Burma (2003) | Somalia (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 7 divisions* (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne); Chin State, Ayeyarwady*, Bago*, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Magway*, Mandalay*, Mon State, Rakhine State, Sagaing*, Shan State, Tanintharyi*, Yangon* | 18 regions (plural - NA, singular - gobolka); Awdal, Bakool, Banaadir, Bari, Bay, Galguduud, Gedo, Hiiraan, Jubbada Dhexe, Jubbada Hoose, Mudug, Nugaal, Sanaag, Shabeellaha Dhexe, Shabeellaha Hoose, Sool, Togdheer, Woqooyi Galbeed |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 28.1% (male 6,091,220; female 5,840,968)
15-64 years: 67% (male 14,162,190; female 14,347,751) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 916,702; female 1,151,706) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 44.4% (male 2,031,682/female 2,019,629)
15-64 years: 53% (male 2,423,602/female 2,410,126) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 97,932/female 135,802) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products | bananas, sorghum, corn, coconuts, rice, sugarcane, mangoes, sesame seeds, beans; cattle, sheep, goats; fish |
Airports | 80 (2002) | 67 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 8
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002) |
total: 7
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 72
over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 34 (2002) |
total: 60
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 29 under 914 m: 7 (2007) |
Area | total: 678,500 sq km
land: 657,740 sq km water: 20,760 sq km |
total: 637,657 sq km
land: 627,337 sq km water: 10,320 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly smaller than Texas |
Background | Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; independence outside of the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as president, and later as political kingmaker. Despite multiparty elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party winning a decisive victory, the ruling military junta 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 from September 2000 to May 2002 and again in May 2003; her supporters are routinely harassed or jailed. | Britain withdrew from British Somaliland in 1960 to allow its protectorate to join with Italian Somaliland and form the new nation of Somalia. In 1969, a coup headed by Mohamed SIAD Barre ushered in an authoritarian socialist rule that managed to impose a degree of stability in the country for a couple of decades. After the regime's collapse early in 1991, Somalia descended into turmoil, factional fighting, and anarchy. In May 1991, northern clans declared an independent Republic of Somaliland that now includes the administrative regions of Awdal, Woqooyi Galbeed, Togdheer, Sanaag, and Sool. Although not recognized by any government, this entity has maintained a stable existence and continues efforts to establish a constitutional democracy, including holding municipal, parliamentary, and presidential elections. The regions of Bari, Nugaal, and northern Mudug comprise a neighboring self-declared autonomous state of Puntland, which has been self-governing since 1998 but does not aim at independence; it has also made strides toward reconstructing a legitimate, representative government but has suffered some civil strife. Puntland disputes its border with Somaliland as it also claims portions of eastern Sool and Sanaag. Beginning in 1993, a two-year UN humanitarian effort (primarily in the south) was able to alleviate famine conditions, but when the UN withdrew in 1995, having suffered significant casualties, order still had not been restored. A two-year peace process, led by the Government of Kenya under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), concluded in October 2004 with the election of Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed as President of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia and the formation of an interim government, known as the Somalia Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs). The Somalia TFIs include a 275-member parliamentary body, known as the Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA), a transitional Prime Minister, Nur "Adde" Hassan HUSSEIN, and a 90-member cabinet. The TFIs are based on the Transitional Federal Charter, which outlines a five-year mandate leading to the establishment of a new Somali constitution and a transition to a representative government following national elections. While its institutions remain weak, the TFG continues to reach out to Somali stakeholders and work with international donors to help build the governance capacity of the TFIs and work towards national elections in 2009. In June 2006, a loose coalition of clerics, business leaders, and Islamic court militias known as the Council of Islamic Courts (CIC) defeated powerful Mogadishu warlords and took control of the capital. The Courts continued to expand militarily throughout much of southern Somalia and threatened to overthrow the TFG in Baidoa. Ethiopian and TFG forces, concerned over links between some CIC factions and the al-Qaida East Africa network and the al-Qaida operatives responsible for the bombings of the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, intervened in late December 2006, resulting in the collapse of the CIC as an organization. However, the TFG continues to face violent resistance from extremist elements, such as the al-Shabaab militia previously affiliated with the now-defunct CIC. |
Birth rate | 19.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 44.6 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $7.9 billion
expenditures: $12.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (FY96/97) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
Capital | Rangoon (regime refers to the capital as Yangon) | name: Mogadishu
