Burma (2001) | Greece (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 divisions* (yin-mya, singular - yin) and 7 states (pyine-mya, singular - pyine); Chin State, Ayeyarwady*, Bago*, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Magway*, Mandalay*, Mon State, Rakhine State, Sagaing*, Shan State, Tanintharyi*, Yangon* | 51 prefectures (nomoi, singular - nomos) and 1 autonomous region*; Agion Oros* (Mt. Athos), Achaia, Aitolia kai Akarmania, Argolis, Arkadia, Arta, Attiki, Chalkidiki, Chanion, Chios, Dodekanisos, Drama, Evros, Evrytania, Evvoia, Florina, Fokidos, Fthiotis, Grevena, Ileia, Imathia, Ioannina, Irakleion, Karditsa, Kastoria, Kavala, Kefallinia, Kerkyra, Kilkis, Korinthia, Kozani, Kyklades, Lakonia, Larisa, Lasithi, Lefkas, Lesvos, Magnisia, Messinia, Pella, Pieria, Preveza, Rethynnis, Rodopi, Samos, Serrai, Thesprotia, Thessaloniki, Trikala, Voiotia, Xanthi, Zakynthos |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
29.14% (male 6,245,798; female 5,992,074) 15-64 years: 66.08% (male 13,779,571; female 13,970,707) 65 years and over: 4.78% (male 895,554; female 1,110,974) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.4% (male 791,227/female 744,178)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 3,561,689/female 3,564,675) 65 years and over: 18.8% (male 884,497/female 1,122,088) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, pulses; hardwood | wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, olives, tomatoes, wine, tobacco, potatoes; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 80 (2000 est.) | 80 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
9 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 66
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 9 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
71 over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 32 (2000 est.) |
total: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 11 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
678,500 sq km land: 657,740 sq km water: 20,760 sq km |
total: 131,940 sq km
land: 130,800 sq km water: 1,140 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly smaller than Alabama |
Background | Despite multiparty elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party winning a decisive victory, the military junta ruling the country refused to hand over power. Key opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG San Suu Kyi, under house arrest from 1989 to 1995, was again placed under house detention in September 2000; her supporters are routinely harassed or jailed. | Greece achieved its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands and territories, most with Greek-speaking populations. In World War II, Greece was first invaded by Italy (1940) and subsequently occupied by Germany (1941-44); fighting endured in a protracted civil war between royalist supporters of the king and communist rebels. Following the latter's defeat in 1949, Greece was able to join NATO in 1952. A military dictatorship, which in 1967 suspended many political liberties and forced the king to flee the country, lasted seven years. The 1974 democratic elections and a referendum created a parliamentary republic and abolished the monarchy. Greece joined the European Community or EC in 1981 (which became the EU in 1992); it became the 12th member of the euro zone in 2001. |
Birth rate | 20.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.72 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$7.9 billion expenditures: $12.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (FY96/97) |
revenues: $54.39 billion
expenditures: $64.4 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Rangoon (regime refers to the capital as Yangon) | Athens |
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) | temperate; mild, wet winters; hot, dry summers |
Coastline | 1,930 km | 13,676 km |
Constitution | 3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); national convention started on 9 January 1993 to draft a new constitution; progress has since been stalled | 11 June 1975; amended March 1986 and April 2001 |
Country name | 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 |
conventional long form: Hellenic Republic
conventional short form: Greece local long form: Elliniki Dhimokratia local short form: Ellas or Ellada former: Kingdom of Greece |
Currency | kyat (MMK) | - |
Death rate | 12.3 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $6 billion (FY99/00 est.) | $67.23 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Permanent Charge d'Affaires Priscilla A. CLAPP embassy: 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521) mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96546 telephone: [95] (1) 282055, 282182 FAX: [95] (1) 280409 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles RIES
embassy: 91 Vasilissis Sophias Avenue, 10160 Athens mailing address: PSC 108, APO AE 09842-0108 telephone: [30] (210) 721-2951 FAX: [30] (210) 645-6282 consulate(s) general: Thessaloniki |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate U LINN MYAING chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9044 FAX: [1] (202) 332-9046 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Yeoryios SAVVAIDIS
