Burma is a patchwork of more than 130 religious and ethnic groups, distinguishing it as one of the most diverse countries in the region. Ethnic minorities face substantial discrimination, and the Rohingya, the largest Muslim group, are arguably the most persecuted population in the country. The Burmese Government and the Buddhist majority see the Rohingya as a threat to identity, competitors for jobs and resources, terrorists, and some still resent them for their alliance with Burma’s British colonizers during its 19th century. Since at least the 1960s, they have been subjected to systematic human rights abuses, violence, marginalization, and disenfranchisement, which authorities continue to deny. Despite living in Burma for centuries, many Burmese see the Rohingya as illegal Bengali immigrants and refer to them Bengalis. As a result, the Rohingya have been classified as foreign residents and stripped of their citizenship, rendering them one of the largest stateless populations in the world.
Hundreds of thousands of Burmese from various ethnic groups have been internally displaced (an estimated 644,000 as of year-end 2016) or have fled to neighboring countries over the decades because of persecution, armed conflict, rural development projects, drought, and natural disasters. Bangladesh has absorbed the most refugees from Burma, with an estimated 33,000 officially recognized and 200,000 to 500,000 unrecognized Rohingya refugees, as of 2016. An escalation in violation has caused a surge in the inflow of Rohingya refugees since late August 2017, raising the number to an estimated 870,000. As of June 2017, another approximately 132,500 refugees, largely Rohingya and Chin, were living in Malaysia, and more than 100,000, mostly Karen, were housed in camps along the Burma-Thailand border.
0-14 years: 24.4% (male 7,197,177/female 6,843,879)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 19,420,361/female 19,998,625)
65 years and over: 7.1% (2024 est.) (male 1,770,293/female 2,296,804)
2023 population pyramid:
Total dependency ratio: 46
Youth dependency ratio: 36.3
Elderly dependency ratio: 9.7
Potential support ratio: 10.3 (2021 est.)
Total: 30.8 years (2024 est.)
Male: 29.9 years
Female: 31.6 years
0.71% (2024 est.)
15.7 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
-1.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Population concentrated along coastal areas and in general proximity to the shores of the Irrawaddy River; the extreme north is relatively underpopulated
Urban population: 32.1% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 1.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030
5.610 million RANGOON (Yangon) (capital), 1.532 million Mandalay (2023)
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
24.7 years (2015/16 est.)
Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
179 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Total: 32.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 35.4 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 28.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Total population: 70.3 years (2024 est.)
Male: 68.5 years
Female: 72.1 years
1.97 children born/woman (2024 est.)
0.96 (2024 est.)
52.2% (2015/16)
Improved: urban: 95.4% of population
Rural: 80.7% of population
Total: 85.3% of population
Unimproved: urban: 4.6% of population
Rural: 19.3% of population
Total: 14.7% of population (2020 est.)
3.7% of GDP (2020)
0.74 physicians/1,000 population (2019)
1 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Improved: urban: 93.9% of population
Rural: 81.3% of population
Total: 85.2% of population
Unimproved: urban: 6.1% of population
Rural: 18.7% of population
Total: 14.8% of population (2020 est.)
Degree of risk: very high (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, Japanese encephalitis, and sexually transmitted diseases: hepatitis B (2024)
Animal contact diseases: rabies
5.8% (2016)
Total: 2.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer: 0.5 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine: 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits: 1.55 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Total: 44.1% (2020 est.)
Male: 68.5% (2020 est.)
Female: 19.7% (2020 est.)
19.1% (2017/18)
57.5% (2023 est.)
Women married by age 15: 1.9%
Women married by age 18: 16%
Men married by age 18: 5% (2016 est.)
2.1% of GDP (2019 est.)
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 89.1%
Male: 92.4%
Female: 86.3% (2019)
Note: most public schools were closed immediately after the coup in 2021, and attendance has remained low since schools reopened; literacy is expected to decline from 2019 to 2023
Total: 11 years
Male: 10 years
Female: 11 years (2018)
Deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease; rapid depletion of the country's natural resources
Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands
Signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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)
Agricultural land: 19.2% (2018 est.)
