Burma (2003) | Southern Ocean (2001) | |
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* | - |
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.) |
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Agriculture - products | rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products | - |
Airports | 80 (2002) | - |
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) |
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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) |
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Area | total: 678,500 sq km
land: 657,740 sq km water: 20,760 sq km |
total:
20.327 million sq km note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly more than twice the size of the US |
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. | A decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 delimited a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - from the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit. The Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). |
Birth rate | 19.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: $7.9 billion
expenditures: $12.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (FY96/97) |
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Capital | Rangoon (regime refers to the capital as Yangon) | - |
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) | sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter |
Coastline | 1,930 km | 17,968 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 | - |
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 |
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Currency | kyat (MMK) | - |
Death rate | 12.17 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $6.1 billion (2002 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 |
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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 |
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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 | Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctic Treaty Summary in the Antarctica entry); sections (some overlapping) claimed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and UK; the US and most other nations do not recognize the maritime claims of other nations and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west |
Economic aid - recipient | $99 million (FY98/99) | - |
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. | Fisheries in 1998-99 (1 July to 30 June) landed 119,898 metric tons, of which 85% was krill and 14% Patagonian toothfish. International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 1998-99 season landed five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery. In the 1999-2000 antarctic summer 13,193 tourists, most of them seaborne, visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 10,013 the previous year. Nearly 16,000 tourists are expected during the 2000-01 season. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.709 billion kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production | 6.139 billion kWh (2001) | - |
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:
-7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench highest point: sea level 0 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease | increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish
note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries |
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 |
the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing)
note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the very cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north |
Ethnic groups | Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5% | - |
Exchange rates | kyats per US dollar - 6.64 (2002), 6.75 (2001), 6.52 (2000), 6.29 (1999), 6.34 (1998) | - |
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 |
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Exports | NA (2001) | - |
Exports - commodities | gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice | - |
Exports - partners | Thailand 31.4%, US 13%, India 7.4%, China 4.7% (2002) | - |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | - |
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 | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $73.69 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 60%
industry: 9% services: 31% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.3% (2002 est.) | - |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 N, 98 00 E | 65 00 S, 0 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica, and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes | the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the very cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 28,200 km
paved: 3,440 km unpaved: 24,760 km (1996 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
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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) | - |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, crude oil; food products | - |
Imports - partners | China 27%, Singapore 19.5%, Thailand 12%, Malaysia 9.1%, Taiwan 6.3%, South Korea 5.3%, Japan 4.3% (2002) | - |
Independence | 4 January 1948 (from UK) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | - |
Industries | agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer | - |
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.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 53.7% (2002 est.) | - |
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 | - |
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.) | - |
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 | - |
Labor force | 23.7 million (1999 est.) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 7%, services 23% (2001 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 |
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Land use | arable land: 14.53%
permanent crops: 0.9% other: 84.57% (1998 est.) |
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Languages | Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages | - |
Legal system | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | - |
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 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 55.79 years
male: 54.12 years female: 57.56 years (2003 est.) |
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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.) |
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Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand | body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Antarctic Region |
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 |
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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.) |
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Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $39 million (FY97) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY97) | - |
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.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 6,566,122
females age 15-49: 6,553,458 (2003 est.) |
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Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 453,420
females: 455,422 (2003 est.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 4 January (1948) | - |
Nationality | noun: Burmese (singular and plural)
adjective: Burmese |
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Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts | huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 meter thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue |
Natural resources | petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower | probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs, squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fishes |
Net migration rate | -1.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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 | - |
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 | - |
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.) |
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Population below poverty line | 25% (2000 est.) | - |
Population growth rate | 0.52% (2003 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | Bassein, Bhamo, Chauk, Mandalay, Moulmein, Myitkyina, Rangoon, Akyab (Sittwe), Tavoy | McMurdo, Palmer, and offshore anchorages in Antarctica
note: few ports or harbors exist on the southern side of the Southern Ocean; ice conditions limit use of most of them to short periods in midsummer; even then some cannot be entered without icebreaker escort; most antarctic ports are operated by government research stations and, except in an emergency, are not open to commercial or private vessels; vessels in any port south of 60 degrees south are subject to inspection by Antarctic Treaty observers |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 3 (1998) | - |
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% | - |
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.) |
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Suffrage | 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) |
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Telephones - main lines in use | 250,000 (2000) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,492 (1997) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1998) | - |
Terrain | central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands | the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 meters over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep - its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 meters (the global mean is 133 meters); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million square kilometers in March to about 18.8 million square kilometers in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers |
Total fertility rate | 2.15 children born/woman (2003 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 5.1% (2001 est.) | - |
Waterways | 12,800 km
note: 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels |
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