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. In September 1988, the military deposed NE WIN and established a new ruling junta. Despite multiparty legislative elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory, the 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 subsequently transferred to house arrest. After the ruling junta in August 2007 unexpectedly increased fuel prices, tens of thousands of Burmese marched in protest, led by prodemocracy activists and Buddhist monks. In late September 2007, the government brutally suppressed the protests, killing at least 13 people and arresting thousands for participating in the demonstrations. Since then, the regime has continued to raid homes and monasteries and arrest persons suspected of participating in the pro-democracy protests. The junta appointed Labor Minister AUNG KYI in October 2007 as liaison to AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who remains under house arrest and only recently gained the opportunity for limited communication with NLD leaders. Burma in early May 2008 was struck by Cyclone Nargis which official estimates claimed left over 80,000 dead and 50,000 injured. Despite this tragedy, the junta proceeded with its May constitutional referendum, the first vote in Burma since 1990, setting the stage for the 2010 parliamentary elections. AUNG SAN SUU KYI's house arrest was due to end in May 2009, but was extended for eighteen months after she was convicted for violating the terms of her house arrest.

Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand

slightly smaller than Texas

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)

central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands

petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower

1,045.6 cu km (1999)

destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts

deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease

strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes

16.97 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

9.14 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

2.28 children born/woman (2010 est.)

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

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

Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages

7 divisions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states* (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne)

4 January 1948 (from the UK)

Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947)

3 January 1974; suspended since 18 September 1988; a constitution officially received 92.48% support in a flawed May 2008 referendum that most observers judged fell far short of international standards of free and fair elections; note - a new constitution is to take effect when a parliament is convened following elections planned for 2010

based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

a unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw was elected in 1990 but was never seated; according to the terms of the constitution approved on 10 May 2008, a bicameral Pyidaungsu Hluttaw consisting of an upper house with a maximum of 224 seats and a lower house with a maximum of 440 seats will be selected in elections planned for 2010; 25% of both houses are to be reserved for appointed members of the military

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

National Democratic Force or NDF [THAN NYEIN]; National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, AUNG SAN SUU KYI] note: the party is defunct because it did not register for the 2010 election; National Unity Party or NUP [TUN YE]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [HKUN HTUN OO]; Union Solidarity and Development Party or USDP [THEIN SEIN]; numerous smaller parties

ADB, APT, ARF, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), SAARC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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 colors stand for courage (red), peace (blue), and purity (white); the rice plant and cogwheel symbolize agriculture and industry repectively; the 14 stars represent the seven administrative divisions and seven states of the country

Burma, a resource-rich country, suffers from pervasive government controls, inefficient economic policies, and rural poverty. Despite Burma's emergence as a natural gas exporter, socio-economic conditions have deteriorated under the regime's mismanagement, leaving most of the public in poverty, while military leaders and their business cronies exploit the country's ample natural resources. The economy suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including rising inflation, fiscal deficits, multiple official exchange rates that overvalue the Burmese kyat, a distorted interest rate regime, unreliable statistics, and an inability to reconcile national accounts to determine a realistic GDP figure. Burma's poor investment climate hampers the inflow of foreign investment; in recent years, foreign investors have shied away from nearly every sector except for natural gas, power generation, timber, and mining. The business climate is widely perceived as opaque, corrupt, and highly inefficient. Over 60% of the FY 2009-10 budget is allocated to state owned enterprises - most operating at a deficit. The most productive sectors will continue to be in extractive industries - especially oil and gas, mining, and timber - with the latter two causing significant environmental degradation. Other areas, such as manufacturing, tourism and services, struggle in the face of inadequate infrastructure, unpredictable trade policies, neglected health and education systems, and endemic corruption. A major banking crisis in 2003 caused 20 private banks to close; private banks still operate under tight restrictions, limiting the private sector's access to credit. The United States, the European Union, Canada, and Australia have imposed financial and economic sanctions on Burma, prohibiting most financial transactions with Burmese entities, imposing travel bans on Burmese officials and others connected to the ruling regime, and banning imports of certain Burmese products. These sanctions affected the country's fledgling garment industry, isolated the struggling banking sector, and raised the costs of doing business with Burmese companies, particularly firms tied to Burmese regime leaders. The global crisis of 2008-09 caused exports and domestic consumer demand to drop. Remittances from overseas Burmese workers - who had provided significant financial support for their families - slowed or dried up as jobs were lost and migrant workers returned home. Though the Burmese government has good economic relations with its neighbors, better investment and business climates and an improved political situation are needed to promote serious foreign investment, exports, and tourism.