Arable land: 16.5% (2018 est.)
Permanent crops: 2.2% (2018 est.)
Permanent pasture: 0.5% (2018 est.)
Forest: 48.2% (2018 est.)
Other: 32.6% (2018 est.)
Urban population: 32.1% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 1.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030
Severe localized food insecurity: due to conflict, political instability, and economic constraints - the political crisis, following the military takeover on 1 February 2021, resulted in increased tensions and unrest throughout the country; the current uncertain political situation may further compromise the fragile situation of vulnerable households and the Rohingya IDPs residing in the country; armed conflict between the military and non‑state armed groups led to population displacements, disrupted agricultural activities and limited access for humanitarian support especially in Rakhine, Chin, Kachin, Kayin, Kayah and Shan states; income losses and a decline in remittances, due to the impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic, have affected the food security situation of vulnerable households; domestic prices of Emata rice, the most consumed variety in the country, were at high levels in May 2022, constraining access to a key staple food (2022)
1.69% of GDP (2018 est.)
0.01% of GDP (2018 est.)
Particulate matter emissions: 27.16 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 25.28 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 42.2 megatons (2020 est.)
Municipal solid waste generated annually: 4,677,307 tons (2000 est.)
Mekong (shared with China [s], Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam [m]) - 4,350 km; Salween river mouth (shared with China [s] and Thailand) - 3,060 km; Irrawaddy river mouth (shared with China [s]) - 2,809 km; Chindwin - 1,158 km
Note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Indian Ocean drainage: Brahmaputra (651,335 km²), Ganges (1,016,124 km²), Irrawaddy (413,710 km²), Salween (271,914 km²)
Pacific Ocean drainage: Mekong (805,604 km²)
Municipal: 3.32 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)
Industrial: 500 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
Agricultural: 29.57 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)
1.2 trillion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Conventional long form: Union of Burma
Conventional short form: Burma
Local long form: Pyidaungzu Thammada Myanma Naingngandaw (translated as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar)
Local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw
Former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma, Union of Myanmar
Etymology: both "Burma" and "Myanmar" derive from the name of the majority Burman (Bamar) ethnic group
Note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma and the deposed parliamentary government have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; the US Government has not officially adopted the name
Military regime
Name: Rangoon (aka Yangon, continues to be recognized as the primary Burmese capital by the US Government); Nay Pyi Taw is the administrative capital
Geographic coordinates: 16 48 N, 96 10 E
Time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: Rangoon/Yangon derives from the Burmese words yan and koun, which mean "danger" and "no more" respectively and provide the meaning of "end of strife"; Nay Pyi Taw translates as: "Abode of Royals" or "the capital city of a kingdom"
7 regions (taing-myar, singular - taing), 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne), 1 union territory
Regions: Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy), Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Yangon (Rangoon)
States: Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Mon, Rakhine, Shan
Union territory: Nay Pyi Taw
4 January 1948 (from the UK)
Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947)
History: previous 1947, 1974 (suspended until 2008); latest drafted 9 April 2008, approved by referendum 29 May 2008
Amendments: proposals require at least 20% approval by the Assembly of the Union membership; passage of amendments to sections of the constitution on basic principles, government structure, branches of government, state emergencies, and amendment procedures requires 75% approval by the Assembly and approval in a referendum by absolute majority of registered voters; passage of amendments to other sections requires only 75% Assembly approval; military granted 25% of parliamentary seats by default; amended 2015
Mixed legal system of English common law (as introduced in codifications designed for colonial India) and customary law
Has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: both parents must be citizens of Burma
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: none
Note: an applicant for naturalization must be the child or spouse of a citizen
18 years of age; universal
