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page last updated on October 4, 2012
Flag of Burma
(CONTAINS DESCRIPTION)
Location of Burma
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Map of Burma
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Introduction ::Burma
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Various ethnic Burmese and ethnic minority city-states or kingdoms occupied the present borders through the 19th century. Over a period of 62 years (1824-1886), Britain conquered Burma and incorporated the country into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; in 1948, Burma attained independence from the Commonwealth. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as self-appointed president, and later as political kingpin. In September 1988, the military deposed NE WIN and established a new ruling junta. Multiparty legislative elections in 1990 resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory. Instead of handing over power, the junta placed NLD leader (and Nobel Peace Prize recipient) AUNG SAN SUU KYI (ASSK) under house arrest from 1989 to 1995, 2000 to 2002, and from May 2003 to November 2010. In late September 2007, the ruling junta brutally suppressed protests over increased fuel prices led by prodemocracy activists and Buddhist monks, killing at least 13 people and arresting thousands for participating in the demonstrations. In early May 2008, Burma was struck by Cyclone Nargis, which left over 138,000 dead and tens of thousands injured and homeless. Despite this tragedy, the junta proceeded with its May constitutional referendum, the first vote in Burma since 1990. Parliamentary elections held in November 2010, considered flawed by many in the international community, saw the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party garnering over 75% of the seats. Parliament convened in January 2011 and selected former Prime Minister THEIN SEIN as president. Although the vast majority of national-level appointees named by THEIN SEIN are former or current military officers, the government has initiated a series of political and economic reforms leading to a substantial opening of the long-isolated country. These reforms have included a senior-level dialogue with ASSK, re-registering the NLD as a political party, enabling party members, including ASSK, to contest parliamentary by-elections on 1 April 2012, the release of many (but not all) political prisoners, preliminary peace agreements with some armed ethnic groups, a reduction in media censorship, and an increasingly open debate in the Parliament.
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Geography ::Burma
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Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand
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22 00 N, 98 00 E
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total: 676,578 sq km
country comparison to the world: 40
land: 653,508 sq km
water: 23,070 sq km
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slightly smaller than Texas
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total: 5,876 km
border countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km
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1,930 km
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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
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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)
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central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands
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lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m
highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m
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petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower
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arable land: 14.92%
permanent crops: 1.31%
other: 83.77% (2005)
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22,500 sq km (2003)
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1,045.6 cu km (1999)
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total: 33.23 cu km/yr (1%/1%/98%)
per capita: 658 cu m/yr (2000)
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destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts
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deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes
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People ::Burma
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noun: Burmese (singular and plural)
adjective: Burmese
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Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%
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Burmese (official)
note: minority ethnic groups have their own languages
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Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%
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54,584,650 (July 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24
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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
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0-14 years: 27.1% (male 7,534,762/ female 7,250,582)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 18,385,523/ female 18,627,115)
65 years and over: 5.1% (male 1,213,487/ female 1,573,181) (2012 est.)
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total: 27.2 years
male: 26.7 years
female: 27.8 years (2012 est.)
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1.07% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 111
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19.11 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 98
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8.1 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 95
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-0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 129
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urban population: 34% of total population (2010)
rate of urbanization: 2.9% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
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RANGOON (capital) 4.259 million; Mandalay 1.009 million; Nay Pyi Taw 992,000 (2009)
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at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2011 est.)
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200 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
country comparison to the world: 52
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total: 47.74 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 48
male: 54.51 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 40.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.)
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total population: 65.24 years
country comparison to the world: 168
male: 62.91 years
female: 67.71 years (2012 est.)
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2.23 children born/woman (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 102
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2% of GDP (2009)
country comparison to the world: 188
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0.457 physicians/1,000 population (2008)
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0.6 beds/1,000 population (2006)
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0.6% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 62
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240,000 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24
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18,000 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 17
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degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria
water contact disease: leptospirosis
animal contact disease: rabies
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)
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29.6% (2003)
country comparison to the world: 19
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NA
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89.9%
male: 93.9%
female: 86.4% (2006 est.)
