PeoplePopulation: 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 (association), 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* (yin-mya, singular—yin) and
7 states (pyine-mya, singular—pyine); Chin State, Irrawaddy*, Kachin State,
Karan State, Kayah State, Magwe*, Mandalay*, Mon State, Pegu*, Rakhine State,
Rangoon*, Sagaing*, Shan State, Tenasserim*
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)
Budget: revenues $4.9 billion; expenditures $5.0 billion, including capital expenditures of $0.7 billion (FY89 est.)
Exports: $311 million (f.o.b., FY88 est.) commodities—teak, rice, oilseed, metals, rubber, gems; partners—Southeast Asia, India, China, EC, Africa
Imports: $536 million (c.i.f., FY88 est.) commodities—machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, food products; partners—Japan, EC, CEMA, China, Southeast Asia
External debt: $5.6 billion (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate - 1.5% (FY88)
Electricity: 950,000 kW capacity; 2,900 million kWh produced, 70 kWh per capita (1989)
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 about 40% 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%