$57.49 billion (2009 est.)

$56.47 billion (2008 est.)

$55.86 billion (2007 est.)

$27.55 billion (2009 est.)

30.85 million (2009 est.)

14.5% of GDP (2009 est.)

12% (31 December 2008)

12% (31 December 2007)

17% (31 December 2008)

17% (31 December 2007)

$622.6 billion (31 December 2008)

$598 billion (31 December 2007)

$289.3 billion (31 December 2008)

$216.9 billion (31 December 2007)

$NA (31 December 2008)

$887.7 billion (31 December 2007)

rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products

agricultural processing; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; cement, construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; oil and natural gas; garments, jade and gems

6.286 billion kWh (2007 est.)

4.403 billion kWh (2007 est.)

18,880 bbl/day (2009 est.)

42,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

2,200 bbl/day (2007 est.)

18,250 bbl/day (2007 est.)

50 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

12.4 billion cu m (2008 est.)

3.85 billion cu m (2008 est.)

8.55 billion cu m (2008 est.)

283.2 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

$739 million (2009 est.)

$1.26 billion (2008 est.)

$6.845 billion (2009 est.)

$6.644 billion (2008 est.)

natural gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice, clothing, jade and gems

Thailand 46.57%, India 12.99%, China 9.01%, Japan 5.65% (2009)

$3.974 billion (2009 est.)

$3.386 billion (2008 est.)

fabric, petroleum products, fertilizer, plastics, machinery, transport equipment; cement, construction materials, crude oil; food products, edible oil

China 33.1%, Thailand 26.28%, Singapore 15.18% (2009)

$3.561 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$3.412 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$7.373 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$7.946 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

kyats (MMK) per US dollar - 1,090 (2009), 1,205 (2008), 1,296 (2007), 1,280 (2006), 5.761 (2005)

government controls all domestic broadcast media; 3 state-controlled television stations with 1 of the stations controlled by the armed forces; a fourth TV channel, a pay-TV station, is a joint state-private venture; access to satellite TV is limited with residents required to register and pay a fee for all satellite television receivers; 2 state-controlled domestic radio stations; transmissions of several international broadcasters are available in Burma; the opposition-backed station Democratic Voice of Burma broadcasts into Burma via shortwave (2009)

gas 2,228 km; oil 558 km (2009)

Moulmein, Rangoon, Sittwe

Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw): Army (Tatmadaw Kyi), Navy (Tatmadaw Yay), Air Force (Tatmadaw Lay) (2010)

18 years of age for voluntary military service for both sexes; forced conscription of children, although officially prohibited, reportedly continues (2007)

2.1% of GDP (2005 est.)

over half of Burma's population consists of diverse ethnic groups who have substantial numbers of kin in neighboring countries; Thailand must deal with Karen and other ethnic refugees, asylum seekers, and rebels, as well as illegal cross-border activities from Burma; Thailand is studying the feasibility of jointly constructing the Hatgyi Dam on the Salween River near the border with Burma; citing environmental, cultural, and social concerns, China is reconsidering construction of 13 dams on the Salween River but energy-starved Burma with backing from Thailand remains intent on building five hydro-electric dams downstream, despite identical regional and international protests; India seeks cooperation from Burma to keep Indian Nagaland separatists, such as the United Liberation Front of Assam, from hiding in remote Burmese Uplands; after 21 years, Bangladesh resumes talks with Burma on delimiting a maritime boundary in January 2008

remains world's second largest producer of illicit opium with an estimated production in 2008 of 340 metric tons, an increase of 26%, and poppy cultivation in 2008 totaled 22,500 hectares, a 4% increase from 2007; production in the United Wa State Army's areas of greatest control remains low; Shan state is the source of 94% of Burma's poppy cultivation; lack of government will 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 (2008)