Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

 

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

In total, Myanmar spends over US$1.8 billion, or 2.5 percent of its GDP on its military. This makes Myanmar the 118th state with the highest military expenditure and represents 0.94 percent of total global expenditure. 

The military of Myanmar, called the Myanmar Armed Forces consists of a Navy, an Air Force and ground forces and has mainly been tasked with counterterrorism, control over the territory of Myanmar and combating international drug trade.

Military membership

Myanmar is also a member of five international military organizations which makes it the 80th most militarily connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations: 

  • Conference on Disarmament 
  • Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons 
  • Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 
  • International Atomic Energy Agency 
  • Non-Aligned Movement 

Military membership

International wars

  • Since its independence, Myanmar has fought 12 international wars. These are: 
  • Burmese–Siamese War (1765–67) 
  • Sino-Burmese War 1765-1769 
  • Burmese–Siamese War (1775–1776) 
  • Burmese–Siamese War (1785–86) 
  • Burmese–Siamese War 1787-1787
  • Burmese–Siamese War (1791-1791 
  • Burmese–Siamese War 1797-1797 
  • " Burmese–Siamese War (1803–05)" 
  • Burmese–Siamese War (1809–1811) 
  • Burmese–Siamese War 1849–1855 
  • Second Anglo-Burmese War 1851-1851 
  • Third Anglo-Burmese War 1885-1885 

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Myanmar is a member of 11 international political organizations which makes it the 113th most politically connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations: 

  • Member state of the United Nations 
  • International Labour Organization 
  • Asia Cooperation Dialogue 
  • ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations 
  • Mekong–Ganga Cooperation 
  • Colombo Plan 
  • Asian–African Legal Consultative Organization 

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

In terms of democracy, Myanmar is currently represented by a military dictatorship with some democratic freedoms. This makes Myanmar the 125th most democratic state in the world. 

Democracy/Dictatorship

The politics of Myanmar are controlled by the military. It has seen a brief shift towards democracy between 2008 and 2021, but it is currently still under the control of the military. 

  • International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property 

  • Interpol 

  • Association of World Election Bodies 

  • World Organization for Animal Health 

Myanmar

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Myanmar 

Also known as Burma, Myanmar has had a troubled past century. The area was first inhabited by the Indo Aryans around 600 BC and only united in the 11th century as a Buddhist state. During the 13th century, Myanmar was invaded by the Mongols. Its first contact with Europeans was with the Portuguese in the 16th century. From the 16th century untill the second half of the 19th century, several European powers such as the British, the Portuguese and the Dutch had tried to establish a trading post in Myanmar with no success. During the second half of the 19th century, the United Kingdom succeeded in capturing all of Burma and made it a colony under the British Crown. After the occupation by the Japanese during the second world war, Myanmar gained its independence in 1948. Since then, it has seen a brief democratic system until the military took over Myanmar in 1962. It has remained under military rule from 1962 until 2011 when it returned to a democratic system.

 Located in Southeast Asia, Myanmar is bordered by India to the northwest, China to the northeast, Thailand and Laos to the east and Bangladesh to the west. Myanmar has several high mountain ranges that run along its borders and gradually decline to its center. To the south it has a low-lying plain that borders the Andaman Sea as well as the Gulf of Bengal which are located in the Indian Ocean. Most of its terrain is densely forested with the exception of its low-lying terrain which is considered to be lightly forested. 

With a total surface area of 679,961 square kilometers or 206 234 square miles, Myanmar is the 39th largest state in the world being slightly larger than Afghanistan and slightly smaller than Zambia. 

Its total water surface area is 23,185 square kilometers or 8955 square miles which makes it the 25th state with the highest amount of surface water. 

 

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

The majority of its water consists of surface water with the Irawady River being the largest body of water which originates from its northern mountain range and flows through its center to the Indian Ocean. The majority of its drinking water is not potable due to a lack of quality control and infrastructure which leaves a quarter of the population dependent on unprocessed surface water.

The climate of Myanmar is considered a tropical climate which is known to have a cold and a hot season. Its climate is highly dependent on the location within Myanmar with its higher mountain ranges being significantly colder than its lowlands. On average, the temperature of Myanmar is 19.6 degrees Celsius or 66.9 degrees Fahrenheit which makes it the 113th warmest state in the world. 

The average high temperature is 30.2 degrees Celsius or 86.4 degrees Fahrenheit which mainly occurs between March to June. 

