Burma (2008) | Nigeria (2007) | |
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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 states: Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine, Shan |
36 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Federal Capital Territory*, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 26.1% (male 6,277,073/female 6,084,001)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 16,089,764/female 16,425,299) 65 years and over: 5.3% (male 1,075,868/female 1,421,953) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.2% (male 28,726,380/female 28,301,729)
15-64 years: 54.7% (male 37,543,678/female 36,277,038) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 1,987,521/female 2,194,818) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products | cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish |
Airports | 86 (2007) | 70 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 25
over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 36
over 3,047 m: 6 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 61
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 32 (2007) |
total: 34
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 19 (2007) |
Area | total: 678,500 sq km
land: 657,740 sq km water: 20,760 sq km |
total: 923,768 sq km
land: 910,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly more than twice the size of California |
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 subsequently transferred to house arrest. After Burma's ruling junta in August 2007 unexpectedly increased fuel prices, tens of thousands of Burmese marched in protest, led by prodemocracy activists and Buddhist monks. In late September 2007, the government brutally suppressed the protests, killing at least 13 people and arresting thousands for participating in the demonstrations. Since then, the regime has continued to raid homes and monasteries and arrest persons suspected of participating in the pro-democracy protests. The junta appointed Labor Minister AUNG KYI in October 2007 as liaison to AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who remains under house arrest and virtually incommunicado with her party and supporters. | British influence and control over what would become Nigeria grew through the 19th century. A series of constitutions after World War II granted Nigeria greater autonomy; independence came in 1960. Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new constitution was adopted in 1999, and a peaceful transition to civilian government was completed. The government faces the daunting task of reforming a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement, and institutionalizing democracy. In addition, the defusing longstanding ethnic and religious tensions are a priority if Nigeria is to build a sound foundation for economic growth and political stability. Although the April 2003 elections were marred by some irregularities, Nigeria is currently experiencing its longest period of civilian rule since independence. General elections in April 2007 were considered significantly flawed by Nigerian and international observers but they marked the first civilian-to-civilian transfer of power in the country's history. President Umaru Musa YAR'ADUA took office on 29 May 2007. |
Birth rate | 17.48 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 40.2 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA (2006 est.) |
revenues: $17.5 billion
expenditures: $18.67 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | name: Rangoon (Yangon)
geographic coordinates: 16 48 N, 96 09 E time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Nay Pyi Taw is administrative capital |
name: Abuja
geographic coordinates: 9 12 N, 7 11 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 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) | varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north |
Coastline | 1,930 km | 853 km |
Constitution | 3 January 1974; suspended since 18 September 1988; national convention convened in 1993 to establish principles to guide in the drafting of a new constitution concluded in 2007; it did not include participation of major democratic and ethnic majority representatives; a constitutional drafting committee appointed by the junta began meeting in December 2007 | new constitution adopted 5 May 1999; effective 29 May 1999 |
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: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria |
Death rate | 9.33 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 16.68 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.914 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $6.575 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Shari VILLAROSA
embassy: 110 University Avenue, Kamayut Township, Rangoon mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96546 telephone: [95] (1) 556-509, 535-756 FAX: [95] (1) 650-306 |
chief of mission: Ambassador John CAMPBELL
embassy: 7 Mambilla Drive, Abuja mailing address: P. O. Box 554, Lagos telephone: [234] (9) 523-0916/0906/5857/2235/2205 FAX: [234] (9) 523-0353 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires MYINT LWIN
chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-3344 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4351 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Professor George A. OBIOZOR
chancery: 3519 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400 FAX: [1] (202) 775-1385 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, New York |
Disputes - international | over half of Burma's population consists of diverse ethnic groups who have substantial numbers of kin in neighboring countries; Thailand must deal with Karen and other ethnic rebels, illegal cross-border activities, Karen and other refugees, and asylum seekers from Burma; Thailand is studying the feasibility of jointly constructing the Hatgyi Dam on the Salween River near the border with Burma; in 2004, international environmentalist pressure prompted China to halt construction of 13 dams on the Salween River which flows through China, Burma, and Thailand; India seeks cooperation from Burma to keep Indian Nagaland separatists, such as the United Liberation Front of Assam, from hiding in remote Burmese Uplands; Burmese Rohingya Muslim refugees reside in two camps in Bangladesh | Joint Border Commission with Cameroon reviewed 2002 ICJ ruling on the entire boundary and bilaterally resolved differences, including June 2006 Greentree Agreement that immediately cedes sovereignty of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon with a phase-out of Nigerian control within two years while resolving patriation issues; the ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but imprecisely defined coordinates in the ICJ decision and a sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River all contribute to the delay in implementation; only Nigeria and Cameroon have heeded the Lake Chad Commission's admonition to ratify the delimitation treaty which also includes the Chad-Niger and Niger-Nigeria boundaries |
