Japan (2007) | Burma (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gunma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 13.8% (male 9,024,344/female 8,553,700)
15-64 years: 65.2% (male 41,841,760/female 41,253,968) 65 years and over: 21% (male 11,312,492/female 15,447,230) (2007 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit; pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs; fish | rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products |
Airports | 176 (2007) | 78 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 145
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 41 1,524 to 2,437 m: 40 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 29 (2007) |
total: 9
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 31
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 27 (2007) |
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: 377,835 sq km
land: 374,744 sq km water: 3,091 sq km note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto) |
total: 678,500 sq km
land: 657,740 sq km water: 20,760 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than California | slightly smaller than Texas |
Background | In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For more than two centuries this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Following the Treaty of Kanagawa with the US in 1854, Japan opened its ports and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1931-32 Japan occupied Manchuria, and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally. | 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. |
Birth rate | 8.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 18.11 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.479 trillion
expenditures: $1.586 trillion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $474.9 million
expenditures: $955.5 million, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: Tokyo
geographic coordinates: 35 41 N, 139 45 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Rangoon (government refers to the capital as Yangon) |
Climate | varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north | 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) |
Coastline | 29,751 km | 1,930 km |
Constitution | 3 May 1947 | 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 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Japan local long form: Nihon-koku/Nippon-koku local short form: Nihon/Nippon |
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 |
Death rate | 8.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 12.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.547 trillion (30 June 2006) | $6.752 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador J. Thomas SCHIEFFER
embassy: 1-10-5 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 mailing address: APO AP 96337-5004 telephone: [81] (03) 3224-5000 FAX: [81] (03) 3505-1862 consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya |
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ryozo KATO
chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Agana (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, Seattle |
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 |
Disputes - international | the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kuril Islands," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Japan and South Korea claim Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do) occupied by South Korea since 1954; China and Taiwan dispute both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of the Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon prospecting | 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 |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $8.9 billion (2004) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $127 million (2001 est.) |
Economy - overview | Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically powerful economy in the world after the US and the third-largest economy in the world after the US and China, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. One notable characteristic of the economy has been how manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors have worked together in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features have now eroded. Japan's industrial sector is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The tiny agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 60% of its food on a caloric basis. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades, overall real economic growth had been spectacular - a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s, averaging just 1.7%, largely because of the after effects of overinvestment and an asset price bubble during the late 1980s that required a protracted period of time for firms to reduce excess debt, capital, and labor. From 2000 to 2001, government efforts to revive economic growth proved short-lived and were hampered by the slowing of the US, European, and Asian economies. In 2002-06, growth improved and the lingering fears of deflation in prices and economic activity lessened. Japan's huge government debt, which totals 176% of GDP, and the aging of the population are two major long-run problems. Some fear that a rise in taxes could endanger the current economic recovery. Debate also continues on the role of and effects of reform in restructuring the economy, particularly with respect to the 2007-17 privatization of Japan Post, which has functioned not only as the national postal delivery system but also, through its banking and insurance facilities, as Japan's largest financial institution. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 974.2 billion kWh (2005) | 3.484 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production | 1.025 trillion kWh (2005) | 5.068 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Hachiro-gata -4 m
highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m |
lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m
highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere | deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling | 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 |
Ethnic groups | Japanese 98.5%, Koreans 0.5%, Chinese 0.4%, other 0.7%
note: up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil (2004) |
Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5% |
Exchange rates | yen per US dollar - 116.18 (2006), 110.22 (2005), 108.19 (2004), 115.93 (2003), 125.39 (2002) | 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 |
Executive branch | chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)
head of government: Prime Minister Yasuo FUKUDA (since 26 September 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: Diet designates prime minister; constitution requires that prime minister commands parliamentary majority; following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition in House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister; monarch is hereditary election results: FUKUDA elected prime minister with 338 of 477 votes cast in the House of Representatives; he received 106 of 240 votes cast in the House of Councillors; vote of House of Representatives prevailed |
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 |
Exports | 94,830 bbl/day (2004) | 3,356 bbl/day (2003) |
Exports - commodities | transport equipment, motor vehicles, semiconductors, electrical machinery, chemicals | clothing, gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice |
Exports - partners | US 22.8%, China 14.3%, South Korea 7.8%, Taiwan 6.8%, Hong Kong 5.6% (2006) | Thailand 37.8%, India 11.7%, China 6%, Japan 5.3% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center | 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 |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.5%
industry: 25.6% services: 73% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 56.6%