Chief of state: Prime Minister, State Administration Council Chair, Sr. Gen. MIN AUNG HLAING (since 1 August 2021)
Head of government: Prime Minister, State Administration Council Chair, Sr. Gen. MIN AUNG HLAING (since 1 August 2021)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointments shared by the president and the commander-in-chief; note - on 2 February 2021, the military leadership replaced the Cabinet with the State Administrative Council (SAC), which is the official name of the military government in Burma
Elections/appointments: prior to the military takeover in 2021, president was indirectly elected by simple majority vote by the full Assembly of the Union from among 3 vice-presidential candidates nominated by the Presidential Electoral College (consists of members of the lower and upper houses and military members); the other 2 candidates become vice presidents (president elected for a 5-year term); general election last held on 8 November 2020; the military junta has pledged to hold new general elections but has repeatedly announced delays
Election results: 2020: the National League for Democracy (NLD) won 396 seats across both houses, well above the 322 required for a parliamentary majority, which would have ensured that its preferred candidates would be elected president and second vice president in the Presidential Electoral College; however, on 1 February 2021 the military claimed the results of the election were illegitimate and launched a coup d'état that deposed State Counsellor AUNG SAN SUU KYI and President WIN MYINT of the NLD, causing military-affiliated Vice President MYINT SWE (USDP) to become Acting President; MYINT SWE subsequently handed power to coup leader MIN AUNG HLAING; WIN MYINT and other key leaders of the ruling NLD party were placed under arrest following the military takeover
2018: WIN MYINT elected president in an indirect by-election held on 28 March 2018 after the resignation of HTIN KYAW; Assembly of the Union vote for president - WIN MYINT (NLD) 403, MYINT SWE (USDP) 211, HENRY VAN THIO (NLD) 18, 4 votes canceled (636 votes cast)
State counsellor: State Counselor AUNG SAN SUU KYI (since 6 April 2016); note - under arrest since 1 February 2021; formerly served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for the Office of the President
Note: a parliamentary bill creating the position of "state counsellor" was signed into law by former President HTIN KYAW on 6 April 2016; a state counsellor serves the equivalent term of the president and is similar to a prime minister in that the holder acts as a link between the parliament and the executive branch
Note: the military took over the government on 1 February 2021 and declared a state of emergency
Description: dissolved 1 February 2021 by the coup led by Sr. General MIN AUNG HLAING; previously bicameral Assembly of the Union or Pyidaungsu consists of:
House of Nationalities or Amyotha Hluttaw, (224 seats; 168 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote with a second round if needed and 56 appointed by the military; members serve 5-year terms)
House of Representatives or Pyithu Hluttaw, (440 seats, currently 433; 330 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 110 appointed by the military; members serve 5-year terms); note - on 1 February 2021, the military dissolved the Assembly of the Union, which was replaced by the State Administration Council
Elections: House of Nationalities - last held on 8 November 2020
House of Representatives - last held on 8 November 2020; note - the military junta overturned the results of the 8 November legislative elections
Election results: House of Nationalities - percent of vote by party - NLD 61.6%, USDP 3.1%, ANP 1.8%, MUP 1.3%, KySPD 1.3%, other 5.9%, military appointees 25%; seats by party - NLD 138, USDP 7, ANP 4, MUP 3, KySPD 3, SNLD 2, TNP 2, other 2, vacant 7 (canceled due to insurgency), military appointees 56
House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NLD 58.6%, USDP 5.9%, SNLD 3.0%, other 7.5%, military 25%; seats by party - NLD 258, USDP 26, SNLD 13, ANP 4, PNO 3, TNP 3, MUP 2, KySPD 2, other 4, vacant 15 (canceled due to insurgency), military appointees 110
Highest court(s): Supreme Court of the Union (consists of the chief justice and 7-11 judges)
Judge selection and term of office: chief justice and judges nominated by the president, with approval of the Lower House, and appointed by the president; judges normally serve until mandatory retirement at age 70
Subordinate courts: High Courts of the Region; High Courts of the State; Court of the Self-Administered Division; Court of the Self-Administered Zone; district and township courts; special courts (for juvenile, municipal, and traffic offenses); courts martial
Arakan National Party or ANP [THAR TUN HLA]
Democratic Party or DP [U THU WAI]
Kayah State Democratic Party or KySDP
Kayin People's Party or KPP [TUN AUNG MYINT]
Kokang Democracy and Unity Party or KDUP [LUO XINGGUANG]
