Myanmar

Republic of the Union of Myanmar ပြည်ထောင်စု သမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော် Pyidaunzu Thanmăda Myăma Nainngandaw
Anthem: Kaba Ma Kyei
Location of Myanmar (red) within South Asia
Capital		Naypyidaw 19°45′N 96°6′E
Largest city		Yangon (Rangoon)
Official language(s)		Burmese
Recognised regional languages		Jingpho, Kayah, Karen, Chin, Mon, Rakhine, Shan
Official scripts		Burmese script
Ethnic groups		Burman 68% Shan 9% Karen 7% Rakhine 4% Chinese 3% Indian 2% Mon 2% other 5%
Demonym		Baurmese / Myanma
Government		Unitary presidential republic
-	President	Thein Sein
-	Vice President	Tin Aung Myint Oo Sai Mauk Kham
Legislature		Pyidaungsu Hluttaw
-	Upper House	Amyotha Hluttaw
-	Lower House	Pyithu Hluttaw
Formation
-	Pagan Dynasty	23 December 849
-	Toungoo Dynasty	16 October 1510
-	Konbaung Dynasty	29 February 1752
-	Independence (from United Kingdom)	4 January 1948
-	Coup d'état	2 March 1962
-	New constitution	30 March 2011
Area
-	Total	676,578 km2 (40th) 261,227 sq mi
-	Water (%)	3.06
Population
-	2010 estimate	60,280,000 (24th)
-	1983 census	33,234,000 (3)
-	Density	73.9/km2 (119th) 191.5/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$81.553 billion (76th)
-	Per capita	$1,307 (163rd)
GDP (nominal)		2010 estimate
-	Total	$42.953 billion (76th)
-	Per capita	$702 (155th)
HDI (2011)		0.483 (low) (149th)
Currency		kyat (K) (MMK)
Time zone		MST (UTC+06:30)
Drives on the		right
Internet TLD		.mm
Calling code		95
1	Some governments recognise Rangoon as the national capital.

Map of Myanmar.

Myanmar, officially called the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also known as Burma, is the largest country in South East Asia that is not an island, partly considered as South Asian. It is bordered by China on the north, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, and the India on the northwest, with the Andaman Sea to the south, and the Bay of Bengal to the southwest. There are over 2,000 kilometers (1,243 mi) of coast line. The country was ruled by a military junta led by General Ne Win from 1962 to 1988, and its political system today stays under the tight control of its military government. Since 1992, Myanmar has been ruled by Senior General Than Shwe.

National symbols of Myanmar

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  National animal of Myanmar

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  National bird of Myanmar

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  National flower of Myanmar

Origin and history of the name

In 1989, the military junta officially changed the English version of its name from Burma to Myanmar. It also made a new name in English for places in the country, such as its former capital city, from Rangoon to Yangon. The official name of the country in the Burmese language, Myanma did not change, however. The renaming was controversial, seen by some as linguistically bad. Accepting the name change in the English-speaking world has been slow, with many people still using the name Burma to refer to the country. Major news organizations like the BBC still call it Burma. Some question the military junta's authority to "officially" change the name in English in the first place. Aung San Suu Kyi, however, calls the country Myanmar now.

History

Myanmar had a strong kingdom in ancient times, but the nation was taken over by the British in the 1800s. Myanmar became independent in 1948 as the Union of Burma, and had a democratic government at first. However, in 1962, a coup d'état brought the military into power, where it has been ever since. The founder of modern Myanmar, Aung San was assassinated months before independence. His daughter Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest many times for leading the democracy movement.

In 1991, the military junta agreed to democratic elections, which were won by the National League for Democracy, and should have made Aung San Suu Kyi the Prime Minister. However, the dictatorship ignored the results of the elections and continued ruling. In November 2005, the military government stated that the national capital would be moved from Yangon to a location near Pyinmana, which was renamed Naypyidaw in March 2006.

Since independence in 1948 and the assassination of Aung San Burma has had civil wars between its governments and minority ethnic groups like the Kachin, Karen, Shan and others. These conflicts are known as the Internal conflict in Burma.

Land

Today, there are 14 sections. 7 are called states and the other 7 are called divisions.

The divisions are split into townships. The townships are divided into villages and wards.

Largest cities

2006 Rank	City	1983 Census	2006 Estimate	State/Region
1.	Yangon (Rangoon)	2,513,023	4,572,948	Yangon Region
2.	Mandalay	532,949	1,237,028	Mandalay Region
3.	Naypyidaw (Nay Pyi Taw) *	0	924,608	Naypyidaw Union Territory
4.	Mawlamyaing	219,961	451,011	Mon State
5.	Bago	150,528	248,899	Bago Region
6.	Pathein	144,096	241,624	Ayeyarwady Region
7.	Monywa	106,843	185,783	Sagaing Region
8.	Meiktila	96,492	181,744	Mandalay Region
9.	Sittwe	107,621	181,172	Rakhine State
10.	Mergui	88,600	177,961	Tanintharyi Region
11.	Taunggyi	108,231	162,396	Shan State

Photos

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Other pages

• List of rivers of Myanmar
• Myanmar at the Olympics
• Myanmar national football team