Burma
May 2008
Burma, 2007
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Burma (slightly smaller than the state of Texas) is located in Southeastern Asia, borders the Andaman Sea, the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, and Thailand. Burma's climate is tropical, with monsoon seasons in the southwest from June to September and in the northeast from December to April.
Burma's natural resources include: petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, marble, limestone, precious stones, and natural gas. Natural hazards include: earthquakes, cyclones, flooding, landslides, and periodic droughts. Environmental issues facing Burma include: deforestation, industrial pollution, and inadequate sanitation. The population is estimated at 47,758,181 with over 60% between the ages of 15 and 64 years.
The administrative capital city is Nay Pyi Taw (population 200,000); other major cities include Rangoon (pop. 5.5 million) and Mandalay (pop. 1.2 million). The majority of Burma's population are ethnic Burmans; about 30% of the population are comprised of indigenous ethnic groups. Indians and Chinese comprise the largest non-indigenous groups. About 89% of the population practice Buddhism with only 4% Christian, 4% Muslim, and 1% animist.
The unicameral People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw) with 485 seats was suspended; the last elections were in 1990. Since 1989, the ruling authorities promote the country name Myanmar; this decision was not approved by the legislature of Burma and the U.S. Government did not adopt the name. The legal system of Burma is based on a British-era system. The country is divided into seven ethnic states (pyi nay); universal suffrage is age 18.
The Topographic Engineering Center has additional maps and images of Burma related to Cyclone Nargis and its aftermath http://www.tec.army.mil/burma/.
CIA World Factbook; U.S. State Department Background Notes, 2008/04; 2007/12