La Hu National Development Party or LHNDP [KYA HAR SHAL]
Lisu National Development Party or LNDP [U ARKI DAW]
Mon Unity Party (formed in 2019 from the All Mon Region Democracy Party and Mon National Party)
National Democratic Force or NDF [KHIN MAUNG SWE]
National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SAN SUU KYI]
National Unity Party or NUP [U HAN SHWE]
Pa-O National Organization or PNO [AUNG KHAM HTI]
People's Party [KO KO GYI]
Shan Nationalities Democratic Party or SNDP [SAI AI PAO]
Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD
Ta'ang National Party or TNP [AIK MONE]
Tai-Leng Nationalities Development Party or TNDP [ U SAI HTAY AUNG]
Union Solidarity and Development Party or USDP [THAN HTAY]
Unity and Democracy Party of Kachin State or UDPKS [U KHAT HTEIN NAN]
Wa Democratic Party or WDP [KHUN HTUN LU]
Wa National Unity Party or WNUP [NYI PALOTE]
Zomi Congress for Democracy or ZCD [PU CIN SIAN THANG]
Note: more than 90 political parties participated in the 2020 elections; political parties continued to function after the 2021 coup, although some political leaders have been arrested by the military regime; in 2023, the regime announced a new law with several rules and restrictions on political parties and their ability to participate in elections; dozens of parties refused to comply with the new rules; the regime's election commission has subsequently banned more than 80 political parties, including the National League for Democracy
ADB, ARF, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, CP, EAS, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC (NGOs), NAM, OPCW (signatory), SAARC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Design consists of three equal horizontal stripes of yellow (top), green, and red; centered on the green band is a large white five-pointed star that partially overlaps onto the adjacent colored stripes; the design revives the triband colors used by Burma from 1943-45, during the Japanese occupation
Chinthe (mythical lion); national colors: yellow, green, red, white
Name: "Kaba Ma Kyei" (Till the End of the World, Myanmar)
Lyrics/music: SAYA TIN
Note: adopted 1948; Burma is among a handful of non-European nations that have anthems rooted in indigenous traditions; the beginning portion of the anthem is a traditional Burmese anthem before transitioning into a Western-style orchestrated work
Total World Heritage Sites: 2 (both cultural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales: Pyu Ancient Cities; Bagan
Prior to COVID-19 and the February 2021 military coup, massive declines in poverty, rapid economic growth, and improving social welfare; underdevelopment, climate change, and unequal investment threaten progress and sustainability planning; since coup, foreign assistance has ceased from most funding sources
$290.507 billion (2023 est.)
$287.624 billion (2022 est.)
$276.462 billion (2021 est.)
Note: data in 2021 dollars
1% (2023 est.)
4.04% (2022 est.)
-12.02% (2021 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency
$5,300 (2023 est.)
$5,300 (2022 est.)
$5,100 (2021 est.)
Note: data in 2021 dollars
$64.815 billion (2023 est.)
Note: data in current dollars at official exchange rate
8.83% (2019 est.)
6.87% (2018 est.)
4.57% (2017 est.)
Note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Agriculture: 24.1% (2017 est.)
Industry: 35.6% (2017 est.)
Services: 40.3% (2017 est.)
Comparison rankings: services 212; industry 44; agriculture 31
Household consumption: 59.2% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 13.8% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 33.5% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1.5% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 21.4% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -28.6% (2017 est.)
Rice, sugarcane, vegetables, beans, maize, groundnuts, fruits, plantains, coconuts, onions (2022)
Note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
Agricultural processing; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; cement, construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; oil and natural gas; garments; jade and gems
1.53% (2023 est.)
Note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency
22.884 million (2023 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work
2.84% (2023 est.)
2.83% (2022 est.)
4.34% (2021 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment
Total: 6.4% (2021 est.)
Male: 6.5%
Female: 6.3%
24.8% (2017 est.)
Note: % of population with income below national poverty line
30.7 (2017 est.)
Note: index (0-100) of income distribution; higher values represent greater inequality
On food: 56.6% of household expenditures (2021 est.)
On alcohol and tobacco: 0.6% of household expenditures (2021 est.)
Lowest 10%: 3.8% (2017 est.)
Highest 10%: 25.5% (2017 est.)
Note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population
2.31% of GDP (2023 est.)