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total: 9 years (2007)
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Government ::Burma
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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; the US Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw
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nominally civilian parliamentary government took power in March 2011
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name: Rangoon (Yangon)
geographic coordinates: 16 48 N, 96 09 E
time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
note: Nay Pyi Taw is the administrative capital
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7 regions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne)
regions: Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Yangon
states: Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine (Arakan), Shan
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4 January 1948 (from the UK)
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Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947)
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approved by referendum 29 May 2008; reformed by a series of acts in 2011
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mixed legal system of English common law (as introduced in codifications designed for colonial India) and customary law
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has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
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18 years of age; universal
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chief of state: President THEIN SEIN (since 4 February 2011); Vice President SAI MOUK KHAM (since 3 February 2011); Vice President NYAN HTUN (since 15 August 2012)
head of government: President THEIN SEIN (since 4 February 2011)
cabinet: cabinet is appointed by the president and confirmed by the parliament
(For more information visit the World Leaders website Opens in New Window)
elections: THEIN SEIN elected president by the parliament from among three vice presidents; the upper house, the lower house, and military members of the parliament each nominate one vice president (president serves a five-year term)
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bicameral, consists of the House of Nationalities [Amyotha Hluttaw] (224 seats, 168 directly elected and 56 appointed by the military; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Representatives [Pythu Hluttaw] (440 seats, 330 directly elected and 110 appointed by the military; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 7 November 2010 (next to be held in December 2015)
election results: House of Nationalities - percent of vote by party - USDP 74.8%, others (NUP, SNDP, RNDP, NDF, AMRDP) 25.2%; seats by party - USDP 129, others 39; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - USDP 79.6%, others (NUP, SNDP, RNDP, NDF, AMRDP) 20.4%; seats by party - USDP 259, others 71
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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; the 2011 constitution calls for a Supreme Court, a Courts-Martial, and a Constitutional Tribunal of the Union
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All Mon Region Democracy Party or AMRDP [NAING NGWE THEIN]; National Democratic Force or NDF [KHIN MAUNG SWE, Dr.THAN NYEIN]; National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SAN SUU KYI]; National Unity Party or NUP [TUN YE]; Rakhine Nationalities Development Party or RNDP [Dr. AYE MG]; Shan Nationalities Democratic Party [SAI AIKE PAUNG]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [HKUN HTUN OO]; Union Solidarity and Development Party or USDP [SHWE MANN, HTAY OO]; numerous smaller parties
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Thai border: Ethnic Nationalities Council or ENC; Federation of Trade Unions-Burma or FTUB (exile trade union and labor advocates); National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB (self-proclaimed government in exile) ["Prime Minister" Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals, some legitimately elected to the People's Assembly in 1990 (the group fled to a border area and joined insurgents in December 1990 to form a parallel government in exile); National Council-Union of Burma or NCUB (exile coalition of opposition groups)
Inside Burma: Kachin Independence Organization or KIO; Karen National Union or KNU; Karenni National People's Party or KNPP; United Wa State Army or UWSA; 88 Generation Students (pro-democracy movement); several other Chin, Karen, Mon, and Shan factions
note: freedom of expression has been highly restricted in Burma; the restrictions are being relaxed by the government; political groups, other than parties approved by the government, are limited in number
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ADB, ARF, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, NAM, OPCW (signatory), SAARC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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chief of mission: Ambassador THAN SWE
chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 332-3344
FAX: [1] (202) 332-4351
consulate(s) general: none; Burma has a Mission to the UN in New York
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chief of mission: Ambassador Derek J. MITCHELL
embassy: 110 University Avenue, Kamayut Township, Rangoon
mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96546
telephone: [95] (1) 536-509, 535-756, 538-038
FAX: [95] (1) 650-306
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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
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chinthe (mythical lion)
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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
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Economy ::Burma
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Burma, a resource-rich country, suffers from pervasive government controls, inefficient economic policies, corruption, and rural poverty. Despite Burma's emergence as a natural gas exporter, socio-economic conditions have deteriorated under the mismanagement of the previous regime. Approximately 32% of the population lives in poverty and Burma is the poorest country in Southeast Asia. The business climate is widely perceived as opaque, corrupt, and highly inefficient. Wealth from country's ample natural resources is concentrated in the hands of an elite group of military leaders and business associates. In 2010-11, the transfer of state assets - especially real estate - to military families under the guise of a privatization policy further widened the gap between the economic elite and the public. The economy suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including multiple official exchange rates that overvalue the Burmese kyat, fiscal deficits, lack of commercial credit further distorted by a non-market interest rate regime, unpredictable inflation, unreliable economic data, and an inability to reconcile national accounts. Burma's poor investment climate - including weak rule of law - hampers the inflow of foreign investment; in recent years, foreign investors have shied away from nearly every sector except for natural gas, power generation, timber, and mining. The exploitation of natural resources does not benefit the population at large. The most productive sectors will continue to be in extractive industries - especially oil and gas, mining, and timber - with the latter two causing significant environmental degradation. Other areas, such as manufacturing, tourism, and services, struggle in the face of poor infrastructure, unpredictable trade policies, undeveloped human resources (the result of neglected health and education systems), endemic corruption, and inadequate access to capital for investment. Private banks still operate under tight domestic and international restrictions, limiting the private sector's access to credit. The United States, the European Union, and Canada have imposed financial and economic sanctions on Burma. US sanctions, prohibiting most financial transactions with Burmese entities, impose travel bans on senior Burmese military and civilian leaders and others connected to the ruling regime, and ban imports of Burmese products. These sanctions affect the country's fledgling garment industry, isolate the struggling banking sector, and raise the costs of doing business with Burmese companies, particularly firms tied to Burmese regime leaders. Remittances from overseas Burmese workers - who had provided significant financial support for their families - have driven the Ministry of Finance to license domestic banks to carry out overseas operations. In 2011 the government took initial steps toward reforming and opening up the economy by lowering export taxes, easing restrictions on its financial sector, and reaching out to international organizations for assistance. Although the Burmese government has good economic relations with its neighbors, significant improvements in economic governance, the business climate, and the political situation are needed to promote serious foreign investment.
