Burma (2001) | Uganda (2002) | |
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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* | 45 districts; Adjumani, Apac, Arua, Bugiri, Bundibugyo, Bushenyi, Busia, Gulu, Hoima, Iganga, Jinja, Kabale, Kabarole, Kalangala, Kampala, Kamuli, Kapchorwa, Kasese, Katakwi, Kibale, Kiboga, Kisoro, Kitgum, Kotido, Kumi, Lira, Luwero, Masaka, Masindi, Mbale, Mbarara, Moroto, Moyo, Mpigi, Mubende, Mukono, Nakasongola, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Pallisa, Rakai, Rukungiri, Sembabule, Soroti, Tororo
note: there may be eleven more districts: Kaberamaido, Kamwenge, Kanungu, Kayunga, Kyenjojo, Mayngc, Nakapiripiti, Pader, Sironko, Wakiso, Yumbe |
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: 50.9% (male 6,314,371; female 6,265,681)
15-64 years: 47% (male 5,803,430; female 5,789,713) 65 years and over: 2.1% (male 247,798; female 278,080) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, pulses; hardwood | coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco, cassava (tapioca), potatoes, corn, millet, pulses; beef, goat meat, milk, poultry, cut flowers |
Airports | 80 (2000 est.) | 27 (2001) |
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: 4
over 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 23
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
Area | total:
678,500 sq km land: 657,740 sq km water: 20,760 sq km |
total: 236,040 sq km
land: 199,710 sq km water: 36,330 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly smaller than Oregon |
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. | Uganda achieved independence from the UK in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi AMIN (1971-79) was responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton OBOTE (1980-85) claimed another 100,000 lives. During the 1990s the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections. |
Birth rate | 20.13 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 47.15 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$7.9 billion expenditures: $12.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (FY96/97) |
revenues: $959 million
expenditures: $1.04 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.) |
Capital | Rangoon (regime refers to the capital as Yangon) | Kampala |
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) | tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons (December to February, June to August); semiarid in northeast |
Coastline | 1,930 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
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 | 8 October 1995; adopted by the interim, 284-member Constituent Assembly, charged with debating the draft constitution that had been proposed in May 1993; the Constituent Assembly was dissolved upon the promulgation of the constitution in October 1995 |
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: Republic of Uganda
conventional short form: Uganda |
Currency | kyat (MMK) | Ugandan shilling (UGX) |
Death rate | 12.3 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.53 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $6 billion (FY99/00 est.) | $3.4 billion (2001 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 Jimmy KOLKER
embassy: 1577 Ggaba Rd., Kampala mailing address: P. O. Box 7007, Kampala telephone: [256] (41) 234-142 FAX: [256] (41) 258-451 |
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 Edith Grace SSEMPALA
chancery: 5911 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-7100 through 7102, 0416 FAX: [1] (202) 726-1727 |
Disputes - international | sporadic border hostilities with Thailand over border alignment and ethnic Shan rebels operating in cross-border region | Tutsi, Hutu, and other ethnic groups, political rebels, and various government forces continue fighting in Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda |
Economic aid - recipient | $99 million (FY98/99) | $1.4 billion (2000) (2000) |
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. | Uganda has substantial natural resources, including fertile soils, regular rainfall, and sizable mineral deposits of copper and cobalt. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, employing over 80% of the work force. Coffee is the major export crop and accounts for the bulk of export revenues. Since 1986, the government - with the support of foreign countries and international agencies - has acted to rehabilitate and stabilize the economy by undertaking currency reform, raising producer prices on export crops, increasing prices of petroleum products, and improving civil service wages. The policy changes are especially aimed at dampening inflation and boosting production and export earnings. During 1990-2001, the economy turned in a solid performance based on continued investment in the rehabilitation of infrastructure, improved incentives for production and exports, reduced inflation, gradually improved domestic security, and the return of exiled Indian-Ugandan entrepreneurs. Ongoing Ugandan involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, corruption within the government, and slippage in the government's determination to press reforms raise doubts about the continuation of strong growth. In 2000, Uganda qualified for enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief worth $1.3 billion and Paris Club debt relief worth $145 million. These amounts combined with the original HIPC debt relief added up to about $2 billion. Growth for 2001 was held back because of a continued decline in the price of coffee, Uganda's principal export. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.476 billion kWh (1999) | 1.314 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 174 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 1 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 4.813 billion kWh (1999) | 1.599 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