2.03% of GDP (2022 est.)
1.93% of GDP (2021 est.)
Note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities
Revenues: $13.361 billion (2020 est.)
Expenditures: $18.035 billion (2020 est.)
-3.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
33.6% of GDP (2017 est.)
35.7% of GDP (2016 est.)
6.02% (of GDP) (2019 est.)
Note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP
$67.72 million (2019 est.)
-$2.561 billion (2018 est.)
-$4.917 billion (2017 est.)
Note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars
$20.4 billion (2021 est.)
$17.523 billion (2019 est.)
$15.728 billion (2018 est.)
Note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
China 36%, Thailand 13%, Germany 6%, Japan 6%, US 4% (2022)
Note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
Garments, precious stones, natural gas, dried legumes, rice (2022)
Note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
$23.1 billion (2021 est.)
$17.356 billion (2019 est.)
$18.664 billion (2018 est.)
Note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
China 45%, Thailand 16%, Singapore 14%, Malaysia 4%, Indonesia 4% (2022)
Note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
Refined petroleum, fabric, synthetic fabric, crude petroleum, fertilizers (2022)
Note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
$7.67 billion (2020 est.)
$5.824 billion (2019 est.)
$5.646 billion (2018 est.)
Note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
$6.594 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$8.2 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
Kyats (MMK) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
1,381.619 (2020 est.)
1,518.255 (2019 est.)
1,429.808 (2018 est.)
1,360.359 (2017 est.)
1,234.87 (2016 est.)
Electrification - total population: 73.7% (2022 est.)
Electrification - urban areas: 93.9%
Electrification - rural areas: 62.8%
Installed generating capacity: 6.993 million kW (2022 est.)
Consumption: 15.473 billion kWh (2022 est.)
Exports: 1.317 billion kWh (2022 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 3.591 billion kWh (2022 est.)
Comparison rankings: transmission/distribution losses 149; exports 65; consumption 82; installed generating capacity 77
Fossil fuels: 50.6% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Solar: 0.5% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Hydroelectricity: 47.6% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Biomass and waste: 1.3% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Production: 1.268 million metric tons (2022 est.)
Consumption: 1.453 million metric tons (2022 est.)
Exports: 89,000 metric tons (2022 est.)
Imports: 305,000 metric tons (2022 est.)
Proven reserves: 252 million metric tons (2022 est.)
Total petroleum production: 7,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 148,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 139 million barrels (2021 est.)
Production: 16.78 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Consumption: 3.788 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Exports: 13.099 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
Imports: 219.822 million cubic meters (2021 est.)
Proven reserves: 637.129 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
31.347 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 2.693 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 21.174 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 7.48 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)
9.244 million Btu/person (2022 est.)
Total subscriptions: 535,000 (2022 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: (2022 est.) less than 1
Total subscriptions: 57.807 million (2022 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 107 (2022 est.)
General assessment: Burma, one of the least developed telecom markets in Asia, saw growth in mobile and broadband services through expanded foreign access and investment in the 2010s and roll outs 4G and limited 5G network infrastructures; infrastructure expansion has been challenged by armed conflict, severe weather events, unreliable electricity, inefficient bureaucracy, and decreased foreign investment since the 2021 military coup; digital divide affects rural areas; fixed broadband remains low due to number of fixed-lines and widespread installation of the mobile network platforms; multiple m-banking platforms; tests for NB-IoT; benefit from launch of regional satellite; government censors online content and restricts Internet and mobile network quality in political crisis (2023)
Domestic: fixed-line is just under 1 per 100, while mobile-cellular is roughly 126 per 100 (2021)
International: country code - 95; landing points for the SeaMeWe-3, SeaMeWe-5, AAE-1 and Singapore-Myanmar optical telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia and Europe; satellite earth stations - 2, Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and ShinSat (2019)
Government controls all domestic broadcast media; 2 state-controlled TV stations with 1 of the stations controlled by the armed forces; 2 pay-TV stations are joint state-private ventures; 1 state-controlled domestic radio station and 9 FM stations that are joint state-private ventures; transmissions of several international broadcasters are available in parts of Burma; the Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia (RFA), BBC Burmese service, the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), and Radio Australia use shortwave to broadcast in Burma; VOA, RFA, and DVB produce daily TV news programs that are transmitted by satellite to audiences in Burma; in March 2017, the government granted licenses to 5 private broadcasters, allowing them digital free-to-air TV channels to be operated in partnership with government-owned Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) and will rely upon MRTV’s transmission infrastructure; following the February 2021 military coup, the regime revoked the media licenses of most independent outlets, including the free-to-air licenses for DVB and Mizzima (2022)
.mm
Total: 23.76 million (2021 est.)