geographic coordinates: 2 04 N, 45 22 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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) | principally desert; northeast monsoon (December to February), moderate temperatures in north and hot in south; southwest monsoon (May to October), torrid in the north and hot in the south, irregular rainfall, hot and humid periods (tangambili) between monsoons |
Coastline | 1,930 km | 3,025 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 | 25 August 1979, presidential approval 23 September 1979
note: the formation of transitional governing institutions, known as the Transitional Federal Government, is currently ongoing |
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 note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Somalia local long form: Jamhuuriyada Demuqraadiga Soomaaliyeed local short form: Soomaaliya former: Somali Republic, Somali Democratic Republic |
Currency | kyat (MMK) | - |
Death rate | 12.17 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 16.28 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.1 billion (2002 est.) | $3 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Permanent Charge d'Affaires Carmen M. MARTINEZ
embassy: 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521) mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96546 telephone: [95] (1) 379 880, 379 881 FAX: [95] (1) 256 018 |
the US does not have an embassy in Somalia; US interests are represented by the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya at United Nations Avenue, Nairobi; mailing address: Unit 64100, Nairobi; APO AE 09831; telephone: [254] (20) 363-6000; FAX [254] (20) 363-6157 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador 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 |
Somalia does not have an embassy in the US (ceased operations on 8 May 1991); note - the TFG is represented in the United States through its Permanent Mission to the United Nations |
Disputes - international | despite continuing border committee talks, significant differences remain with Thailand over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities | Ethiopian forces invaded southern Somalia and routed Islamist Courts from Mogadishu in January 2007; "Somaliland" secessionists provide port facilities in Berbera to landlocked Ethiopia and have established commercial ties with other regional states; "Puntland" and "Somaliland" "governments" seek international support in their secessionist aspirations and overlapping border claims; the undemarcated former British administrative line has little meaning as a political separation to rival clans within Ethiopia's Ogaden and southern Somalia's Oromo region; Kenya works hard to prevent the clan and militia fighting in Somalia from spreading south across the border, which has long been open to nomadic pastoralists |
Economic aid - recipient | $99 million (FY98/99) | $236.4 million (2005 est.) |
Economy - overview | Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from abject rural poverty. The military regime took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to Socialism", but those efforts have since stalled. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability, resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including a steep inflation rate and an official exchange rate that overvalues the Burmese kyat by more than 100 times the market rate. In addition, most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta suppressed the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 election. Burma is data poor, and official statistics are often dated and inaccurate. Published estimates of Burma's foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and border trade - often estimated to be one to two times the official economy. | Despite the lack of effective national governance, Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy, largely based on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies, and telecommunications. Agriculture is the most important sector, with livestock normally accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings. Nomads and semi-pastoralists, who are dependent upon livestock for their livelihood, make up a large portion of the population. Livestock, hides, fish, charcoal, and bananas are Somalia's principal exports, while sugar, sorghum, corn, qat, and machined goods are the principal imports. Somalia's small industrial sector, based on the processing of agricultural products, has largely been looted and sold as scrap metal. Somalia's service sector also has grown. Telecommunication firms provide wireless services in most major cities and offer the lowest international call rates on the continent. In the absence of a formal banking sector, money exchange services have sprouted throughout the country, handling between $500 million and $1 billion in remittances annually. Mogadishu's main market offers a variety of goods from food to the newest electronic gadgets. Hotels continue to operate and are supported with private-security militias. Somalia's arrears to the IMF continued to grow in 2006-07. Statistics on Somalia's GDP, growth, per capita income, and inflation should be viewed skeptically. In late December 2004, a major tsunami caused an estimated 150 deaths and resulted in destruction of property in coastal areas. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.709 billion kWh (2001) | 251.1 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 6.139 billion kWh (2001) | 270 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 44.4%
hydro: 55.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m
highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Shimbiris 2,416 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease | famine; use of contaminated water contributes to human health problems; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification |
