BURMA GEOGRAPHY Total area: 678,500 km2; land area: 657,740 km2 Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas Land boundaries: 5,876 km total; 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 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 PEOPLE Population: 42,112,082 (July 1991), growth rate 2.0% (1991) Birth rate: 32 births/1,000 population (1991) Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1991) Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991) Infant mortality rate: 95 deaths/1,000 live births (1991) Life expectancy at birth: 53 years male, 56 years female (1991) Total fertility rate: 4.1 children born/woman (1991) Nationality: noun--Burmese; adjective--Burmese Ethnic divisions: Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Mon 2%, Indian 2%, other 5% Religion: Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist beliefs 1%, other 2% Language: 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 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. SAW MAUNG (since 18 September 1988) Political parties and leaders: National Unity Party (NUP; proregime), THA KYAW; National League for Democracy (NLD), U TIN OO and AUNG SAN SUU KYI; League for Democracy and Peace, U NU 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, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO Diplomatic representation: Ambassador U MYO AUNG; 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 Franklin P. HUDDLE, Jr.; Embassy at 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (mailing address is G. P. O. Box 521, Rangoon or Box B, APO San Francisco 96346); telephone 82055 or 82181 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 ECONOMY Overview: Burma is a poor Asian country, with a per capita GDP of about $400. 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 half of GDP and provides employment for 66% of the work force. GDP: $16.8 billion, per capita $408; real growth rate NEGL% (FY90 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 22.6% (FY89 est.) Unemployment rate: 9.6% in urban areas (FY89 est.) Budget: revenues $4.9 billion; expenditures $5.0 billion, including capital expenditures of $0.7 billion (FY89 est.) Exports: $228 million (f.o.b., FY89) commodities--teak, rice, oilseed, metals, rubber, gems; partners--Southeast Asia, India, China, EC, Africa Imports: $540 million (c.i.f., FY89) commodities--machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, food products; partners--Japan, EC, China, Southeast Asia External debt: $5.5 billion (December 1990 est.) 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 51% 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 732,000 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 (1970-88), $3.9 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $424 million Currency: kyat (plural--kyats); 1 kyat (K) = 100 pyas Exchange rates: kyats (K) per US$1--6.0476 (January 1991), 6.3386 (1990), 6.7049 (1989), 6.3945 (1988), 6.6535 (1987), 7.3304 (1986), 8.4749 (1985) Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March 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, 1,343 km; natural gas, 330 km Ports: Rangoon, Moulmein, Bassein Merchant marine: 60 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 968,226 GRT/1,433,584 DWT; includes 3 passenger-cargo, 19 cargo, 2 refrigerated cargo, 3 vehicle carrier, 2 container, 3 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 chemical, 1 combination ore/oil, 24 bulk, 1 combination bulk Civil air: 17 major transport aircraft (including 3 helicopters) Airports: 86 total, 79 usable; 29 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 37 with runways 1,220-2,439 m Telecommunications: meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service; international service is good; radiobroadcast coverage is limited to the most populous areas; 53,000 telephones (1986); stations--2 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV (1985); 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station DEFENSE FORCES Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force Manpower availability: eligible 15-49, 20,766,975; of the 10,378,743 males 15-49, 5,566,247 are fit for military service; of the 10,388,232 females 15-49, 5,558,007 are fit for military service; 442,200 males and 431,407 females reach military age (18) annually; both sexes are liable for military service Defense expenditures: $315.0 million, 3% of GDP (FY88)