Percent of population: 44% (2021 est.)
Total: 688,185 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2020 est.)
Number of registered air carriers: 8 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 42
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 3,407,788 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 4.74 million (2018) mt-km
XY
73 (2024)
6 (2024)
3,739 km gas, 1321 km oil (2017)
Total: 5,031 km (2008)
Narrow gauge: 5,031 km (2008) 1.000-m gauge
Total: 157,000 km (2013)
Paved: 57,840 km (2017)
Unpaved: 99,160 km (2017)
12,800 km (2011)
Total: 101 (2023)
By type: bulk carrier 1, general cargo 44, oil tanker 5, other 51
Total ports: 7 (2024)
Large: 0
Medium: 0
Small: 5
Very small: 2
Ports with oil terminals: 3
Key ports: Bassein, Mergui, Moulmein Harbor, Rangoon, Sittwe
Burmese Defense Service (aka Armed Forces of Burma, Myanmar Army, Royal Armed Forces, the Tatmadaw, or the Sit-Tat): Army (Tatmadaw Kyi), Navy (Tatmadaw Yay), Air Force (Tatmadaw Lay); People’s Militia
Ministry of Home Affairs: Burma (People's) Police Force, Border Guard Forces/Police (2023)
Note 1: under the 2008 constitution, the Tatmadaw controls appointments of senior officials to lead the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Border Affairs, and the Ministry of Home Affairs; in March 2022, a new law gave the commander-in-chief of the Tatmadaw the authority to appoint or remove the head of the police force
Note 2: the Burma Police Force is primarily responsible for internal security; the Border Guard Police is administratively part of the Burma Police Force but operationally distinct; both are under the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is led by an active-duty military general and itself subordinate to the military command
3.9% of GDP (2023 est.)
3.6% of GDP (2022 est.)
3.5% of GDP (2021 est.)
3% of GDP (2020 est.)
4.1% of GDP (2019 est.)
Estimates vary widely, from approximately 150,000 to as many as 400,000 active personnel (2023)
The Burmese military inventory is comprised mostly of older Chinese and Russian/Soviet-era equipment with a smaller mix of more modern acquisitions from a variety of countries; in recent years, China and Russia have been the leading suppliers of military hardware; Burma has a limited defense industry, including a growing shipbuilding capability and some production of ground force equipment that is largely based on Chinese and Russian designs (2023)
18-35 years of age (men) and 18-27 years of age (women) for voluntary and conscripted military service; 24-month service obligation; conscripted professional men (ages 18-45) and women (ages 18-35), including doctors, engineers, and mechanics, serve up to 36 months; service terms may be extended to 60 months in an officially declared emergency (2024)
Note: in February 2024, the military government announced that the People’s Military Service Law requiring mandatory military service would go into effect; the Service Law was first introduced in 2010 but had not previously been enforced; the military government also said that it intended to call up about 60,000 men and women annually for mandatory service; during the ongoing insurgency, the military has recruited men 18-60 to serve in local militias
Since the country’s founding, the Tatmadaw has been heavily involved in domestic politics and the national economy; it ran the country for five decades following a military coup in 1962; prior to the most recent coup in 2021, the military already controlled three key security ministries (Defense, Border, and Home Affairs), one of two vice presidential appointments, 25% of the parliamentary seats, and had a proxy political party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP); it owns and operates two business conglomerates that have over 100 subsidiaries; the business activities of these conglomerates include banking and insurance, hotels, tourism, jade and ruby mining, timber, construction, real estate, and the production of palm oil, sugar, soap, cement, beverages, drinking water, coal, and gas; some of the companies supply goods and services to the military, such as food, clothing, insurance, and cellphone service; the military also manages a film industry, publishing houses, and television stations
The Tatmadaw's primary operational focus is internal security, and it is conducting counterinsurgency operations against anti-regime forces that launched an armed rebellion following the 2021 coup and an array of ethnic armed groups (EAGs), some of which have considerable military capabilities; it has been accused of committing atrocities in the conduct of its campaign against the pro-democracy movement and opposition forces
