Burma (2005) | Niue (2005) | |
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 states: Chin State, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Mon State, Rakhine State, Shan State |
none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.2% (male 5,967,487/female 5,717,795)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 14,448,887/female 14,641,419) 65 years and over: 5% (male 939,092/female 1,194,784) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
Agriculture - products | rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
Airports | 78 (2004 est.) | 1 (2004 est.) |
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: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | 1.5 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. | Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to about 2,150 in 2005), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. |
Birth rate | 18.11 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $474.9 million
expenditures: $955.5 million, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA |
Capital | Rangoon (government refers to the capital as Yangon) | Alofi |
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; modified by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 1,930 km | 64 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 | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
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: Niue former: Savage Island |
Death rate | 12.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $6.752 billion (2004 est.) | $418,000 (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense; however, these responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue |
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 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
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 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | over half of Burma's population consists of diverse ethnic groups with substantial numbers of kin beyond its borders; 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; ethnic Karens flee into Thailand to escape fighting between Karen rebels and Burmese troops, in 2004 Thailand sheltered about 118,000 Burmese refugees; Karens also protest Thai support for a Burmese hydroelectric dam on the Salween River near the border; environmentalists in Burma and Thailand continue to voice concern over China's construction of hydroelectric dams upstream on the Nujiang/Salween River in Yunnan Province; India seeks cooperation from Burma to keep Indian Nagaland separatists from hiding in remote Burmese uplands | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $127 million (2001 est.) | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) |
Economy - overview | Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from government controls, inefficient economic policies, and abject rural poverty. The junta 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 and some of the liberalization measures have been rescinded. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability, resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including inflation and multiple official exchange rates that overvalue the Burmese kyat. In addition, most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta began to suppress the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 legislative elections. Economic sanctions against Burma by the United States - including a ban on imports of Burmese products and a ban on provision of financial services by US persons in response to the government of Burma's attack in May 2003 on AUNG SAN SUU KYI and her convoy - further slowed the inflow of foreign exchange. Official statistics are inaccurate. Published statistics on foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and unofficial border trade - often estimated to be one to two times the size of the official economy. Though the Burmese government has good economic relations with its neighbors, a better investment climate and an improved political situation 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. As of January 2004, the largest private banks remained moribund, leaving the private sector with little formal access to credit. | The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration of Niueans to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although former Premier LAKATANI announced in February 2002 that Niue will shut down the offshore banking industry. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 was about $2.6 million. Niue suffered a devastating hurricane in January 2004, which decimated nascent economic programs. While in the process of rebuilding, Niue has been dependent on foreign aid. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.484 billion kWh (2003) | 2.79 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 5.068 billion kWh (2003) | 3 million kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m
highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5% | Niuen 78.2%, Pacific islander 10.2%, European 4.5%, mixed 3.9%, Asian 0.2%, unspecified 3% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | kyats per US dollar - 5.7459 (2004), 6.0764 (2003), 6.5734 (2002), 6.6841 (2001), 6.4257 (2000)
note: these are official exchange rates; unofficial exchange rates ranged in 2004 from 815 kyat/US dollar to nearly 970 kyat/US dollar |
New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002), 2.3788 (2001), 2.2012 (2000) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000)
head of government: Premier Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 12 May 2005 (next to be held May 2008) election results: Young VIVIAN reelected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 85%, O'Love JACOBSEN (independent) 15% |
Exports | 3,356 bbl/day (2003) | NA |
Exports - commodities | clothing, gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Thailand 37.8%, India 11.7%, China 6%, Japan 5.3% (2004) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2000) |
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 | yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 56.6%
industry: 8.8% services: 34.5% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 55% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1.3% (2004 est.) | -0.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 N, 98 00 E | 19 02 S, 169 52 W |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes | one of world's largest coral islands |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 28,200 km
paved: 3,440 km unpaved: 24,760 km (1996 est.) |
total: 234 km
paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | remains world's second largest producer of illicit opium (estimated production in 2004 - 292 metric tons, down 40% from 2003 due to eradication efforts and drought; cultivation in 2004 - 30,900 hectares, a 34% decline from 2003); 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 (2005) | - |
Imports | 49,230 bbl/day (2003) | NA |
Imports - commodities | fabric, petroleum products, plastics, machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, crude oil; food products | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | China 29.8%, Singapore 20.8%, Thailand 19.3%, South Korea 5.2%, Malaysia 4.8% (2004) | New Zealand mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2000) |
Independence | 4 January 1948 (from UK) | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
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; cement | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 67.24 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 73.11 deaths/1,000 live births female: 61.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 17.2% (2004 est.) | 1% (1995) |
International organization participation | APT, 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 | ACP, FAO, PIF, Sparteca, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO |
Irrigated land | 15,920 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of the executive | Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | 27.01 million (2004 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 7%, services 23% (2001 est.) | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 15.19%
permanent crops: 0.97% other: 83.84% (2001) |
arable land: 15.38%
permanent crops: 11.54% other: 73.08% (2001) |
Languages | Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English |
Legal system | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English common law
note: Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
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 Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 30 April 2005 (next to be held April 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 60.7 years
male: 57.8 years female: 63.78 years (2005 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.3% male: 89.2% female: 81.4% (2002) |
definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Oceania |
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: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 429,144 GRT/659,622 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 8, cargo 19, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 3, roll on'roll off 3, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 10 (Germany 4, Japan 5, United Kingdom 1) (2005) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw): Army, Navy, Air Force (2005) | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $39 million (FY97) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY97) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Burmese (singular and plural)
adjective: Burmese |
noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts | typhoons |
Natural resources | petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | -1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
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 (pro-government) [THA KYAW]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [KHUN HTUN OO]; and other smaller parties | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN]; Alliance of Independents or AI [leader NA] |
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 (pro-government, a social and political organization) [THAN AUNG, general secretary] | NA |
Population | 42,909,464
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 2005 est.) |
2,166 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 25% (2000 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.42% (2005 est.) | 0% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Moulmein, Rangoon, Sittwe | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1 (2004) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 3,955 km
narrow gauge: 3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
- |
Religions | Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2% | Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 61.1%, Latter-Day Saints 8.8%, Roman Catholic 7.2%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2.4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, other 8.4%, unspecified 8.7%, none 1.9% (2001 census) |
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 (2005 est.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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 |
domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: country code - 683 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 357,300 (2003) | 1,100 est (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 66,500 (2003) | 400 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2004) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 2.01 children born/woman (2005 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 5.2% (2004 est.) | NA |
Waterways | 12,800 km (2004) | - |