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Compare Taiwan (2002) - Burma (2005)

Compare Taiwan (2002) z Burma (2005)

 Taiwan (2002)Burma (2005)
 TaiwanBurma
Administrative divisions the central administrative divisions include the provinces of Fu-chien (some 20 offshore islands of Fujian Province including Quemoy and Matsu) and Taiwan (the island of Taiwan and the Pescadores islands); Taiwan is further subdivided into 16 counties (hsien, singular and plural), 5 municipalities* (shih, singular and plural), and 2 special municipalities** (chuan-shih, singular and plural); Chang-hua, Chia-i, Chia-i*, Chi-lung*, Hsin-chu, Hsin-chu*, Hua-lien, I-lan, Kao-hsiung, Kao-hsiung**, Miao-li, Nan-t'ou, P'eng-hu, P'ing-tung, T'ai-chung, T'ai-chung*, T'ai-nan, T'ai-nan*, T'ai-pei, T'ai-pei**, T'ai-tung, T'ao-yuan, and Yun-lin; the provincial capital is at Chung-hsing-hsin-ts'un


note: Taiwan uses the Wade-Giles system for romanization
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: 21% (male 2,464,290; female 2,268,627)


15-64 years: 70% (male 8,010,014; female 7,774,296)


65 years and over: 9% (male 1,053,975; female 976,807) (2002 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, corn, vegetables, fruit, tea; pigs, poultry, beef, milk; fish rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products
Airports 39 (2001) 78 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 37


over 3,047 m: 8


2,438 to 3,047 m: 8


1,524 to 2,437 m: 11


914 to 1,523 m: 8


under 914 m: 2 (2002)
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: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2002)
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: 35,980 sq km


land: 32,260 sq km


water: 3,720 sq km


note: includes the Pescadores, Matsu, and Quemoy
total: 678,500 sq km


land: 657,740 sq km


water: 20,760 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Maryland and Delaware combined slightly smaller than Texas
Background In 1895, military defeat forced China to cede Taiwan to Japan, however it reverted to Chinese control after World War II. Following the Communist victory on the mainland in 1949, 2 million Nationalists fled to Taiwan and established a government using the 1947 constitution drawn up for all of China. Over the next five decades, the ruling authorities gradually democratized and incorporated the native population within its governing structure. This culminated in 2000, when Taiwan underwent its first peaceful transfer of power from the Nationalist to the Democratic Progressive Party. Throughout this period, the island has prospered to become one of East Asia's economic "Tigers." The dominant political issues continue to be the relationship between Taiwan and China - specifically the question of eventual unification - as well as domestic political and economic reform. 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 14.21 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 18.11 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget revenues: $36 billion


expenditures: $36.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)
revenues: $474.9 million


expenditures: $955.5 million, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (2004 est.)
Capital Taipei Rangoon (government refers to the capital as Yangon)
Climate tropical; marine; rainy season during southwest monsoon (June to August); cloudiness is persistent and extensive all year 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 1,566.3 km 1,930 km
Constitution 1 January 1947, amended in 1992, 1994, 1997, and 1999 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: Taiwan


local long form: none


local short form: T'ai-wan


former: Formosa
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
Currency new Taiwan dollar (TWD) -
Death rate 6.08 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 12.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external $40 billion (2000) $6.752 billion (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people on Taiwan are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality - the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) - which has offices in the US and Taiwan; US office located at 1700 N. Moore St., Suite 1700, Arlington, VA 22209-1996, telephone: [1] (703) 525-8474, FAX: [1] (703) 841-1385); Taiwan offices located at #7 Lane 134, Hsin Yi Road, Section 3, Taipei, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (2) 2709-2000, FAX: [886] (2) 2702-7675; #2 Chung Cheng 3rd Road, 5th Floor, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, telephone: [886] (7) 224-0154 through 0157, FAX: [886] (7) 223-8237; and the American Trade Center, Room 3208 International Trade Building, Taipei World Trade Center, 333 Keelung Road Section 1, Taipei, Taiwan 10548, telephone: [886] (2) 2720-1550, FAX: [886] (2) 2757-7162 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 none; unofficial commercial and cultural relations with the people of the US are maintained through an unofficial instrumentality, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the US with headquarters in Taipei and field offices in Washington and 12 other US cities 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 involved in complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does China 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 - recipient - $127 million (2001 est.)
Economy - overview Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing guidance of investment and foreign trade by government authorities. In keeping with this trend, some large government-owned banks and industrial firms are being privatized. Real growth in GDP has averaged about 8% during the past three decades. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialization. The trade surplus is substantial, and foreign reserves are the world's third largest. Agriculture contributes 2% to GDP, down from 35% in 1952. Traditional labor-intensive industries are steadily being moved offshore and replaced with more capital- and technology-intensive industries. Taiwan has become a major investor in China, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam; 50,000 Taiwanese businesses are established in China. Because of its conservative financial approach and its entrepreneurial strengths, Taiwan suffered little compared with many of its neighbors from the Asian financial crisis in 1998-99. The global economic downturn, however, combined with poor policy coordination by the new administration and increasing bad debts in the banking system, pushed Taiwan into recession in 2001, the first whole year of negative growth since 1947. Unemployment also reached a level not seen since the 1970s oil crisis. 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 139.3 billion kWh (2000) 3.484 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2000) 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2000) 0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - production 149.78 billion kWh (2000) 5.068 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 69%