chancery: 2221 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-1300 FAX: [1] (202) 939-1324 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Tampa consulate(s): Atlanta, Houston, and New Orleans |
Disputes - international | sporadic border hostilities with Thailand over border alignment and ethnic Shan rebels operating in cross-border region | Greece and Turkey continue discussions to resolve their complex maritime, air, territorial, and boundary disputes in the Aegean Sea; Cyprus question with Turkey; Greece rejects the use of the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia |
Economic aid - recipient | $99 million (FY98/99) | $8 billion from EU (2000-06) |
Economy - overview | Burma has a mixed economy with private activity dominant in agriculture, light industry, and transport, and with substantial state-controlled activity, mainly in energy, heavy industry, and the rice trade. Government policy in the 1990s has aimed at revitalizing the economy after three decades of tight central planning. Private activity markedly increased in the early to mid-1990s, but began to decline in the past several years due to frustrations with the unfriendly business environment and political pressure from western nations. Published estimates of Burma's foreign trade are greatly understated because of the volume of black-market, illicit, and border trade. A major ongoing problem is the failure to achieve monetary and fiscal stability. Burma remains a poor Asian country and living standards for the majority have not improved over the past decade. Short-term growth will continue to be restrained because of poor government planning and minimal foreign investment. | Greece has a capitalist economy with the public sector accounting for about 40% of GDP and with per capita GDP 70% of the leading euro-zone economies. Tourism provides 15% of GDP. Immigrants make up nearly one-fifth of the work force, mainly in menial jobs. Greece is a major beneficiary of EU aid, equal to about 3.3% of annual GDP. The Greek economy grew by about 4.0% for the past two years, largely because of an investment boom and infrastructure upgrades for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Despite strong growth, Greece has failed to meet the EU's Growth and Stability Pact budget deficit criteria of 3% of GDP since 2000; public debt, inflation, and unemployment are also above the eurozone average. Further restructuring of the economy will need to include privatizing of several state enterprises, undertaking pension and other reforms, and minimizing bureaucratic inefficiencies. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.476 billion kWh (1999) | 47.42 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 1.1 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 4.6 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 4.813 billion kWh (1999) | 47.22 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
68.56% hydro: 31.44% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Andaman Sea 0 m highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease | air pollution; water pollution |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds |
Ethnic groups | Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Mon 2%, Indian 2%, other 5% | Greek 98%, other 2%
note: the Greek Government states there are no ethnic divisions in Greece |
Exchange rates | kyats per US dollar - official rate - 6.5972 (January 2001), 6.5167 (2000), 6.2858 (1999), 6.3432 (1998), 6.2418 (1997), 5.9176 (1996); kyats per US dollar - black market exchange rate - 435 (yearend 2000) | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992); note - the prime minister is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992); note - the prime minister is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: State Peace and Development Council (SPDC); military junta, so named 15 November 1997, which initially assumed power 18 September 1988 under the name State Law and Order Restoration Council; the SPDC oversees the cabinet elections: none; the prime minister assumed power upon resignation of the former prime minister |
chief of state: President Karolos PAPOULIAS (since 12 March 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Konstandinos KARAMANLIS (since 7 March 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by parliament for a five-year term; election last held 8 February 2005 (next to be held by February 2010); according to the Greek Constitution, presidents may only serve two terms; president appoints leader of the party securing plurality of vote in election to become prime minister and form a government election results: Karolos PAPOULIAS elected president; number of parlimentary votes, 279 out of 300 |
Exports | $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999) | 84,720 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | apparel 36%, foodstuffs 22%, wood products 21%, precious stones 5% (1999) | food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles |
Exports - partners | India 13%, Singapore 11%, China 11%, US 8% (1999 est.)