Economic aid - recipient | $144.7 million (2005 est.) | $6.437 billion (2005) |
Economy - overview | Burma, a resource-rich country, suffers from pervasive government controls, inefficient economic policies, and 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 stalled, and some of the liberalization measures were rescinded. Despite Burma's increasing oil and gas revenue, socio-economic conditions have deteriorated due to the regime's mismanagement of the economy. Lacking monetary or fiscal stability, the economy suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including rising inflation, fiscal deficits, multiple official exchange rates that overvalue the Burmese kyat, a distorted interest rate regime, unreliable statistics, and an inability to reconcile national accounts to determine a realistic GDP figure. Most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta began to suppress the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently refused to honor the results of the 1990 legislative elections. In response to the government of Burma's attack in May 2003 on AUNG SAN SUU KYI and her convoy, the US imposed new economic sanctions in August 2003 including a ban on imports of Burmese products and a ban on provision of financial services by US persons. Further, a poor investment climate hampers attracting outside investment slowing the inflow of foreign exchange. The most productive sectors will continue to be in extractive industries, especially oil and gas, mining, and timber with the latter especially causing environmental degradation. Other areas, such as manufacturing and services, are struggling with inadequate infrastructure, unpredictable import/export policies, deteriorating health and education systems, and endemic corruption. A major banking crisis in 2003 shuttered the country's 20 private banks and disrupted the economy. As of 2007, the largest private banks operated under tight restrictions limiting the private sector's access to formal credit. Moreover, the September 2007 crackdown on prodemocracy demonstrators, including thousands of monks, further strained the economy as the tourism industry, which directly employs about 500,000 people, suffered dramatic declines in foreign visitor levels. In November 2007, the European Union announced new sanctions banning investment and trade in Burmese gems, timber and precious stones, while the United States expanded its sanctions list to include more Burmese government and military officials and their family members, as well as prominent regime business cronies, their family members, and associated companies. 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 as large as the official economy. Though the Burmese government has good economic relations with its neighbors, better investment and business climates and an improved political situation are needed to promote serious foreign investment, exports, and tourism. | Oil-rich Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and poor macroeconomic management, is undertaking some reforms under a new reform-minded administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from its overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 65% of budgetary revenues. The largely subsistence agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid population growth - Nigeria is Africa's most populous country - and the country, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food. Following the signing of an IMF stand-by agreement in August 2000, Nigeria received a debt-restructuring deal from the Paris Club and a $1 billion credit from the IMF, both contingent on economic reforms. Nigeria pulled out of its IMF program in April 2002, after failing to meet spending and exchange rate targets, making it ineligible for additional debt forgiveness from the Paris Club. In the last year the government has begun showing the political will to implement the market-oriented reforms urged by the IMF, such as to modernize the banking system, to curb inflation by blocking excessive wage demands, and to resolve regional disputes over the distribution of earnings from the oil industry. In 2003, the government began deregulating fuel prices, announced the privatization of the country's four oil refineries, and instituted the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy, a domestically designed and run program modeled on the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility for fiscal and monetary management. In November 2005, Abuja won Paris Club approval for a debt - relief deal that eliminated $18 billion of debt in exchange for $12 billion in payments - a total package worth $30 billion of Nigeria's total $37 billion external debt. The deal requires Nigeria to be subject to stringent IMF reviews. GDP rose strongly in 2006, based largely on increased oil exports and high global crude prices. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.744 billion kWh (FY06) | 16.88 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 6.154 billion kWh (FY06) | 22.53 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m
highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease | soil degradation; rapid deforestation; urban air and water pollution; desertification; oil pollution - water, air, and soil; has suffered serious damage from oil spills; loss of arable land; 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5% | Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups; the following are the most populous and politically influential: Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba 21%, Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5% |
