Burma (2004) | Hong Kong (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 divisions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne)
divisions: Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Yangon (Rangoon) states: Chin State, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Mon State, Rakhine State, Shan State |
none (special administrative region of China) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.6% (male 6,023,874; female 5,774,055)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 14,317,308; female 14,504,500) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 927,570; female 1,172,889) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 13.5% (male 488,607/female 445,593)
15-64 years: 73.7% (male 2,495,679/female 2,620,336) 65 years and over: 12.8% (male 413,031/female 477,186) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products | fresh vegetables; poultry, pork; fish |
Airports | 79 (2003 est.) | 3 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 69
over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 31 (2004 est.) |
- |
Area | total: 678,500 sq km
land: 657,740 sq km water: 20,760 sq km |
total: 1,092 sq km
land: 1,042 sq km water: 50 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | six times the size of Washington, DC |
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 from the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as self-appointed president, and later as political kingpin. Despite multiparty legislative elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory, the ruling junta refused to hand over power. NLD leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and 2000 to 2002, was imprisoned in May 2003 and is currently under house arrest. In December 2004, the junta announced it was extending her detention for at least an additional year. Her supporters, as well as all those who promote democracy and improved human rights, are routinely harassed or jailed. | Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China has promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong will enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years. |
Birth rate | 18.64 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 7.29 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $7.9 billion
expenditures: $12.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (FY96/97) |
revenues: $31.31 billion
expenditures: $32.3 billion; including capital expenditures of $5.9 billion (2005 est.) |
Capital | Rangoon (government 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) | subtropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall |
Coastline | 1,930 km | 733 km |
Constitution | 3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); national convention convened in 1993 to draft a new constitution but collapsed in 1996; reconvened in 2004 but does not include participation of democratic opposition | Basic Law, approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress, is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution" |
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: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
conventional short form: Hong Kong local long form: Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu local short form: Xianggang abbreviation: HK |
Currency | kyat (MMK) | - |
Death rate | 12.16 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 6.29 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.011 billion (2003 est.) | $72.04 billion (2005 est.) |
Dependency status | - | special administrative region of China |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: 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 |
chief of mission: Consul General James B. CUNNINGHAM
consulate(s) general: 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong mailing address: PSC 461, Box 1, FPO AP 96521-0006 telephone: [852] 2523-9011 FAX: [852] 2845-1598 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: vacant
chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9044 FAX: [1] (202) 332-9046 consulate(s) general: New York (UN) |
none (special administrative region of China) |
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; groups in Burma and Thailand express concern over China's construction of 13 hydroelectric dams on the Salween River in Yunnan Province; India seeks cooperation from Burma to keep out Indian Nagaland insurgents | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $127 million (2001 est.) | - |
Economy - overview | Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from government controls and 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. A crisis in the private banking sector in early 2003 followed by economic moves against Burma by the United States, the European Union, and Japan - including a US ban on imports from Burma and a Japanese freeze on new bilateral economic aid - further weakened the Burmese economy. 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. Better relations with foreign countries and relaxed controls at home are needed to promote foreign investment, exports, and tourism. In February 2003, a major banking crisis hit the country's 20 private banks, shutting them down and disrupting the economy. In July and August 2003, the United States imposed a ban on all Burmese imports and a ban on provision of financial services, hampering Burma's ability to obtain foreign exchange. As of January 2004, the largest private banks remained moribund, leaving the private sector with little formal access to credit outside of government contracts. | Hong Kong has a free market, entrepot economy, highly dependent on international trade. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Gross imports and exports (i.e., including reexports to and from third countries) each exceed GDP in dollar value. Even before Hong Kong reverted to Chinese administration on 1 July 1997, it had extensive trade and investment ties with China. Hong Kong has been further integrating its economy with China because China's growing openness to the world economy has made manufacturing in China much more cost effective. Hong Kong's reexport business to and from China is a major driver of growth. Per capita GDP is comparable to that of the four big economies of Western Europe. GDP growth averaged a strong 5% from 1989 to 2005, but Hong Kong suffered two recessions in the past eight years because of the Asian financial crisis in 1997-1998 and the global downturn in 2001-2002. Although the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 also battered Hong Kong's economy, a solid rise in exports, a boom in tourism from the mainland because of China's easing of travel restrictions, and a return of consumer confidence resulted in the resumption of strong growth from late 2003 through 2005. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.709 billion kWh (2001) | 39.22 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 3.086 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 9.84 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production | 6.139 billion kWh (2001) | 37.3 billion kWh (2004) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m
highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease | air and water pollution from rapid urbanization |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Marine Dumping (associate member) |
Ethnic groups | Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5% | Chinese 95%, other 5% |
Exchange rates | kyats per US dollar - 6.0764 (2003), 6.5734 (2002), 6.6841 (2001), 6.5167 (2000), 6.2858 (1999)
note: these are official exchange rates; unofficial exchange rates ranged in 2003 from 100 kyat/US dollar to nearly 1000 kyat/US dollar |
Hong Kong dollars per US dollar - 7.7773 (2005), 7.788 (2004), 7.7868 (2003), 7.7989 (2002), 7.7988 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister, Gen SOE WIN (since 19 October 2004) 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 (SLORC); the SPDC oversees the cabinet elections: none |
chief of state: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003)
head of government: Chief Executive Donald TSANG (since 24 June 2005) cabinet: Executive Council consists of 14 official members and 15 non-official members elections: previous chief executive TUNG Chee-hwa was elected to second five-year term in March 2002 by 800-member election committee dominated by pro-Beijing forces, resignation accepted 12 March 2005; Donald TSANG acted as chief executive between 12 March 2005 and 25 May 2005; Henry TANG acted as chief executive between 25 May 2005 and 24 June 2005; TSANG was elected on 16 June 2005 to fill final two years of TUNG's term (next election to be held in March 2007) |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | Clothing, gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice | electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones, printed material |
Exports - partners | Thailand 31.5%, US 10.2%, India 9.3%, China 5.8%, Japan 4.8% (2003) | China 45%, US 16.1%, Japan 5.3% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, 14 white five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 7 administrative divisions and 7 states | red with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $74.53 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 57.2%
industry: 9.6% services: 33.1% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 0.1%
industry: 9.2% services: 90.6% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | -0.5% (2003 est.) | 7.3% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 N, 98 00 E | 22 15 N, 114 10 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes | more than 200 islands |
Heliports | 1 (2003 est.) | 3 (2006) |
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 2003 - 484 metric tons, down 23% due to eradication efforts and alternate development; cultivation in 2003 - 47,130 hectares, a 39% decline from 2002); 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; currently under Financial Action Task Force countermeasures due to continued failure to address its inadequate money-laundering controls | makes strenuous law enforcement efforts, but faces difficult challenges in controlling transit of heroin and methamphetamine to regional and world markets; modern banking system provides conduit for money laundering; rising indigenous use of synthetic drugs, especially among young people |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | Fabric, petroleum products, plastics, machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, crude oil; food products | raw materials and semi-manufactures, consumer goods, capital goods, foodstuffs, fuel (most is re-exported) |
Imports - partners | China 31.1%, Singapore 22.3%, Thailand 15.1%, South Korea 6.3%, Malaysia 4.8%, Japan 4.3% (2003) | China 45%, Japan 11%, Taiwan 7.2%, Singapore 5.8%, US 5.1%, South Korea 4.4% (2005) |
Independence | 4 January 1948 (from UK) | none (special administrative region of China) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | -0.6% (2005 est.) |
Industries | agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; cement | textiles, clothing, tourism, banking, shipping, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks |
Infant mortality rate | total: 68.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 74.78 deaths/1,000 live births female: 62.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 2.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 3.13 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 49.7% (2003 est.) | 0.9% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | APEC, AsDB, BIS, ICC, ICFTU, IHO, IMF, IMO (associate), IOC, ISO (correspondent), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO, WToO (associate), WTO |
Irrigated land | 15,920 sq km (1998 est.) | 20 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 Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region |
Labor force | 22.14 million (2003 est.) | 3.61 million (October 2005) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 7%, services 23% (2001 est.) | manufacturing 7.5%, construction 2.9%, wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 43.9%, financing, insurance, and real estate 19.6%, transport and communications 7.1%, community and social services 18.8%
note: above data exclude public sector (2005 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: 30 km
regional border: China 30 km |
Land use | arable land: 15.19%
permanent crops: 0.97% other: 83.84% (2001) |
arable land: 5.05%
permanent crops: 1.01% other: 93.94% (2001) |
Languages | Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages | Chinese (Cantonese), English; both are official |
Legal system | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law |
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 allowed by junta to convene election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NLD 392 (opposition), SNLD 23 (opposition), NUP 10 (pro-government), other 60 |
unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (60 seats; in 2004 30 seats indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 30 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 12 September 2004 (next to be held in September 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - pro-democracy group 62%; seats by party - (pro-Beijing 34) DAB 12, Liberal Party 10, independents 11, FTU 1; (pro-democracy 25) independents 11, Democratic Party 9, CTU 2, ADPL 1, Frontier Party 1, NWSC 1; non-voting LEGCO president 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 56.01 years
male: 54.22 years female: 57.9 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 81.59 years
male: 78.9 years female: 84.5 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.3% male: 89.2% female: 81.4% (2002) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 93.5% male: 96.9% female: 89.6% (2002) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
territorial sea: 3 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 31 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 384,529 GRT/608,609 DWT
