NAME:
Conventional long form: Union of Burma conventional short form: Burma and Myanmarlocal short form: Myanma Naingngandaw former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma
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 is currently under house arrest.
LOCATION:
South-eastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand
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)
POPULATION:
42,720,196
Population below poverty line:
25% (2000 est.)
NATIONALITY:
Noun: Burmese (singular and plural) adjective: Burmese
LANGUAGES:
Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
LITERACY:
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 85.3% male: 89.2% female: 81.4% (2002)
GOVERNMENT TYPE:
Military junta
CAPITAL:
Rangoon (government refers to the capital as Yangon)
CURRENCY:
Kyat (MMK))
INDEPENDENCE:
4 January 1948 (from UK)
EXECUTIVE BRANCH:
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)
FLAG DISCRIPTION:
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
ECONOMY – OVERVIEW:
Burma is a resource-rich country. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability, resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including a steep inflation rate and an official exchange rate that overvalues the Burmese kyat by more than 100 times the market rate. In addition, most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta suppressed the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 election..
INDUSTRIES:
Agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; cement
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:
4.2% (2003)
COMMUNICATIONS:
Telephone, Radio, Television, Internet
TRANSPORTATION:
Railways, Roadways, Airports, Waterways
Farooque
Conventional long form: Union of Burma conventional short form: Burma and Myanmarlocal short form: Myanma Naingngandaw former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma
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 is currently under house arrest.
LOCATION:
South-eastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand
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)
POPULATION:
42,720,196
Population below poverty line:
25% (2000 est.)
NATIONALITY:
Noun: Burmese (singular and plural) adjective: Burmese
LANGUAGES:
Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
LITERACY:
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 85.3% male: 89.2% female: 81.4% (2002)
GOVERNMENT TYPE:
Military junta
CAPITAL:
Rangoon (government refers to the capital as Yangon)
CURRENCY:
Kyat (MMK))
INDEPENDENCE:
4 January 1948 (from UK)
EXECUTIVE BRANCH:
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)
FLAG DISCRIPTION:
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
ECONOMY – OVERVIEW:
Burma is a resource-rich country. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability, resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including a steep inflation rate and an official exchange rate that overvalues the Burmese kyat by more than 100 times the market rate. In addition, most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta suppressed the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 election..
INDUSTRIES:
Agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; cement
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:
4.2% (2003)
COMMUNICATIONS:
Telephone, Radio, Television, Internet
TRANSPORTATION:
Railways, Roadways, Airports, Waterways
Farooque
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