industry: 8.8% services: 34.5% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2006 est.) | -1.3% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 36 00 N, 138 00 E | 22 00 N, 98 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location in northeast Asia | strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes |
Heliports | 14 (2007) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 28,200 km
paved: 3,440 km unpaved: 24,760 km (1996 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4.8%
highest 10%: 21.7% (1993) |
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
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 | 5.425 million bbl/day (2004) | 49,230 bbl/day (2003) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials | fabric, petroleum products, plastics, machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, crude oil; food products |
Imports - partners | China 20.5%, US 12%, Saudi Arabia 6.4%, UAE 5.5%, Australia 4.8%, South Korea 4.7%, Indonesia 4.2% (2006) | China 29.8%, Singapore 20.8%, Thailand 19.3%, South Korea 5.2%, Malaysia 4.8% (2004) |
Independence | 660 B.C. (traditional founding by Emperor JIMMU) | 4 January 1948 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.3% (2006 est.) | NA |
Industries | among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods | agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.2% (2006 est.) | 17.2% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA, MIGA, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SECI (observer), UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | 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 |
Irrigated land | 25,920 sq km (2003) | 15,920 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet) | 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 | 66.57 million (2006 est.) | 27.01 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 4.6%
industry: 27.8% services: 67.7% (2004) |
agriculture 70%, industry 7%, services 23% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 5,876 km
border countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km |
Land use | arable land: 11.64%
permanent crops: 0.9% other: 87.46% (2005) |
arable land: 15.19%
permanent crops: 0.97% other: 83.84% (2001) |
Languages | Japanese | Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages |
Legal system | modeled after German civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (242 seats - members elected for six-year terms; half reelected every three years; 146 members in multi-seat constituencies and 96 by proportional representation) and the House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - members elected for four-year terms; 300 in single-seat constituencies; 180 members by proportional representation in 11 regional blocs)
elections: House of Councillors - last held 29 July 2007 (next to be held in July 2010); House of Representatives - last held 11 September 2005 (next election by September 2009) election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DPJ 109, LDP 83, Komeito 20, JCP 7, SDP 5, others 18 House of Representatives - percent of vote by party (in single-seat constituencies) - LDP 47.8%, DPJ 36.4%, others 15.8%; seats by party - LDP 296, DPJ 113, Komeito 31, JCP 9, SDP 7, others 24 (2007) |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 82.02 years
male: 78.67 years female: 85.56 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 60.7 years
male: 57.8 years female: 63.78 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2002) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.3% male: 89.2% female: 81.4% (2002) |
Location | Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand |
Map references | Asia | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
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 |
Merchant marine | total: 676 ships (1000 GRT or over) 10,386,894 GRT/11,689,142 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 131, cargo 29, carrier 3, chemical tanker 23, container 10, liquefied gas 58, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 142, petroleum tanker 157, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 52, vehicle carrier 55 registered in other countries: 2,692 (Bahamas 62, Belize 2, Bermuda 1, Burma 3, Cambodia 3, Cayman Islands 6, China 2, Cyprus 19, France 5, Honduras 4, Hong Kong 78, Indonesia 5, Isle of Man 4, South Korea 1, Liberia 111, Malaysia 4, Malta 3, Marshall Islands 5, Mongolia 1, Norway 1, Panama 2,151, Philippines 69, Portugal 10, Singapore 108, Sweden 1, Thailand 4, UK 1, Vanuatu 28, unknown 2) (2007) |
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 branches | Japanese Defense Agency (JDA): Ground Self-Defense Force (Rikujou Jietai, GSDF), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Kaijou Jietai, MSDF), Air Self-Defense Force (Nihon Koku-Jieitai, ASDF) (2006) | Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw): Army, Navy, Air Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $39 million (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.8% (2006) | 2.1% (FY97) |
National holiday | Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933) | Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947) |
Nationality | noun: Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Japanese |
noun: Burmese (singular and plural)
adjective: Burmese |
Natural hazards | many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons | destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts |
Natural resources | negligible mineral resources, fish | petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 8,015 km; oil 170 km; oil/gas/water 60 km (2006) | gas 2,056 km; oil 558 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Ichiro OZAWA]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII]; Komeito [Akihiro OTA]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Yasuo FUKUDA]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA] | 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 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | 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] |
Population | 127,433,494 (July 2007 est.) | 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.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 25% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.088% (2007 est.) | 0.42% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Moulmein, Rangoon, Sittwe |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 215 (plus 370 repeaters), FM 89 (plus 485 repeaters), shortwave 21 (2001) | AM 1, FM 1 (2004) |
Railways | total: 23,474 km
standard gauge: 3,204 km 1.435-m gauge (3,204 km electrified) narrow gauge: 77 km 1.372-m gauge (77 km electrified); 20,182 km 1.067-m gauge (13,334 km electrified); 11 km 0.762-m gauge (11 km electrified) (2006) |
total: 3,955 km
narrow gauge: 3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) | 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: 1.055 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.014 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.732 male(s)/female total population: 0.953 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 20 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind international: country code - 81; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and US; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 55.155 million (2006) | 357,300 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 101.7 million (2006) | 66,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 211 (plus 7,341 repeaters); in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services (1999) | 2 (2004) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous | central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands |
Total fertility rate | 1.23 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.01 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.1% (2006 est.) | 5.2% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 1,770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2007) | 12,800 km (2004) |