by type: bulk 8, cargo 18, container 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: Germany 6, Japan 4 (2004 est.) |
total: 924 ships (1000 GRT or over) 30,838,025 GRT/51,957,682 DWT
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 495, cargo 121, chemical tanker 44, container 133, liquefied gas 22, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 76, roll on/roll off 3, specialized tanker 7, vehicle carrier 8 foreign-owned: 562 (Australia 1, Belgium 3, Canada 28, China 274, Denmark 6, Germany 6, Greece 27, Indonesia 4, Japan 67, South Korea 6, Norway 26, Philippines 16, Portugal 1, Singapore 24, Syria 1, Taiwan 6, UAE 2, UK 43, US 21) registered in other countries: 417 (Bahamas 8, Belize 8, Bermuda 10, Cambodia 15, China 7, Cyprus 1, France 1, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 2, Greece 1, Honduras 2, India 1, Liberia 37, Malaysia 14, Malta 2, Marshall Islands 7, Norway 55, Panama 169, Philippines 3, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6, Singapore 50, Taiwan 3, Tuvalu 8, unknown 7) (2006) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of China |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | no regular indigenous military forces; Hong Kong garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes elements of the PLA Ground Forces, PLA Navy, and PLA Air Force; these forces are under the direct leadership of the Central Military Commission in Beijing and under administrative control of the adjacent Guangzhou Military Region |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $39 million (FY97) | Hong Kong garrison is funded by China; figures are NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY97) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 12,450,884
females age 15-49: 12,457,077 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 6,609,995
females age 15-49: 6,595,611 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 441,333
females: 440,914 (2004 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947) | National Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949); note - 1 July 1997 is celebrated as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day |
Nationality | noun: Burmese (singular and plural)
adjective: Burmese |
noun: Chinese/Hong Konger
adjective: Chinese/Hong Kong |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts | occasional typhoons |
Natural resources | petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower | outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar |
Net migration rate | -1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 4.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 2,056 km; oil 558 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 (progovernment) [THA KYAW]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [KHUN HTUN OO]; and other smaller parties | Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood or ADPL [Frederick FUNG Kin-kee]; Citizens Party [Alex CHAN Kai-chung]; Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong or DAB [MA Lik]; Democratic Party [LEE Wing-tat]; Frontier Party [Emily LAU Wai-hing]; Liberal Party [James TIEN Pei-chun]
note: political blocs include: pro-democracy - ADPL, Democratic Party, Frontier Party; pro-Beijing - DAB, Liberal Party |
Political pressure groups and leaders | National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB (self-proclaimed government in exile) ["Prime Minister" Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals, some legitimately elected to the People's Assembly in 1990 (the group fled to a border area and joined insurgents in December 1990 to form parallel government in exile); Kachin Independence Army or KIA; Karen National Union or KNU; several Shan factions; United Wa State Army or UWSA; Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (progovernment, a social and political organization) [THAN AUNG, general secretary] | Article 45 Concern Group (pro-democracy); Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China); Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong; Confederation of Trade Unions or CTU (pro-democracy) [LAU Chin-shek, president; LEE Cheuk-yan, general secretary]; Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Federation of Trade Unions or FTU (pro-China) [CHENG Yiu-tong, executive councilor]; Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China [Szeto WAH, chairman]; Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan); Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union [CHEUNG Man-kwong, president]; Neighborhood and Workers' Service Center or NWSC (pro-democracy); The Alliance [Bernard CHAN, exco member] |
Population | 42,720,196
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 growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.) |
6,940,432 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 25% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.47% (2004 est.) | 0.59% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bhamo, Chauk, Mandalay, Moulmein, Myitkyina, Pathein, Rangoon, Sittwe, Tavoy | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1 (2004) | AM 5, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Railways | total: 3,955 km
narrow gauge: 3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
- |
Religions | Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2% | eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10% |
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: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | direct election 18 years of age; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years; indirect election limited to about 200,000 members of functional constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies |
Telephone system | general assessment: barely meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is fair
domestic: NA international: country code - 95; satellite earth station - 2, Intelsat (Indian Ocean), and ShinSat |
general assessment: modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services
domestic: microwave radio relay links and extensive fiber-optic network international: country code - 852; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean); coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China; access to 5 international submarine cables providing connections to ASEAN member nations, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe |
Telephones - main lines in use | 357,300 (2003) | 3,794,600 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 66,500 (2003) | 8.693 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2004) | 55 low power stations
note: two TV networks, each one broadcasting on two channels (2006) |
Terrain | central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands | hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north |
Total fertility rate | 2.08 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 0.95 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.2% (2003) | 5.5% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 12,800 km (2004) | - |