Its cold season, from July to February, has an average temperature of 19.9 degrees Celsius or 67.8 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Most of its rainfall occurs between May to October when Myanmar is subjected to several monsoons. The annual precipitation is 246.8 centimetres or 96.9 inches per year which makes it the 16th state with the highest amount of rainfall. 

The capital of Myanmar, Rangoon is home to 4.4 million people. The capital that is closest located to Rangoon is the Vientiane of Laos with a distance of 687 kilometers or 427 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Rangoon is Lima of Peru with a distance of 18,924 kilometers or 11,759 miles. 

The economy of Myanmar is considered to be a mixed economy with private enterprise and strict control by the government. Because of its long history of military dictatorships, the economy of Myanmar has shown limited growth due to a lack of foreign investment with the exception of the extraction of natural resources such as oil and gas. Currently, the products that are mostly exported are oil, clothing and agricultural products. These are mainly exported to China and Thailand who combined represent nearly 50 percent of all exports. Most of its imports comes from China and Singapore which represent nearly 55 percent of all imports. 

Myanmar is a member of nine international economic organizations which makes it the 169th most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations: 

  • Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank 
  • International Monetary Fund 
  • World Bank Group 
  • World Customs Organization 
  • World Trade Organization 
  • Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation 
  • International Bamboo and Rattan Organization 
  • International Solar Alliance 
  • Group of 77 

Its GDP, with US$72.7 billion is the 72nd highest in the world and represents 0.087 percent of total global GDP. 

Its GDP per service area is 106,928 US dollars per square kilometer or US$276,944 per square mile. This is the 144th highest in the world. 

Its GDP per capita is US$1338 which is the 158th highest in the world. 

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

And its purchasing power parity per capita is US$5616 which is the 139th highest in the world. 

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

With a total population of 54.4 million people, Myanmar is the 26th most populous state in the world. It has the 103rd highest population density in the world with 80 people per square kilometer or 206 people per square mile. 

Myanmar is an ethnically diverse state which has more than 20 ethnic tribes. The largest of these are the Burmans which constitute nearly 70 percent of the total population. 

Approximately 3.6 million people, or 6.7 percent of the population have migrated to other states. This makes Myanmar the 18th state with the highest number of emigrants and represents 1.45 percent of total global emigration. The largest recipient of migrants from Myanmar has been Thailand which has received nearly half of all migrants. The main reason for migration has been economic due to a small job market in Myanmar. 

Immigration to Myanmar is represented by just over 50,000 people, or 0.12 percent of the population. The main reason for immigration to Myanmar has been economic with Chinese and Indian businessman looking for business opportunities in Myanmar. 

With a literacy rate of 81.2 percent, Myanmar is the 137th most literate state in the world. This has mainly been causes by political conflicts as well as a lack of up-to-date learning materials. 

Healthcare in Myanmar is of relatively low standards due to a systematic lack of funding. Despite showing some improvements over the last 40 years, communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria are still the leading cause of death. Noncommunicable diseases are mainly related to lifestyle choices such as tobacco and alcohol consumption. On average, the life expectancy in Myanmar is 67.8 years with women reaching 70.8 years and men reaching 64.7 years. This gives Myanmar the 165th highest life expectancy in the world. 

The government of Myanmar does not have an official state religion. 

Christianity has been introduced to Myanmar during the 18th century when missionaries from Portugal arrived and expanded their religion throughout the last three centuries. Today, with 6.5 percent of the population adhering to Christianity, Myanmar is the 158th most Christian state in the world. Christianity is the second largest religion in Myanmar and has Protestantism as the largest denomination.  

With 4.1 percent of the population adhering to Islam, Myanmar is the 100th most Islamic state in the world. Islam arrived to Myanmar during the seventh century when Muslim merchants travelled along Southeast Asia. Today, a Muslim minority lives in the north of Myanmar which has been under heavy pressure from the government of Myanmar. 

Buddhism is represented by 82.7 percent of the population. The largest denomination is Theravada Buddhism which is followed by 80 percent of the population. 

Hinduism is represented by 1.3 percent of the population and is spread out throughout Myanmar. This is mainly represented by migrants from India. 

Judaism is represented by less than 1000 people and represents less than 0.01 percent of the total population. Myanmar currently houses one synagogue which is located in its capital Rangoon. 

Other religions are mainly represented by people that adhere to folk religions such as spiritism, ancestor worship and polytheism. These religions are represented by just over four percent of the total population. 

Irreligion is represented by 0.3 percent of the population. This is largely because irreligion is frowned upon by the majority of the population.