About Myanmar
About Union of Myanmar
About Union of Burma / Myanmar Myanmar - still known under the former name Burma or the English name Burma - is a state in Southeast Asia. In addition to the official name (see right), the residents also briefly call the state Myanma Naingngan (State of Myanmar). It borders Bangladesh, the Indian states of Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, as well as China, Laos, Thailand and the Indian Ocean (clockwise, starting in the west). The Andaman Sea separates Myanmar from the southwestern Indian Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The geography of Myanmar is - with the exception of the extreme north - in the area of influence of the Asian monsoons. Due to the relief, the characteristics of the monsoons are different in the individual parts of the country. Basically three seasons can be distinguished: * rainy season from late May to mid-October, * cool season from late November to late March and * hot season in April / May and October / November. The population * inhabitants: 70% Burmese (Bamar), 8.5% Shan, 6.2% Karen (Christians), 4.5% Rohingya (Muslims), 2.4% Mon, 2.2% Chin (Tschin) , 1.4% Kachin and other races; furthermore 1-2% Chinese and 1% Indian. The Palaung belong to the Mon-Khmer language group and comprise around 150,000 people. They live in southern Kachin and Shan states. The belief in ghosts is still widespread. * Population growth: 1.5% (1998); 1.2% (2002) * Life expectancy: 57.2 years (2002) * Infant mortality: 77 per thousand (2002) * Literacy: 85.3% (2002) * Languages: Burmese (70%), minority languages, English (Commercial language) * Religion: Buddhism (89%), Christianity (4%), Islam (4%), tribal religions and others (3%) * Capital: Yangon (Rangoon) (4,477,782 inhabitants) (2005) * Others Cities: Mandalay, Mawlamyine, Bago, Pathein The Religion The most widespread religion in Myanmar is Buddhism. Some of the most famous Buddhist works of art (statues) in Asia are here. The early Buddhist Theravada school is predominant and in the 20th century also had a significant influence on the reception of Buddhism in the West. Many of the standard works of Vipassana meditation (e.g. Nynaponika: "Mind Training through Mindfulness") are based on the teachings of Burmese Dhamma masters such as Mahasi Sayadaw, Chanmyay Sayadaw U Janaka, Ledi Sayadaw or Sayadaw U Pandita. The most important sanctuaries include the Shwedagon Pagoda in the capital Yangon, the Golden Rock near Bago and Mount Popa near Bagan. The story In the 11th century, King Anawratha founded the first Burmese empire. In the 19th century, Burma fell under British rule after several wars. The last king of Burma is exiled with his family by the British occupation in India, where he also dies. Burma becomes part of British India. It is occupied by Japan in World War II, but recaptured by the British after the war. In 1948, Burma was given independence. After a short period of democracy, Burma is controlled by various military regimes. On October 18, 1965, the Revolutionary Council passed a law under which all commercial enterprises were nationalized. A little later, all Christian missionaries were expelled at the end of 1966. On August 8, 1988, months of unrest over the military's economic policy culminated in the violent crackdown on protests in the capital, Rangoon. The day goes down in history with its symbolic date 8-8-88. In 1989 the country was renamed Myanmar. When the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide in democratic elections in 1990, the elections were declared invalid by the military regime and peaceful student protests were brutally suppressed. The regime remains in power. By the turn of the millennium, General Khin Nyunt reached a ceasefire agreement with some of the minority peoples of Myanmar. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest. After an apparent opening of the regime in 2003, the hardliners regained the upper hand towards the end of 2004. After the earthquake in the Indian Ocean on December 26th in 2004 and the resulting tsunami, the regime refused entry to international aid workers and provided figures on the victims who were being questioned by foreign organizations. Politics Form of government: military dictatorship; the last constitution of the Socialist Republic of 1974 has been repealed since September 18, 1988. Head of State: General Than Shwe (since April 1992) Head of Government: General Soe Win (since October 19, 2004) Parliament: People's Assembly with 485 members elected for four years (1990 election not recognized by the military regime) Political parties: National League for Democracy (NLD ), National Unity Party (NUP), Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), another eight minority parties Since 2010, after the 2008 Basic Law, the form of government is Unified Parliamentary Constitutional Republic of the Government Legislative Assembly of the Union • Upper House House of Nationalities • Lower House House of Representatives Formation 2015 election won NLD. • President Win Myint • State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi • 1st Vice President Myint Swe • 2nd Vice President Henry Van Thio Capital: Naypyitaw Dialing code: +95 The administrative structure of Myanmar is divided into seven states and seven divisions. The parts of the country that are predominantly populated by the largest ethnic group of Myanmar, the Bamar, are called divisions, the areas that are predominantly inhabited by minorities, States. Most of the minority states form the outer borders of Myanmar: starting clockwise in the southwest: (1) Rakhine (Arakan) (capital: Akyab, border with Bangladesh, but mainly located on the Bay of Bengal) (2) Chin (capital: Hakha , Borders with Bangladesh and India) (3) Kachin (capital: Myitkyina, border with China) (4) Shan (capital: Taunggyi, borders with China, Laos and Thailand) (5) Kayah (capital: Loi-kaw, border with Thailand) (6) Kayin or Karen (capital: Pa-an, border with Thailand) (7) Mon (capital: Mawlamyine, no land border, located on the Andaman Sea) Of the seven divisions, two have external borders on the mainland, the rest five are either inland or by the sea: (8) Sagaing (capital: Sagaing, border with India in the northwest) (9) Tenasserim (capital: Tavoy (Dawei), border with Thailand in the southeast) (10) Irawadi (capital: Pathein (Bassein), located on the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea) (11) Y angon (capital: Yangon, located on the Andaman Sea) (12) Bago (Pegu) (capital: Bago, north of the Irrawaddy division) (13) Magwe (capital: Magwe, north of the Bago division) (14) Mandalay (capital : Mandalay, east of the Magwe Division) States and divisions are further subdivided into districts and parishes. The economy With a gross national product per capita of less than 622 euros (2001), Myanmar is one of the poorest countries in the world. 70% of the employees work in agriculture; It produces 60% of GDP, while industry contributes 9% and the service sector 31%. There is strong inflation in Myanmar; the local currency, the kyat, lost an average of 34.6% in value between 1990 and 2001; in 2002/03 the inflation rate accelerated to an average of 46.9%. The trade balance was negative in the period 2002/03 with imports valued at 2.391 billion euros and exports valued at 2.185 billion euros. The most important export goods are natural gas as well as agricultural and forestry products, while the imports consist to a large extent of consumer goods, semi-finished goods and capital goods. In the east - on the border with Laos and Thailand - Myanmar is part of the so-called Golden Triangle; Opium poppies are grown there and made into heroin. The importance of Myanmar as a supplier for the global heroin market has declined noticeably as drug production has increased again in Afghanistan after the Taliban was ousted. Furthermore, high-quality jade and precious stones are mined in Myanmar. The swallow blood rubies from the mines near the city of Mogok are famous. Gold is also washed, with a considerable amount of it being glued by pilgrims in the form of wafer-thin leaves on zedis, Buddhas and the Golden Rock. Currency: Kyat 1 US dollar = approx. 1,300 Kyat
