Burma [World Factbook]

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Subject: Burma [World Factbook]

Subject: Burma [World Factbook]

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                 THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1992
        
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Burma - Geography
=================



Total area:
   678,500 km2

Land area:
   657,740 km2

Comparative area:
   slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries:
   5,876 km; Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km,
   Thailand 1,800 km

Coastline:
   1,930 km

Maritime claims:

  Contiguous zone:
   24 nm

  Continental shelf:
   edge of continental margin or 200 nm

  Exclusive economic zone:
   200 nm

  Territorial sea:
   12 nm

Disputes:
   none

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)

Terrain:
   central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands

Natural resources:
   crude oil, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some
   marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas

Land use:
   arable land 15%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and
   woodland 49%; other 34%; includes irrigated 2%

Environment:
   subject to destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides
   common during rainy season (June to September); deforestation

Note:
   strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes



Burma - People
==============



Population:
   42,642,418 (July 1992), growth rate 1.9% (1992)

Birth rate:
   29 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate:
   10 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Net migration rate:
   0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Infant mortality rate:
   68 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth:
   57 years male, 61 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate:
   3.8 children born/woman (1992)

Nationality:
   noun - Burmese (singular and plural); adjective - Burmese

Ethnic divisions:
   Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Mon 2%, Indian 2%,
   other 5%

Religions:
   Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%,
   animist beliefs 1%, other 2%

Languages:
   Burmese; minority ethnic groups have their own languages

Literacy:
   81% (male 89%, female 72%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Labor force:
   16,036,000; agriculture 65.2%, industry 14.3%, trade 10.1%, government
   6.3%, other 4.1% (FY89 est.)

Organized labor:
   Workers' Asiayone (association), 1,800,000 members; Peasants' Asiayone,
   7,600,000 members



Burma - Government
==================



Long-form name:
   Union of Burma; note - the local official name is Pyidaungzu Myanma
   Naingngandaw, which has been translated by the US Government as Union of
   Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar

Type:
   military regime

Capital:
   Rangoon (sometimes translated as Yangon)

Administrative divisions:
   7 divisions* (yin-mya, singular - yin) and 7 states (pyine-mya, singular -
   pyine); Chin State, Irrawaddy*, Kachin State, Karan State, Kayah State,
   Magwe*, Mandalay*, Mon State, Pegu*, Rakhine State, Rangoon*, Sagaing*,
   Shan State, Tenasserim*

Independence:
   4 January 1948 (from UK)

Constitution:
   3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988)

Legal system:
   martial law in effect throughout most of the country; has not accepted
   compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday:
   Independence Day, 4 January (1948)

Executive branch:
   chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council, State Law and
   Order Restoration Council

Legislative branch:
   unicameral People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw) was dissolved after the coup
   of 18 September 1988

Judicial branch:
   Council of People's Justices was abolished after the coup of 18 September
   1988

Leaders:

  Chief of State and Head of Government:
   Chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council Gen. THAN SHWE
   (since 23 April 1992)

Political parties and leaders:
   National Unity Party (NUP; proregime), THA KYAW; National League for
   Democracy (NLD), U AUNG SHWE; National Coalition of Union of Burma (NCGUB),
   SEIN WIN - consists of individuals legitimately elected but not recognized
   by military regime; fled to border area and joined with insurgents in
   December 1990 to form a parallel government

Suffrage:
   universal at age 18

Elections:

  People's Assembly:
   last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened; results - NLD 80%;
   seats
   - (485 total) NLD 396, the regime-favored NUP 10, other 79

Communists:
   several hundred (est.) in Burma Communist Party (BCP)

Other political or pressure groups:
   Kachin Independence Army (KIA), United Wa State Army (UWSA), Karen National
   Union (KNU) , several Shan factions, including the Shan United Army (SUA)
   (all ethnically based insurgent groups)

Member of:
   AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO,
   IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO



Burma - Government
==================



Diplomatic representation:
   Ambassador U THAUNG; Chancery at 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008;
   telephone (202) 332-9044 through 9046; there is a Burmese Consulate General
   in New York

  US:
   Ambassador (vacant); Deputy Chief of Mission, Charge d'Affaires Franklin P.
   HUDDLE, Jr.; Embassy at 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (mailing address is
   GPO Box 521, AMEMB Box B, APO AP 96546); telephone [95] (1) 82055, 82181;
   FAX [95] (1) 80409