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, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection |
Ethnic groups | Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5% | Somali 85%, Bantu and other non-Somali 15% (including Arabs 30,000) |
Exchange rates | kyats per US dollar - 6.64 (2002), 6.75 (2001), 6.52 (2000), 6.29 (1999), 6.34 (1998) | Somali shillings per US dollar - NA (2007), 1,438.3 (2006) official rate; the unofficial black market rate was about 23,000 shillings per dollar as of February 2007
note: the Republic of Somaliland, a self-declared independent country not recognized by any foreign government, issues its own currency, the Somaliland shilling |
Executive branch | chief of state: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992)
head of government: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992); note - the appointed Prime Minister, Gen. KNIN NYUNT (since 25 August 2003), is not the 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 |
chief of state: Transitional Federal President Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed (since 14 October 2004); note - a transitional governing entity with a five-year mandate, known as the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs), was established in October 2004; the TFIs relocated to Somalia in June 2004
head of government: Prime Minister Nur "Adde" Hassan HUSSEIN (since 24 November 2007) State requested addition of "Adde" Feb '08 cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by the Transitional Federal Assembly election results: Abdullahi YUSUF Ahmed, the former leader of the semi-autonomous Puntland region of Somalia, was elected president by the Transitional Federal Assembly |
Exports | NA (2001) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice | livestock, bananas, hides, fish, charcoal, scrap metal |
Exports - partners | Thailand 31.4%, US 13%, India 7.4%, China 4.7% (2002) | UAE 49.6%, Yemen 21.4%, Oman 5.9% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | NA |
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 | light blue with a large white five-pointed star in the center; blue field influenced by the flag of the UN |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $73.69 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 60%
industry: 9% services: 31% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 65%
industry: 10% services: 25% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.3% (2002 est.) | 2.6% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 N, 98 00 E | 10 00 N, 49 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes | strategic location on Horn of Africa along southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and Suez Canal |
Government - note | - | although an interim government was created in 2004, other regional and local governing bodies continue to exist and control various regions of the country, including the self-declared Republic of Somaliland in northwestern Somalia and the semi-autonomous State of Puntland in northeastern Somalia |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 28,200 km
paved: 3,440 km unpaved: 24,760 km (1996 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | world's second largest producer of illicit opium (potential production in 2002 - 630 metric tons, down 27% due to drought and, to a lesser extent, eradication; cultivation in 2002 - 77,000 hectares, a 27% decline from 2001); 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; major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | 4,800 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, crude oil; food products | manufactures, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials, qat |
Imports - partners | China 27%, Singapore 19.5%, Thailand 12%, Malaysia 9.1%, Taiwan 6.3%, South Korea 5.3%, Japan 4.3% (2002) | Djibouti 30.8%, Brazil 8.5%, India 8.2%, Kenya 8.1%, Oman 5.5%, UAE 5.2%, Yemen 5% (2006) |
Independence | 4 January 1948 (from UK) | 1 July 1960 (from a merger of British Somaliland, which became independent from the UK on 26 June 1960, and Italian Somaliland, which became independent from the Italian-administered UN trusteeship on 1 July 1960, to form the Somali Republic) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer | a few light industries, including sugar refining, textiles, wireless communication |
Infant mortality rate | total: 70.35 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 76.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 63.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 113.08 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 122.29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 103.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 53.7% (2002 est.) | NA%; note - businesses print their own money, so inflation rates cannot be easily determined |
International organization participation | ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AU, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ITSO, ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO |
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) |
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Irrigated land | 15,920 sq km (1998 est.) | 2,000 sq km (2003) |
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 | following the breakdown of the central government, most regions have reverted to local forms of conflict resolution, either secular, traditional Somali customary law, or Shari'a (Islamic) law with a provision for appeal of all sentences |
Labor force | 23.7 million (1999 est.) | 3.7 million (few skilled laborers) (1975) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 7%, services 23% (2001 est.) | agriculture: 71%
industry and services: 29% (1975) |
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: 2,340 km