hydro: 6%


nuclear: 25%


other: 0% (2000)
-
Elevation extremes lowest point: South China Sea 0 m


highest point: Yu Shan 3,997 m
lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m


highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m
Environment - current issues air pollution; water pollution from industrial emissions, raw sewage; contamination of drinking water supplies; trade in endangered species; low-level radioactive waste disposal deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease
Environment - international agreements party to: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status


signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements because of Taiwan's international status
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 Taiwanese (including Hakka) 84%, mainland Chinese 14%, aborigine 2% Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%
Exchange rates new Taiwan dollars per US dollar - 34.6 (2002), 34.49 (yearend 2001),, 33.08 (yearend 2000),, 31.4 (yearend 1999),, 32.22 (1998),, 32.05 (1997),, 27.5 (1996) 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: President Shui-bian CHEN (since 20 May 2000) and Vice President Annette Hsiu-lien LU (since 20 May 2000)


head of government: Premier (President of the Executive Yuan) Shyi-kun YU (since 1 February 2002) and Vice Premier (Vice President of the Executive Yuan) Hsin-yi LIN (since 1 February 2002)


cabinet: Executive Yuan appointed by the president


elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 18 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004); premier appointed by the president; vice premiers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier


election results: Shui-bian CHEN elected president; percent of vote - Shui-bian CHEN (DPP) 39.3%, James SOONG (independent) 36.84%, LIEN Chan (KMT) 23.1%, HSU Hsin-liang (independent) 0.63%, LEE Ao (CNP) 0.13%
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 $122 billion f.o.b. (2001) 3,356 bbl/day (2003)
Exports - commodities machinery and electrical equipment 55%, metals, textiles, plastics, chemicals clothing, gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice
Exports - partners US 23.5%, Hong Kong 21.1%, Europe 16%, ASEAN 12.2%, Japan 11.2% (2000) Thailand 37.8%, India 11.7%, China 6%, Japan 5.3% (2004)
Fiscal year 1 July - 30 June (up to FY98/99); 1 July 1999 - 31 December 2000 for FY00; calendar year (after FY00) 1 April - 31 March
Flag description red with a dark blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing a white sun with 12 triangular rays 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 purchasing power parity - $386 billion (2001 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 2%


industry: 32%


services: 66% (2000 est.)
agriculture: 56.6%


industry: 8.8%


services: 34.5% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $17,200 (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate -2.2% (2001 est.) -1.3% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates 23 30 N, 121 00 E 22 00 N, 98 00 E
Geography - note strategic location adjacent to both the Taiwan Strait and the Luzon Strait strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes
Heliports 3 (2002) 1 (2004 est.)
Highways total: 34,901 km


paved: 31,271 km (including 538 km of expressways)


unpaved: 3,630 km (1998 est.)
total: 28,200 km


paved: 3,440 km


unpaved: 24,760 km (1996 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: NA%


highest 10%: NA%
lowest 10%: 2.8%


highest 10%: 32.4% (1998)
Illicit drugs regional transit point for heroin and methamphetamine; major problem with domestic consumption of methamphetamine and heroin 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 $109 billion f.o.b. (2001) 49,230 bbl/day (2003)
Imports - commodities machinery and electrical equipment 50%, minerals, precision instruments fabric, petroleum products, plastics, machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, crude oil; food products
Imports - partners Japan 27.5%, US 17.9%, Europe 13.6%, South Korea 6.4% (2000) China 29.8%, Singapore 20.8%, Thailand 19.3%, South Korea 5.2%, Malaysia 4.8% (2004)
Independence - 4 January 1948 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate -5% (2001 est.) NA
Industries electronics, petroleum refining, chemicals, textiles, iron and steel, machinery, cement, food processing agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; cement
Infant mortality rate 6.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 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) 0.5% (2001 est.) 17.2% (2004 est.)
International organization participation APEC, AsDB, BCIE, ICC, ICFTU, IFRCS, IOC, WCL, WTrO 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
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 8 (2000) -
Irrigated land NA sq km 15,920 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Judicial Yuan (justices appointed by the president with consent of the National Assembly; note - beginning in 2003, justices will be appointed by the president with consent of the Legislative Yuan) 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 9.8 million (2001 est.) 27.01 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation services 56%, industry 36%, agriculture 8% (2001 est.) 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: 24%


