BURMA
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 678,500 km2; land area: 657,740 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries: 5,876 km total; Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km,
India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km
Coastline: 1,930 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
Exclusive 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: arable land 15%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
1%; forest and woodland 49%; other 34%; includes irrigated 2%
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: 42,112,082 (July 1991), growth rate 2.0% (1991)
Birth rate: 32 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 95 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 53 years male, 56 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 4.1 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Burmese; adjective--Burmese
Ethnic divisions: Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%,
Chinese 3%, Mon 2%, Indian 2%, other 5%
Religion: Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic
1%), Muslim 4%, animist beliefs 1%, other 2%
Language: Burmese; minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Literacy: 81% (male 89%, female 72%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force: 16,036,000; agriculture 65.2%, industry 14.3%, trade
10.1%, government 6.3%, other 4.1% (FY89 est.)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Union of Burma; note--the local official name is
Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw which has been translated by the US
Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar
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 Gen. SAW MAUNG (since 18 September 1988)
Political parties and leaders:
National Unity Party (NUP; proregime), THA KYAW;
National League for Democracy (NLD), U TIN OO and AUNG SAN SUU KYI;
League for Democracy and Peace, U NU
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
People's Assembly--last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never
convened;
results--NLD 80%;
seats--(485 total) NLD 396, the regime-favored NUP 10, other 79
Communists: several hundred (est.) in Burma Communist Party (BCP)
Other political or pressure groups: Kachin Independence Army (KIA),
United Wa State Army (UWSA), Karen National Union (KNU), several Shan
factions, including the Shan United Army (SUA) (all ethnically-based
insurgent groups)
Member of: AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, 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 (vacant); Deputy Chief of Mission Franklin P.
HUDDLE, Jr.; 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 a poor Asian country, with a per capita GDP
of about $400. The nation has been unable to achieve any substantial
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 half of GDP and provides employment for 66% of the work force.
GDP: $16.8 billion, per capita $408; real growth rate NEGL%
(FY90 est.)
partners--Southeast Asia, India, China, EC, Africa
Imports: $540 million (c.i.f., FY89)
commodities--machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, food
products;
partners--Japan, EC, China, Southeast Asia
External debt: $5.5 billion (December 1990 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 2.6% (FY90 est.); accounts
for 10% of GDP
Electricity: 950,000 kW capacity; 2,900 million kWh produced,
70 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood
and wood products; petroleum refining; mining of copper, tin, tungsten,
iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer
Agriculture: accounts for 51% of GDP (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 teak account for 55% of export revenues; fish catch of
732,000 metric tons (FY90)
Illicit drugs: world's largest illicit producer of opium poppy
and minor producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; opium
production is on the increase as growers respond to the collapse
of Rangoon's antinarcotic programs
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $158
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $3.9 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $424 million
Civil air: 17 major transport aircraft (including 3 helicopters)
Airports: 86 total, 79 usable; 29 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 37
with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: meets minimum requirements for local and
intercity service; international service is good; radiobroadcast coverage
is limited to the most populous areas; 53,000 telephones (1986);
stations--2 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV (1985); 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force
Manpower availability: eligible 15-49, 20,766,975; of the
10,378,743 males 15-49, 5,566,247 are fit for military service; of the
10,388,232 females 15-49, 5,558,007 are fit for military service; 442,200
males and 431,407 females reach military age (18) annually; both sexes
are liable for military service
Defense expenditures: $315.0 million, 3% of GDP (FY88)