Exchange rates | kyats per US dollar - 1,296 (2007), 1,280 (2006), 5.761 (2005), 5.7459 (2004), 6.0764 (2003)
note: unofficial exchange rates ranged in 2004 from 815 kyat/US dollar to nearly 970 kyat/US dollar, and by yearend 2005, the unofficial exchange rate was 1,075 kyat/US dollar; data shown for 2003-05 are official exchange rates |
nairas per US dollar - 127.38 (2006), 132.59 (2005), 132.89 (2004), 129.22 (2003), 120.58 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister, Lt. Gen THEIN SEIN (since 24 October 2007) cabinet: Cabinet is overseen by SPDC; military junta assumed power 18 September 1988 under name State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) elections: none |
chief of state: President Umaru Musa YAR'ADUA (since 29 May 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Umaru Musa YAR'ADUA (since 29 May 2007) cabinet: Federal Executive Council elections: president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 21 April 2007 (next to be held in April 2011) election results: Umaru Musa YAR'ADUA elected president; percent of vote - official results not yet posted as of September 2007 |
Exports | 5,000 bbl/day (2006 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice, clothing, jade and gems | petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber |
Exports - partners | Thailand 48.8%, India 12.7%, China 5.2%, Japan 5.2% (2006) | US 48.9%, Spain 8%, Brazil 7.3%, France 4.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
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 seven administrative divisions and seven states | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 53.9%
industry: 10.6% services: 35.5% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 17.3%
industry: 54.3% services: 28.4% (2006 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2007 est.) | 5.3% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 N, 98 00 E | 10 00 N, 8 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes | the Niger enters the country in the northwest and flows southward through tropical rain forests and swamps to its delta in the Gulf of Guinea |
Heliports | 4 (2007) | 2 (2007) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 33.2% (2003) |
Illicit drugs | remains world's second largest producer of illicit opium with an estimated production in 2005 of 380 metric tons, up 13% from 2004 and cultivation in 2005 was 40,000 hectares, a 10% increase from 2004; the decline in opium production in the United Wa State Army's areas of greatest control was more than offset by increases in south and east Shan state; lack of government will 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) |
a transit point for heroin and cocaine intended for European, East Asian, and North American markets; consumer of amphetamines; safe haven for Nigerian narcotraffickers operating worldwide; major money-laundering center; massive corruption and criminal activity; Nigeria has improved some anti-money-laundering controls, resulting in its removal from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF's) Noncooperative Countries and Territories List in June 2006; Nigeria's anti-money-laundering regime continues to be monitored by FATF |
Imports | 19,180 bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | fabric, petroleum products, fertilizer, plastics, machinery, transport equipment; cement, construction materials, crude oil; food products, edible oil | machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals |
Imports - partners | China 35.1%, Thailand 22.1%, Singapore 16.4%, Malaysia 4.8% (2006) | China 10.7%, US 8.4%, Netherlands 6.2%, UK 5.8%, France 5.6%, Brazil 5.1%, Germany 4.5% (2006) |
Independence | 4 January 1948 (from UK) | 1 October 1960 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.9% (2007 est.) | -1.6% (2006 est.) |
Industries | agricultural processing; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; cement, construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; natural gas; garments, jade and gems | crude oil, coal, tin, columbite; palm oil, peanuts, cotton, rubber, wood; hides and skins, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food products, footwear, chemicals, fertilizer, printing, ceramics, steel, small commercial ship construction and repair |
Infant mortality rate | total: 50.68 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 57.33 deaths/1,000 live births female: 43.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 95.52 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 102.44 deaths/1,000 live births female: 88.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 39.5% (2007 est.) | 8.2% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ADB, APT, ARF, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 18,700 sq km (2003) | 2,820 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 | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the President); Federal Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the federal government on the advice of the Advisory Judicial Committee) |
Labor force | 29.26 million (2007 est.) | 49.62 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 70%
industry: 7% services: 23% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 70%
industry: 10% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 5,876 km
border countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km |
total: 4,047 km
border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km |
Land use | arable land: 14.92%
permanent crops: 1.31% other: 83.77% (2005) |
arable land: 33.02%
permanent crops: 3.14% other: 63.84% (2005) |
Languages | Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages | English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law, Islamic law (in 12 northern states), and traditional 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 allowed by junta to convene (junta has anounced plans to hold elections in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NLD 392 (opposition), SNLD 23 (opposition), NUP 10 (pro-government), other 60 |
bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (109 seats, 3 from each state plus 1 from Abuja; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and House of Representatives (360 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 21 April 2007 (next to be held in April 2011); House of Representatives - last held 21 April 2007 (next to be held in April 2011) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - official results not yet posted as of May 2007; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - official results not yet posted as of May 2007 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 62.49 years