note: official trade statistics do not include trade in illicit goods - such as narcotics, teak, and gems - or the largely unrecorded border trade with China and Thailand |
Germany 13.2%, Italy 10.3%, UK 7.5%, Bulgaria 6.3%, US 5.3%, Cyprus 4.6%, Turkey 4.5%, France 4.2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; there is a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white cross; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the country |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $63.7 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
42% industry: 17% services: 41% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 22% services: 71% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $21,300 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2000 est.) | 3.7% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 N, 98 00 E | 39 00 N, 22 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes | strategic location dominating the Aegean Sea and southern approach to Turkish Straits; a peninsular country, possessing an archipelago of about 2,000 islands |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | 7 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
28,200 km paved: 3,440 km unpaved: 24,760 km (1996) |
total: 117,000 km
paved: 107,406 km (including 470 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,594 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.8% highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 28.3% (1998 est.) |
Illicit drugs | world's second largest producer of illicit opium, after Afghanistan (potential production in 1999 - 1,090 metric tons, down 38% due to drought; cultivation in 1999 - 89,500 hectares, a 31% decline from 1998); surrender of drug warlord KHUN SA's Mong Tai Army in January 1996 was hailed by Rangoon as a major counternarcotics success, but lack of government will and ability to take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort; becoming a major source of methamphetamine for regional consumption | a gateway to Europe for traffickers smuggling cannabis and heroin from the Middle East and Southwest Asia to the West and precursor chemicals to the East; some South American cocaine transits or is consumed in Greece; money laundering related to drug trafficking and organized crime |
Imports | $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1999) | 468,300 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, food products | machinery, transport equipment, fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Singapore 28%, Thailand 12%, China 10%, Japan 10%, South Korea 9% (1999 est.) | Germany 13.3%, Italy 12.8%, France 6.4%, Netherlands 5.5%, Russia 5.5%, US 4.4%, UK 4.2%, South Korea 4.1% (2004) |
Independence | 4 January 1948 (from UK) | 1829 (from the Ottoman Empire) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 4.1% (2004 est.) |
Industries | agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer | tourism; food and tobacco processing, textiles; chemicals, metal products; mining, petroleum |
Infant mortality rate | 73.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 5.53 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 18% (1999) | 2.9% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, G- 6, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1
note: as of September 2000, Internet connections were legal only for the government, tourist offices, and a few large businesses (2000) |
- |
Irrigated land | 10,680 sq km (1993 est.) | 14,220 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | 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 | Supreme Judicial Court; Special Supreme Tribunal; all judges appointed for life by the president after consultation with a judicial council |
Labor force | 19.7 million (FY98/99 est.) | 4.4 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65%, industry 10%, services 25% (1999 est.) | agriculture 12%, industry 20%, services 68% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
5,876 km border countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km |
total: 1,228 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Turkey 206 km, Macedonia 246 km |
Land use | arable land:
15% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 49% other: 34% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 21.1%
permanent crops: 8.78% other: 70.12% (2001) |
Languages | Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages | Greek 99% (official), English, French |
Legal system | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on codified Roman law; judiciary divided into civil, criminal, and administrative courts |
Legislative branch | unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw (485 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NLD 392, SNLD 23, NUP 10, other 60 |
unicameral Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: elections last held 7 March 2004 (next to be held by March 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - ND 45.4%, PASOK 40.6%, KKE 5.9%, Synaspismos 3.3%; seats by party - ND 165, PASOK 117, KKE 12, Synaspismos 6 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
55.16 years male: 53.73 years female: 56.68 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 79.09 years
male: 76.59 years female: 81.76 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.1% male: 88.7% female: 77.7% (1995 est.) note: these are official statistics; estimates of functional literacy are likely closer to 30% (1999 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.5% male: 98.6% female: 96.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand | Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total:
37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 411,181 GRT/632,769 DWT ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 20, container 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Japan 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 861 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 30,186,624 GRT/52,943,968 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 296, cargo 65, chemical tanker 47, combination ore/oil 2, container 46, liquefied gas 2, passenger 13, passenger/cargo 121, petroleum tanker 252, roll on/roll off 17 foreign-owned: 25 (Chile 1, China 1, Cyprus 5, Norway 6, Sweden 1, United Kingdom 11) registered in other countries: 2,208 (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Hellenic Army, Hellenic Navy, Hellenic Air Force (Polemiki Aeroporia, EPA) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $39 million (FY97/98) | $5.89 billion (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY97/98) | 4.3% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
12,050,964 females age 15-49: 12,070,017 note: both sexes liable for military service (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
6,425,514 females age 15-49: 6,419,677 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
470,667 females: 479,691 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 January (1948) | Independence Day, 25 March (1821) |
Nationality | noun:
Burmese (singular and plural) adjective: Burmese |
noun: Greek(s)
adjective: Greek |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts | severe earthquakes |
Natural resources | petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower | lignite, petroleum, iron ore, bauxite, lead, zinc, nickel, magnesite, marble, salt, hydropower potential |
Net migration rate | -1.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
People - note | - | women, men, and children are trafficked to and within Greece for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,343 km; natural gas 330 km | gas 1,166 km; oil 94 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, chairman, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, general secretary]; National Unity Party or NUP (proregime) [THA KYAW]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [U KHUN TUN OO]; Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (proregime, a social and political organization) [THAN AUNG, general secretary]; and other smaller parties | Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) [Alekos ALAVANOS]; Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Aleka PAPARIGA]; New Democracy or ND (conservative) [Konstandinos KARAMANLIS]; Panhellenic Socialist Movement or PASOK [Yiorgos PAPANDREOU]; Popular Orthodox Rally [Yeoryios KARATZAFERIS] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | All Burma Student Democratic Front or ABSDF; Kachin Independence Army or KIA; Karen National Union or KNU; National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB [Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals legitimately elected to the People's Assembly but not recognized by the military regime; the group fled to a border area and joined with insurgents in December 1990 to form a parallel government; several Shan factions; United Wa State Army or UWSA | General Confederation of Greek Workers or GSEE [Khristos POLYZOGOPOLOS]; Federation of Greek Industries or SEV [Odysseas KYRIAKOPOULOS]; Civil Servants Confederation or ADEDY [Spyros PAPASPYROS] |
Population | 41,994,678
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
10,668,354 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 23% (1997 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.6% (2001 est.) | 0.19% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bassein, Bhamo, Chauk, Mandalay, Moulmein, Myitkyina, Rangoon, Akyab (Sittwe), Tavoy | Agioitheodoroi, Aspropyrgos, Irakleion, Pachi, Peiraiefs, Thessaloniki |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 26, FM 88, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 4.2 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
3,991 km narrow gauge: 3,991 km 1.000-m gauge |
total: 2,571 km (764 km electrified)
standard gauge: 1,565 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 961 km 1.000-m gauge; 22 km 0.750-m gauge dual gauge: 23 km combined 1.435-m and 1.000-m gauges (three rail system) (2004) |
Religions | Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2% | Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7% |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is good domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: adequate, modern networks reach all areas; good mobile telephone and international service
domestic: microwave radio relay trunk system; extensive open-wire connections; submarine cable to offshore islands international: country code - 30; tropospheric scatter; 8 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 250,000 (2000) | 5,205,100 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,492 (1997) | 8,936,200 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1998) | 36 (plus 1,341 low-power repeaters); also two stations in the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (1995) |
Terrain | central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands | mostly mountains with ranges extending into the sea as peninsulas or chains of islands |
Total fertility rate | 2.3 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.33 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.1% (official FY97/98 est.) | 10% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 12,800 km
note: 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels |
6 km
note: Corinth Canal (6 km) crosses the Isthmus of Corinth; shortens sea voyage by 325 km (2004) |