Flag:
   red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, all in
   white, 14 five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of
   rice; the 14 stars represent the 14 administrative divisions



Burma - Economy
===============



Overview:
   Burma is a poor Asian country, with a per capita GDP of about $500. The
   nation has been unable to achieve any substantial improvement in export
   earnings because of falling prices for many of its major commodity exports.
   For rice, traditionally the most important export, the drop in world prices
   has been accompanied by shrinking markets and a smaller volume of sales. In
   1985 teak replaced rice as the largest export and continues to hold this
   position. The economy is heavily dependent on the agricultural sector,
   which generates about 40% of GDP and provides employment for 65% of the
   work force. Burma has been largely isolated from international economic
   forces and has been trying to encourage foreign investment, so far with
   little success.

GDP:
   exchange rate conversion - $22.2 billion, per capita $530; real growth rate
   5.6% (1991)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
   40% (1991)

Unemployment rate:
   9.6% in urban areas (FY89 est.)

Budget:
   revenues $7.2 billion; expenditures $9.3 billion, including capital
   expenditures of $6 billion (1991)

Exports:
   $568 million

  commodities:
   teak, rice, oilseed, metals, rubber, gems

  partners:
   Southeast Asia, India, Japan, China, EC, Africa

Imports:
   $1.16 billion

  commodities:
   machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, food products

  partners:
   Japan, EC, China, Southeast Asia

External debt:
   $4.2 billion (1991)

Industrial production:
   growth rate 2.6% (FY90 est.); accounts for 10% of GDP

Electricity:
   950,000 kW capacity; 2,900 million kWh produced, 70 kWh per capita (1990)

Industries:
   agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood and wood products;
   petroleum refining; mining of copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction
   materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer

Agriculture:
   accounts for 40% of GDP (including fish and forestry); self-sufficient in
   food; principal crops - paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, pulses;
   world's largest stand of hardwood trees; rice and teak account for 55% of
   export revenues; fish catch of 740,000 metric tons (FY90)

Illicit drugs:
   world's largest illicit producer of opium poppy and minor producer of
   cannabis for the international drug trade; opium production is on the
   increase as growers respond to the collapse of Rangoon's antinarcotic
   programs

Economic aid:
   US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $158 million; Western (non-US)
   countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.9 billion;
   Communist countries (1970-89), $424 million



Burma - Economy
===============



Currency:
   kyat (plural - kyats); 1 kyat (K) = 100 pyas

Exchange rates:
   kyats (K) per US$1 - 6.0963 (January 1992), 6.2837 (1991), 6.3386 (1990),
   6.7049 (1989), 6.46 (1988), 6.6535 (1987)

Fiscal year:
   1 April - 31 March



Burma - Communications
======================



Railroads:
   3,991 km total, all government owned; 3,878 km 1.000-meter gauge, 113 km
   narrow-gauge industrial lines; 362 km double track

Highways:
   27,000 km total; 3,200 km bituminous, 17,700 km improved earth or gravel,
   6,100 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways:
   12,800 km; 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels

Pipelines:
   crude oil 1,343 km; natural gas 330 km

Ports:
   Rangoon, Moulmein, Bassein

Merchant marine:
   71 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,036,018 GRT/1,514,121 DWT; includes
   3 passenger-cargo, 19 cargo, 5 refrigerated cargo, 3 vehicle carrier, 3
   container, 2 petroleum tanker, 6 chemical, 1 combination ore/oil, 27 bulk,
   1 combination bulk, 1 roll-on/roll-off

Civil air:
   17 major transport aircraft (including 3 helicopters)

Airports:
   85 total, 82 usable; 27 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways
   over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 38 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications:
   meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service; international
   service is good; 53,000 telephones (1986); radiobroadcast coverage is
   limited to the most populous areas; broadcast stations - 2 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV
   (1985); 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station



Burma - Defense Forces
======================



Branches:
   Army, Navy, Air Force

Manpower availability:
   eligible 15-49, 21,447,878; of the 10,745,530 males 15-49, 5,759,840 are
   fit for military service; of the 10,702,348 females 15-49, 5,721,868 are
   fit for military service; 424,474 males and 410,579 females reach military
   age (18) annually; both sexes are liable for military service

Defense expenditures:
   exchange rate conversion - $1.28 billion, FY(91-92)