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$83.74 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 77
$79.4 billion (2010 est.)
$75.38 billion (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2011 US dollars
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$51.93 billion (2011 est.)
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5.5% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 59
5.3% (2010 est.)
5.1% (2009 est.)
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$1,300 (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 206
$1,300 (2010 est.)
$1,300 (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2011 US dollars
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agriculture: 38.2%
industry: 18.2%
services: 43.6% (2011 est.)
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32.53 million (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19
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agriculture: 70%
industry: 7%
services: 23% (2001 est.)
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5.5% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54
5.7% (2010 est.)
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32.7% (2007 est.)
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lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.4% (1998)
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15.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 132
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revenues: $2.016 billion
expenditures: $4.272 billion (2011 est.)
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3.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 214
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-4.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 141
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5.2% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 136
7.7% (2010 est.)
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9.95% (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 17
12% (31 December 2009 est.)
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16.33% (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 31
17% (31 December 2010 est.)
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$8.531 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 82
$6.533 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
note: this number reflects the vastly overvalued official exchange rate of 5.38 kyat per dollar in 2007; at the unofficial black market rate of 1,305 kyat per dollar for 2007, the stock of kyats would equal only US$2.465 billion and Burma's velocity of money (the number of times money turns over in the course of a year) would be six, in line with the velocity of money for other countries in the region; in January-February 2011, the unofficial black market rate averaged 890 kyat per dollar.
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$2.178 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10
$10.89 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
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$15.66 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 89
$11.83 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
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$NA
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rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; fish and fish products; hardwood
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agricultural processing; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; cement, construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; oil and natural gas; garments, jade and gems
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4.3% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 76
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$111 million (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54
$1.527 billion (2010 est.)
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$8.206 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 101
$7.831 billion (2010 est.)
note: official export figures are grossly underestimated due to the value of timber, gems, narcotics, rice, and other products smuggled to Thailand, China, and Bangladesh
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natural gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice, clothing, jade and gems
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Thailand 37.1%, China 19%, India 12.3%, Japan 6.7% (2011)
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$5.982 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 122
$4.376 billion (2010 est.)
note: import figures are grossly underestimated due to the value of consumer goods, diesel fuel, and other products smuggled in from Thailand, China, Malaysia, and India
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fabric, petroleum products, fertilizer, plastics, machinery, transport equipment; cement, construction materials, crude oil; food products, edible oil
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China 39.2%, Thailand 22.9%, Singapore 9.8%, South Korea 5.4%, Japan 4.1% (2011)
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$3.931 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 98
$3.763 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
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$5.811 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 109
$6.352 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
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kyats (MMK) per US dollar -
5.39 (2011 est.)
5.58 (2010 est.)