68.56% hydro: 31.44% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 1%
hydro: 99% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Andaman Sea 0 m highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m |
lowest point: Lake Albert 621 m
highest point: Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley 5,110 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease | draining of wetlands for agricultural use; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; poaching is widespread |
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Mon 2%, Indian 2%, other 5% | Baganda 17%, Ankole 8%, Basoga 8%, Iteso 8%, Bakiga 7%, Langi 6%, Rwanda 6%, Bagisu 5%, Acholi 4%, Lugbara 4%, Batoro 3%, Bunyoro 3%, Alur 2%, Bagwere 2%, Bakonjo 2%, Jopodhola 2%, Karamojong 2%, Rundi 2%, non-African (European, Asian, Arab) 1%, other 8% |
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) | Ugandan shillings per US dollar - 1,738.7 (January 2002), 1,755.7 (2001), 1,644.5 (2000), 1,454.8 (1999), 1,240.2 (1998), 1,083.0 (1997) |
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 Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 29 January 1986); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI (since seizing power 29 January 1986); Prime Minister Apollo NSIBAMBI (since 5 April 1999); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; the prime minister assists the president in the supervision of the cabinet cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from among elected legislators elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 12 March 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); note - first popular election for president since independence in 1962 was held in 1996; prime minister appointed by the president election results: Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI elected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta MUSEVENI 69.3%, Kizza BESIGYE 27.8% |
Exports | $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999) | $367 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | apparel 36%, foodstuffs 22%, wood products 21%, precious stones 5% (1999) | coffee, fish and fish products, tea; gold, cotton, flowers, horticultural products |
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 12.0%, Netherlands 10.2%, US 8.7%, Spain 8.0%, Belgium 7.1% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 July - 30 June |
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 | six equal horizontal bands of black (top), yellow, red, black, yellow, and red; a white disk is superimposed at the center and depicts a red-crested crane (the national symbol) facing the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $63.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $29 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
42% industry: 17% services: 41% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 44%
industry: 18% services: 38% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2000 est.) | 5.1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 N, 98 00 E | 1 00 N, 32 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes | landlocked; fertile, well-watered country with many lakes and rivers |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
28,200 km paved: 3,440 km unpaved: 24,760 km (1996) |
total: 27,000 km
paved: 1,800 km unpaved: 25,200 km (of which about 4,200 km are all-weather roads) (1990) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.8% highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 21% (2000) |
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 | - |
Imports | $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1999) | $1.26 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, food products | capital equipment, vehicles, petroleum, medical supplies; cereals |
Imports - partners | Singapore 28%, Thailand 12%, China 10%, Japan 10%, South Korea 9% (1999 est.) | Kenya 43.1%, US 7.0%, India 6.8%, South Africa 6.1%, Japan 3.4% (2000) |
Independence | 4 January 1948 (from UK) | 9 October 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7% (1999) (1999) |
Industries | agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer | sugar, brewing, tobacco, cotton textiles, cement |
Infant mortality rate | 73.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 89.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 18% (1999) | 3.5% (2001 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 | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, EADB, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
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) |
2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10,680 sq km (1993 est.) | 90 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 | Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the president and approved by the legislature); High Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 19.7 million (FY98/99 est.) | 12 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 65%, industry 10%, services 25% (1999 est.) | agriculture 82%, industry 5%, services 13% (1999 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: 2,698 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 765 km, Kenya 933 km, Rwanda 169 km, Sudan 435 km, Tanzania 396 km |
Land use | arable land:
15% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 49% other: 34% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 25.34%
permanent crops: 8.77% other: 65.89% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages | English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic |
Legal system | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | in 1995, the government restored the legal system to one based on English common law and customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 National Assembly (303 members - 214 directly elected by popular vote, 81 nominated by legally established special interest groups [women 56, army 10, disabled 5, youth 5, labor 5], 8 ex officio members; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26 June 2001 (next to be held May or June 2006); election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - election campaigning by party was not permitted |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
55.16 years male: 53.73 years female: 56.68 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 43.81 years
male: 42.97 years female: 44.67 years (2002 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: 62.7% male: 74% female: 54% (2000 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand | Eastern Africa, west of Kenya |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
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 |
none (landlocked) |
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: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,091 GRT/8,229 DWT
ships by type: roll on/roll off 3 note: these ships are in cargo and passenger (ferry) service on Uganda's inland waterways (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Ugandan Peoples' Defense Force (including Army, Marine unit, Air Wing) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $39 million (FY97/98) | $121.3 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY97/98) | 2.1% (FY01) |
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.) |
males age 15-49: 5,302,787 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
6,425,514 females age 15-49: 6,419,677 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,879,083 (2002 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, 9 October (1962) |
Nationality | noun:
Burmese (singular and plural) adjective: Burmese |
noun: Ugandan(s)
adjective: Ugandan |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower | copper, cobalt, hydropower, limestone, salt, arable land |
Net migration rate | -1.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: according to the UNHCR, by the end of 2001, Uganda was host to 178,815 refugees from a number of neighboring countries, including: Sudan 155,996, Rwanda 14,375, and Democratic Republic of the Congo 7,459 (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,343 km; natural gas 330 km | - |
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 | only one political organization, the National Resistance Movement or NRM [President MUSEVENI, chairman] is allowed to operate unfettered; note - the president maintains that the NRM is not a political party, but a movement which claims the loyalty of all Ugandans
note: the new constitution requires the suspension of political parties while the Movement organization is in governance; of the political parties that exist but are prohibited from sponsoring candidates, the most important are the Ugandan People's Congress or UPC [Milton OBOTE]; Democratic Party or DP [Paul SSEMOGERERE]; Conservative Party or CP [Joshua S. MAYANJA-NKANGI]; Justice Forum [Muhammad Kibirige MAYANJA]; and National Democrats Forum [Chapaa KARUHANGA] |
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 | NA |
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.) |
24,699,073
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 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 23% (1997 est.) | 35% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.6% (2001 est.) | 2.94% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bassein, Bhamo, Chauk, Mandalay, Moulmein, Myitkyina, Rangoon, Akyab (Sittwe), Tavoy | Entebbe, Jinja, Port Bell |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 7, FM 33, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Radios | 4.2 million (1997) | 5 million (2001) |
Railways | total:
3,991 km narrow gauge: 3,991 km 1.000-m gauge |
total: 1,241 km
narrow gauge: 1,241 km 1.000-m gauge note: a program to rehabilitate the railroad is underway (2001) |
Religions | Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2% | Roman Catholic 33%, Protestant 33%, Muslim 16%, indigenous beliefs 18% |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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: seriously inadequate; two cellular systems have been introduced, but a sharp increase in the number of main lines is essential; e-mail and Internet services are available
domestic: intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communication stations, fixed and mobile cellular systems for short range traffic international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat; analog links to Kenya and Tanzania |
Telephones - main lines in use | 250,000 (2000) | 50,074; however, 80,868 main lines have been installed (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,492 (1997) | 9,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1998) | 8 (plus one low-power repeater) (2001) |
Terrain | central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands | mostly plateau with rim of mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.3 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.8 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.1% (official FY97/98 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 12,800 km
note: 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels |
Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, Lake George, Lake Edward, Victoria Nile, Albert Nile |