male: 60.29 years female: 64.83 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 47.44 years
male: 46.83 years female: 48.07 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89.9% male: 93.9% female: 86.4% (2000 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68% male: 75.7% female: 60.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Africa |
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 continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total: 33 ships (1000 GRT or over) 364,447 GRT/549,310 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 20, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 8 (Germany 5, Japan 3) (2007) |
total: 55 ships (1000 GRT or over) 284,400 GRT/483,316 DWT
by type: cargo 5, chemical tanker 8, combination ore/oil 1, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 37, specialized tanker 2 foreign-owned: 3 (Norway 1, Singapore 1, Spain 1) registered in other countries: 23 (Bahamas 2, Bermuda 11, Cambodia 2, Panama 6, Poland 1, Seychelles 1, unknown 2) (2007) |
Military branches | Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw): Army, Navy, Air Force (Tatmadaw Lay) (2008) | Nigerian Armed Forces: Army, Navy, Air Force (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (2005 est.) | 1.5% (2006) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947) | Independence Day (National Day), 1 October (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Burmese (singular and plural)
adjective: Burmese |
noun: Nigerian(s)
adjective: Nigerian |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts | periodic droughts; flooding |
Natural resources | petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower | natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zinc, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 2,790 km; oil 558 km (2007) | condensate 126 km; gas 2,812 km; liquid petroleum gas 125 km; oil 4,278 km; refined products 3,517 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, AUNG SAN SUU KYI]; National Unity Party or NUP (pro-regime) [TUN YE]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [HKUN HTUN OO]; and other smaller parties | Action Congress or AC [Bisi AKANDE]; Advanced Congress of Democrats or ACD [Alex ANIELO]; Alliance for Democracy or AD [Mojisoluwa AKINFENWA]; All Nigeria Peoples' Party or ANPP [Alh Modu SHERIF]; All Progressives Grand Alliance or APGA [Victor C. UMEH]; Democratic People's Party or DPP [Umara AHMED]; Fresh Democratic Party [Chris OKOTIE]; Movement for the Restoration and Defense of Democracy or MRDD [Mohammed Gambo JIMETA]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Aliyu Habu FARI]; Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [Olusegun OBASANJO]; Peoples Redemption Party or PRP [Abdulkadir Balarabe MUSA]; Peoples Salvation Party or PSP [Lawal MAITURARE]; United Nigeria Peoples Party or UNPP [disputed leadership] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Ethnic Nationalities Council or ENC (based in Thailand); Federation of Trade Unions-Burma or FTUB (exile trade union and labor advocates); 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 Organization or KIO; Karen National Union or KNU; Karenni National People's Party or KNPP; National Council-Union of Burma or NCUB (exile coalition of opposition groups); several Shan factions; United Wa State Army or UWSA; Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (pro-regime, a social and political mass-member organization) [HTAY OO, general secretary]; 88 Generation Students (pro-democracy movement) [MIN KO NAING] | NA |
Population | 47,373,958
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 2007 est.) |
135,031,164
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 32.7% (2007 est.) | 60% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.815% (2007 est.) | 2.379% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 3 (2007) | AM 83, FM 36, shortwave 11 (2001) |
Railways | total: 3,955 km
narrow gauge: 3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
total: 3,505 km
narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2% | Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.032 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.757 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.015 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.035 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.906 male(s)/female total population: 1.022 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: system capable of providing basic service; cellular mobile phone system functions more efficiently than traditional lines international: country code - 95; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 optical telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; satellite earth stations - 2, Intelsat (Indian Ocean), and ShinSat (2007) |
general assessment: expansion and modernization of the fixed-line telephone network has been slow due to faltering efforts at privatization
domestic: the addition of a second fixed-line provider in 2002 resulted in faster growth of this service; wireless telephony has grown rapidly, in part responding to the shortcomings of the fixed-line network; 4 wireless (GSM) service providers operate nationally; the combined growth resulted in a sharp increase in teledensity reported to be over 18% in March 2006 international: country code - 234; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 503,900 (2005) | 1.688 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 214,200 (2006) | 32.322 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (2008) | 3 (the government controls 2 of the broadcasting stations and 15 repeater stations) (2001) |
Terrain | central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands | southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north |
Total fertility rate | 1.95 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 5.45 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.2% (2007 est.) | 5.8% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | 12,800 km (2007) | 8,600 km (Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks) (2007) |