The military is supported by hundreds of pro-government militias; some are integrated within the Tatmadaw’s command structure as Border Guard Forces, which are organized as battalions with a mix of militia forces, EAGs, and government soldiers that are armed, supplied, and paid by the Tatmadaw; other pro-military government militias are not integrated within the Tatmadaw command structure but receive direction and some support from the military and are recognized as government militias; a third type of pro-government militias are small community-based units that are armed, coordinated, and trained by local Tatmadaw forces and activated as needed; the military regime has attempted to raise new militia units to help combat the popular uprising
EAGs have been fighting for self-rule against the Burmese Government since 1948; there are approximately 20 such groups operating in Burma with strengths of a few hundred up to more than 25,000 estimated fighters; some are organized along military lines with "brigades" and "divisions" and armed with heavy weaponry, including artillery; they control large tracts of the country’s territory, primarily in the border regions; key groups include the United Wa State Army, Karen National Union, Kachin Independence Army, Arakan Army, Ta’ang National Liberation Army, and the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army
The opposition National Unity Government claims its armed wing, the People's Defense Force (PDF), has more than 60,000 fighters loosely organized into battalions; in addition, several EAGs have cooperated with the NUG and supported local PDF groups (2023)
IDPs: 1.975 million (government offensives against armed ethnic minority groups near its borders with China and Thailand, natural disasters, forced land evictions) (2023)
Stateless persons: 600,000 (2022); note - Rohingya Muslims, living predominantly in Rakhine State, are Burma's main group of stateless people; the Burmese Government does not recognize the Rohingya as a "national race" and stripped them of their citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship Law, categorizing them as "non-nationals" or "foreign residents;" under the Rakhine State Action Plan drafted in October 2014, the Rohingya must demonstrate their family has lived in Burma for at least 60 years to qualify for a lesser naturalized citizenship and the classification of Bengali or be put in detention camps and face deportation; native-born but non-indigenous people, such as Indians, are also stateless; the Burmese Government does not grant citizenship to children born outside of the country to Burmese parents who left the country illegally or fled persecution, such as those born in Thailand; the number of stateless persons has decreased dramatically because hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since 25 August 2017 to escape violence
Tier rating: Tier 3 — Burma does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, Burma remained on Tier 3; the regime reported investigating and convicting more traffickers, sentencing some to imprisonment, and conducting an awareness-raising event; the 2022 anti-trafficking law was enacted, criminalizing all forms of labor and sex trafficking; however, the regime did not identify or screen for any victims and, as a result, penalized victims for unlawful acts committed as a result of being trafficked; the military continued to use children and adults in forced labor; the regime did not prosecute any military or deposed government officials despite continued reports of complicity in trafficking, and it prevented civil society organizations from assisting victims; displacement resulting from military conflict, exacerbated by the February 2021 military coup that deposed the democratically elected government, made Rohingya and other ethnic groups more vulnerable to human trafficking; efforts to combat trafficking continued to decline dramatically since the coup, as the military regime shifted its focus from serving justice to persecuting pro-democracy opposition (2023)
Source of precursor or essential chemicals used in the production of illicit narcotics; narcotics produced in Burma trafficked throughout the region, with routes extending beyond Southeast Asia to Australia, New Zealand, and Japan; largest opium poppy cultivator globally with an estimated 47,100 hectares grown in 2023; not a major source or transit country for drugs entering the United States; domestic consumption of synthetic drug cocktails such as Yaba, “Happy Water,” and “Wei Tiong” (mixtures of drugs including caffeine, methamphetamine, tramadol, and MDMA) popular among the younger population and domestic drug consumption substantial and widespread. (2021)