permanent crops: 1%


other: 75%
arable land: 15.19%


permanent crops: 0.97%


other: 83.84% (2001)
Languages Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Legal system based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch unicameral Legislative Yuan (225 seats - 168 elected by popular vote, 41 elected on the basis of the proportion of islandwide votes received by participating political parties, eight elected from overseas Chinese constituencies on the basis of the proportion of islandwide votes received by participating political parties, eight elected by popular vote among the aboriginal populations; members serve three-year terms) and unicameral National Assembly (300 seat nonstanding body; delegates nominated by parties and elected by proportional representation within three months of a Legislative Yuan call to amend the Constitution, impeach the president, or change national borders)


elections: Legislative Yuan - last held 8 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2004); note - the National Assembly is a nonstanding body and is called into session


election results: Legislative Yuan - percent of vote by party - DPP 39%, KMT 30%, PFP 20%, TSU 6%, independents and other parties 5%; seats by party - DPP 87, KMT 68, PFP 46, TSU 13, independents and other parties 11
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: 76.74 years


male: 73.99 years


female: 79.71 years (2002 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: 86% (1980 est.)


male: 93% (1980 est.)


female: 79% (1980 est.)


note: literacy for the total population has reportedly increased to 94% (1998 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 85.3%


male: 89.2%


female: 81.4% (2002)
Location Eastern Asia, islands bordering the East China Sea, Philippine Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait, north of the Philippines, off the southeastern coast of China Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand
Map references Southeast Asia Southeast Asia
Maritime claims exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 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: 152 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,262,451 GRT/6,596,950 DWT


ships by type: bulk 40, cargo 28, combination bulk 3, container 53, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 2


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Hong Kong 3, Japan 1 (2002 est.)
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 Army, Navy (including Marine Corps), Air Force, Coast Guard Administration, Armed Forces Reserve Command, Combined Service Forces Command Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw): Army, Navy, Air Force (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $8,041.2 million (FY01) $39 million (FY97)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.8% (FY01) 2.1% (FY97)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 6,575,625 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 5,018,882 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - military age 19 years of age (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 198,766 (2002 est.) -
National holiday Republic Day (Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution), 10 October (1911) Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947)
Nationality noun: Chinese (singular and plural)


adjective: Chinese
noun: Burmese (singular and plural)


adjective: Burmese
Natural hazards earthquakes and typhoons destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts
Natural resources small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower
Net migration rate -0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) -1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines petroleum products 3,400 km; natural gas 1,800 km (1999) gas 2,056 km; oil 558 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [Frank Chang-ting HSIEH, chairman]; Kuomintang or KMT (Nationalist Party) [LIEN Chan, chairman]; People First Party or PFP [James Chu-yu SOONG, chairman]; Taiwan Solidarity Union or TSU [Chu-wen HUANG, chairman]; other minor parties 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 Taiwan independence movement, various business and environmental groups


note: debate on Taiwan independence has become acceptable within the mainstream of domestic politics on Taiwan; political liberalization and the increased representation of opposition parties in Taiwan's legislature have opened public debate on the island's national identity; a broad popular consensus has developed that Taiwan currently enjoys de facto independence and - whatever the ultimate outcome regarding reunification or independence - that Taiwan's people must have the deciding voice; advocates of Taiwan independence oppose the stand that the island will eventually unify with mainland China; goals of the Taiwan independence movement include establishing a sovereign nation on Taiwan and entering the UN; other organizations supporting Taiwan independence include the World United Formosans for Independence and the Organization for Taiwan Nation Building
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 22,548,009 (July 2002 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 1% (2000 est.) 25% (2000 est.)
Population growth rate 0.78% (2002 est.) 0.42% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors Chi-lung (Keelung), Hua-lien, Kao-hsiung, Su-ao, T'ai-chung Moulmein, Rangoon, Sittwe
Radio broadcast stations AM 218, FM 333, shortwave 50 (1999) AM 1, FM 1 (2004)
Radios 16 million (1994) -
Railways total: 1,108 km


narrow gauge: 1,108 km 1.067-m gauge (519 km electrified)


note: in addition to the above routes in common carrier service, there are several thousand kilometers of 1.067-m gauge routes that are dedicated to industrial use (2001)
total: 3,955 km


narrow gauge: 3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2004)
Religions mixture of Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5% Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 1.08 male(s)/female


total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 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: provides telecommunications service for every business and private need


domestic: thoroughly modern; completely digitalized


international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); submarine cables to Japan (Okinawa), Philippines, Guam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe (1999)
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 12.49 million (September 2000) 357,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular 16 million (September 2000) 66,500 (2003)
Television broadcast stations 29 (plus two repeaters) (1997) 2 (2004)
Terrain eastern two-thirds mostly rugged mountains; flat to gently rolling plains in west central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands
Total fertility rate 1.76 children born/woman (2002 est.) 2.01 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate 4.5% (2001 est.) 5.2% (2004 est.)
Waterways NA 12,800 km (2004)
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