border countries: Djibouti 58 km, Ethiopia 1,600 km, Kenya 682 km |
Land use | arable land: 14.53%
permanent crops: 0.9% other: 84.57% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 1.64%
permanent crops: 0.04% other: 98.32% (2005) |
Languages | Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages | Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English |
Legal system | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | no national system; a mixture of English common law, Italian law, Islamic Shari'a, and Somali 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
note: unicameral Transitional Federal Assembly (TFA) (275 seats; 244 members appointed by the four major clans (61 for each clan), 31 seats allocated to smaller clans and subclans) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 55.79 years
male: 54.12 years female: 57.56 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 48.84 years
male: 47.06 years female: 50.69 years (2007 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: 37.8% male: 49.7% female: 25.8% (2001 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand | Eastern Africa, bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, east of Ethiopia |
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 |
territorial sea: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 33 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 352,765 GRT/536,396 DWT
ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 21, container 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 5, Japan 4 (2002 est.) |
total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 2,659 GRT/2,540 DWT
by type: cargo 1 foreign-owned: 1 (UAE 1) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | no national-level armed forces (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $39 million (FY97) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY97) | 0.9% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 12,349,921
females age 15-49: 12,358,507 note: both sexes liable for military service (2003 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 6,566,122
females age 15-49: 6,553,458 (2003 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 453,420
females: 455,422 (2003 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 January (1948) | Foundation of the Somali Republic, 1 July (1960); note - 26 June (1960) in Somaliland |
Nationality | noun: Burmese (singular and plural)
adjective: Burmese |
noun: Somali(s)
adjective: Somali |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts | recurring droughts; frequent dust storms over eastern plains in summer; floods during rainy season |
Natural resources | petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower | uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt, natural gas, likely oil reserves |
Net migration rate | -1.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 2,056 km; oil 558 km (2003) | - |
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 [KHUN TUN OO]; Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (proregime, a social and political organization) [THAN AUNG, general secretary]; and other smaller parties | none |
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 | numerous clan and sub-clan factions exist both in support and in opposition to the transitional government |
Population | 42,510,537
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 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 2003 est.) |
9,118,773
note: this estimate was derived from an official census taken in 1975 by the Somali Government; population counting in Somalia is complicated by the large number of nomads and by refugee movements in response to famine and clan warfare (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 25% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.52% (2003 est.) | 2.832% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bassein, Bhamo, Chauk, Mandalay, Moulmein, Myitkyina, Rangoon, Akyab (Sittwe), Tavoy | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 0, FM 11 (also 1 station each in Puntland and Somaliland), shortwave 1 (in Mogadishu) (2001) |
Railways | total: 3,955 km
narrow gauge: 3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
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Religions | Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2% | Sunni Muslim |
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: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.006 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.006 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.721 male(s)/female total population: 0.997 male(s)/female (2007 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) |
ngeneral assessment: the public telecommunications system was almost completely destroyed or dismantled during the civil war; private wireless companies offer service in most major cities and charge the lowest international rates on the continent
domestic: local cellular telephone systems have been established in Mogadishu and in several other population centers international: country code - 252; international connections are available from Mogadishu by satellite (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 250,000 (2000) | 100,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,492 (1997) | 500,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1998) | 4 (2 in Mogadishu and 2 in Hargeisa) (2001) |
Terrain | central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands | mostly flat to undulating plateau rising to hills in north |
Total fertility rate | 2.15 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 6.68 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.1% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 12,800 km
note: 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels |
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