The 2003 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency
petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead,
coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas,
hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 14.53%
permanent crops: 0.9%
other: 84.57% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
15,920 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides
common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts
Environment - current issues:
deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water;
inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes
People Burma
Population:
42,510,537
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 and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July
2003 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 28.1% (male 6,091,220; female 5,840,968)
15–64 years: 67% (male 14,162,190; female 14,347,751)
65 years and over: 4.9% (male 916,702; female 1,151,706) (2003 est.)
Median age:
total: 25.3 years
male: 24.8 years
female: 25.9 years (2002)
Population growth rate:
0.52% (2003 est.)
Birth rate:
19.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate:
12.17 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate:
−1.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Sex ratio:
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: 0.8 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 70.35 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 63.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 76.48 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 55.79 years
male: 54.12 years
female: 57.56 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.15 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.99% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
530,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
65,000 (2001 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Burmese (singular and plural)
adjective: Burmese
Ethnic groups:
Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%,
Mon 2%, other 5%
Religions:
Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim
4%, animist 1%, other 2%
Languages:
Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.1%
male: 88.7%
female: 77.7% (1995 est.)
note: these are official statistics; estimates of functional
literacy are likely closer to 30% (1999 est.)
Government Burma
Country name:
conventional long form: Union of Burma
conventional short form: Burma
local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw
local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the
US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of
Myanmar)
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
Government type:
military regime
Capital:
Rangoon (regime refers to the capital as Yangon)
Administrative divisions:
7 divisions* (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi
ne-myar, singular - pyi ne); Chin State, Ayeyarwady*, Bago*, Kachin
State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Magway*, Mandalay*, Mon State,
Rakhine State, Sagaing*, Shan State, Tanintharyi*, Yangon*
Independence:
4 January 1948 (from UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 4 January (1948)
Constitution:
3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); national
convention started on 9 January 1993 to draft a new constitution;
progress has since been stalled
Legal system:
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council
Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992)