1,055 (2009)
1,205 (2008)
1,296 (2007)
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1 April - 31 March
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Energy ::Burma
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5.708 billion kWh (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 114
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3.794 billion kWh (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 122
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0 kWh (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 167
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0 kWh (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 164
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1.86 million kW (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 103
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67.7% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 115
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0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 53
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32.3% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 69
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0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 112
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20,200 bbl/day (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 70
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880 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 64
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0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 161
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50 million bbl (1 January 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 79
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16,700 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 99
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40,620 bbl/day (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 108
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0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 157
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12,730 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 127
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12.1 billion cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 39
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3.29 billion cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 69
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8.81 billion cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24
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0 cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 164
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283.2 billion cu m (1 January 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
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12.8 million Mt (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 95
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Communications ::Burma
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521,100 (2011)
country comparison to the world: 97
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1.244 million (2011)
country comparison to the world: 150
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general assessment: meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government
domestic: system barely capable of providing basic service; mobile-cellular phone system is grossly underdeveloped
international: country code - 95; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 optical telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; satellite earth stations - 2, Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and ShinSat (2011)
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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; access to satellite TV is limited; 1 state-controlled domestic radio station and 6 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, and the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) use shortwave to send broadcasts into Burma; VOA, RFA, and DVB produce daily TV news programs that are transmitted by satellite to audiences in Burma (2009)
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.mm
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1,033 (2010)
country comparison to the world: 171
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110,000 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 158
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Transportation ::Burma
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74 (2012)
country comparison to the world: 73
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total: 36
over 3,047 m: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 12
under 914 m: 1 (2012)
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total: 38
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 10
under 914 m: 23 (2012)
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9 (2012)
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gas 3,046 km; oil 551 km (2010)
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total: 5,031 km
country comparison to the world: 36
narrow gauge: 5,031 km 1.000-m gauge (2008)
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total: 27,000 km
country comparison to the world: 101
paved: 3,200 km
unpaved: 23,800 km (2006)
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12,800 km (2011)
country comparison to the world: 10
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total: 29
country comparison to the world: 86
by type: cargo 22, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 1
foreign-owned: 2 (Germany 1, Japan 1)
registered in other countries: 3 (Panama 3) (2010)
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Moulmein, Rangoon, Sittwe
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Military ::Burma
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Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw): Army (Tatmadaw Kyi), Navy (Tatmadaw Yay), Air Force (Tatmadaw Lay) (2011)
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18-35 years of age (men) and 18-27 years of age (women) for compulsory military service; service obligation 2 years; male (ages 18-45) and female (ages 18-35) professionals (including doctors, engineers, mechanics) serve up to 3 years; service terms may be extended to 5 years in an officially declared emergency; forced conscription of children, although officially prohibited, reportedly continues; on 27 June 2012, the regime signed a Joint Action Plan on prevention of child recruitment (2012)
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males age 16-49: 14,747,845
females age 16-49: 14,710,871 (2010 est.)
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males age 16-49: 10,451,515
females age 16-49: 11,181,537 (2010 est.)
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male: 522,478
female: 506,388 (2010 est.)
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2.1% of GDP (2005 est.)
country comparison to the world: 67
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Transnational Issues ::Burma
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over half of Burma's population consists of diverse ethnic groups who have substantial numbers of kin in neighboring countries; the Naf river on the border with Bangladesh serves as a smuggling and illegal transit route; Bangladesh struggles to accommodate 29,000 Rohingya, Burmese Muslim minority from Arakan State, living as refugees in Cox's Bazar; Burmese border authorities are constructing a 200 km (124 mi) wire fence designed to deter illegal cross-border transit and tensions from the military build-up along border with Bangladesh in 2010; Bangladesh referred its maritime boundary claims with Burma and India to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea; Burmese forces attempting to dig in to the largely autonomous Shan State to rout local militias tied to the drug trade, prompts local residents to periodically flee into neighboring Yunnan Province in China; fencing along the India-Burma international border at Manipur's Moreh town is in progress to check illegal drug trafficking and movement of militants; 140,000 mostly Karen refugees fleeing civil strife, political upheaval and economic stagnation in Burma live in remote camps in Thailand near the border
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IDPs: more than 450,000 (government offensives against armed ethnic minority groups near its borders with China and Thailand) (2012)
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current situation: Burma is a source country for women, children, and men trafficked for the purpose of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation; Burmese women and children are trafficked to East and Southeast Asia for commercial sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced labor; Burmese children are subjected to conditions of forced labor in Thailand as hawkers and beggars; women are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation to Malaysia and China; some trafficking victims transit Burma from Bangladesh to Malaysia and from China to Thailand; Burma's internal trafficking remains the most serious concern occurring primarily from villages to urban centers and economic hubs for labor in industrial zones, agricultural estates, and commercial sexual exploitation; the Burmese military continues to engage in the unlawful conscription of child soldiers, and continues to be the main perpetrator of forced labor inside Burma; a small number of foreign pedophiles occasionally exploit Burmese children in the country
tier rating: Tier 3 - the driving factors behind Burma's significant trafficking problem are the regime's gross economic mismanagement and human rights abuses, the military's continued widespread use of forced and child labor, and the recruitment of child soldiers; although the government of Burma has taken some steps to address cross-border sex trafficking, it has not demonstrated serious and sustained efforts to clamp down on military and local authorities who are themselves deriving economic benefit from forced labor practices (2010)
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world's third largest producer of illicit opium with an estimated production in 2009 of 250 metric tons, a decrease of 27%, and poppy cultivation in 2009 totaled 17,000 hectares, a 24% decrease from 2008; production in the United Wa State Army's areas of greatest control remains low; Shan state is the source of 94.5% of Burma's poppy cultivation; lack of government will to take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort; major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption (2008)
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  The online Factbook is updated weekly. ISSN 1553-8133
For additional information on government leaders in selected foreign countries, go to World Leaders.