Burma (Myanmar)

military regime

name: Rangoon (aka Yangon, continues to be recognized as the primary Burmese capital by the US Government); Nay Pyi Taw is the administrative capital geographic coordinates: 16 48 N, 96 10 E time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: Rangoon/Yangon derives from the Burmese words yan and koun , commonly translated as "end of strife"; Nay Pyi Taw translates as "abode of kings"

chief of state: Acting President Sr. Gen. MIN AUNG HLAING (since 31 July 2025) head of government: Prime Minister NYO SAW (since 31 July 2025) cabinet: Cabinet appointments shared by the president and the commander-in-chief election/appointment process: prior to the military takeover in 2021, president was indirectly elected by simple majority vote by the full Assembly of the Union from among 3 vice-presidential candidates nominated by the Presidential Electoral College (consists of members of the lower and upper houses and military members); the other 2 candidates became vice presidents (president elected for a 5-year term) most recent election date: 8 November 2020 election results: 2020: the National League for Democracy (NLD) won 396 seats across both houses -- well above the 322 required for a parliamentary majority -- but on 1 February 2021, the military claimed the results of the election were illegitimate and deposed State Counsellor AUNG SAN SUU KYI and President WIN MYINT of the NLD, causing military-affiliated Vice President MYINT SWE (USDP) to become acting president; MYINT SWE subsequently handed power to coup leader MIN AUNG HLAING; WIN MYINT and other key leaders of the ruling NLD party were placed under arrest after the military takeover 2018 : WIN MYINT elected president in an indirect by-election held on 28 March 2018 after the resignation of HTIN KYAW; Assembly of the Union vote for president - WIN MYINT (NLD) 403, MYINT SWE (USDP) 211, HENRY VAN THIO (NLD) 18, 4 votes canceled (636 votes cast) expected date of next election: on 31 July 2025, the military government announced that it was preparing for elections to be held in December 2025 state counsellor: State Counselor AUNG SAN SUU KYI (since 6 April 2016); note - under arrest since 1 February 2021 note 1: on 31 July 2025, the military ended the state of emergency that had been in place since taking over the government in February 2021, although martial law continues to exist in parts of the country; at the same time, the military dissolved the State Administrative Council (SAC), which had been the official name of the military government in Burma, and replaced it with the National Security and Peace Commission (NSPC), chaired by Sr. Gen. MIN AUNG HLAING, who also retains his position as chief of the armed forces note 2: prior to the military takeover, the state counsellor served the equivalent term of the president and was similar to a prime minister

legislature name: Assembly of the Union (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw) legislative structure: bicameral most recent election date: 28 December 2025 expected date of next election: on 31 July 2025, the military government announced that it was preparing for elections to be held in late December 2025 note: on 1 February 2021, the Burmese military claimed the results of the 2020 general election were illegitimate and launched a coup led by Sr. General MIN AUNG HLAING; the military subsequently dissolved the Assembly of the Union and replaced it with the military-led State Administration Council

highest court(s): Supreme Court of the Union (consists of the chief justice and 7-11 judges) judge selection and term of office: chief justice and judges nominated by the president, with approval of the Lower House, and appointed by the president; judges normally serve until mandatory retirement at age 70 subordinate courts: High Courts of the Region; High Courts of the State; Court of the Self-Administered Division; Court of the Self-Administered Zone; district and township courts; special courts (for juvenile, municipal, and traffic offenses); courts martial

history: previous 1947, 1974 (suspended until 2008); latest drafted 9 April 2008, approved by referendum 29 May 2008 amendment process: proposals require at least 20% approval by the Assembly of the Union membership; passage of amendments to sections of the constitution on basic principles, government structure, branches of government, state emergencies, and amendment procedures requires 75% approval by the Assembly and approval in a referendum by absolute majority of registered voters; passage of amendments to other sections requires only 75% Assembly approval; military granted 25% of parliamentary seats by default

ADB, ARF, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, CP, EAS, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC (NGOs), NAM, OPCW (signatory), SAARC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

3.9% of GDP (2023 est.) 3.6% of GDP (2022 est.) 3.5% of GDP (2021 est.) 3% of GDP (2020 est.) 4.1% of GDP (2019 est.)

Burmese Defense Service (aka Armed Forces of Burma, Myanmar Army, Royal Armed Forces, the Tatmadaw, or the Sit-Tat): Army (Tatmadaw Kyi), Navy (Tatmadaw Yay), Air Force (Tatmadaw Lay); People s Militia Ministry of Home Affairs: Burma (People's) Police Force, Border Guard Forces/Police (2025) note 1: under the 2008 constitution, the Tatmadaw was given control over the appointments of senior officials to lead the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Border Affairs, and the Ministry of Home Affairs; in 2022, a new law gave the commander-in-chief of the Tatmadaw the authority to appoint or remove the head of the police force note 2: the military is supported by pro-government militias; some are integrated within the Tatmadaw s command structure as Border Guard Forces, which are organized as battalions with a mix of militia forces, ethnic armed groups, and government soldiers that are armed, supplied, and paid by the Tatmadaw; other pro-military government militias are not integrated within the Tatmadaw command structure but receive direction and some support from the military and are recognized as government militias; a third type of pro-government militias are small community-based units that are armed, coordinated, and trained by local Tatmadaw forces and activated as needed

18-35 years of age (men) and 18-27 years of age (women) for voluntary and conscripted military service; 24-month service obligation; conscripted professional men (ages 18-45) and women (ages 18-35), including doctors, engineers, and mechanics, serve up to 36 months; service terms may be extended to 60 months in an officially declared emergency (2025) note: in February 2024, the military government announced that the People s Military Service Law requiring mandatory military service would go into effect; the Service Law was first introduced in 2010 but had not previously been enforced; the military government also said that it intended to call up about 60,000 men and women annually for mandatory service; during the ongoing insurgency, the military has recruited men 18-60 to serve in local militias

since the country s founding, the Tatmadaw has been deeply involved in domestic politics and the national economy; it ran the country for five decades following a military coup in 1962; prior to the most recent coup in 2021, the military already controlled three key security ministries (Defense, Border, and Home Affairs), one of two vice presidential appointments, 25% of the parliamentary seats, and had a proxy political party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP); it owns and operates two business conglomerates that have over 100 subsidiaries; the business activities of these conglomerates include banking and insurance, hotels, tourism, jade and ruby mining, timber, construction, real estate, and the production of palm oil, sugar, soap, cement, beverages, drinking water, coal, and gas; some of the companies supply goods and services to the military, such as food, clothing, insurance, and cellphone service; the military also manages a film industry, publishing houses, and television stations the Tatmadaw's primary operational focus is internal security, and it is conducting counterinsurgency operations against anti-regime forces that launched an armed rebellion following the 2021 coup and an array of ethnic armed groups (EAGs); as of 2024, the Tatmadaw was reportedly engaged in combat operations in 10 of its 14 regional commands EAGs have been fighting for self-rule against the Burmese Government since 1948; they range in strength from a few hundred fighters up to an estimated 30,000; some are organized along military lines with "brigades" and "divisions" and armed with heavy weaponry, including artillery; they control large tracts of the country s territory, primarily in the border regions; key groups include the United Wa State Army, Karen National Union, Kachin Independence Army, Arakan Army, Ta ang National Liberation Army, and the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army the opposition National Unity Government claims its armed wing, the People's Defense Force (PDF), has more than 60,000 fighters loosely organized into battalions; in addition, several EAGs have cooperated with the NUG and supported local PDF groups (2024)

$287.559 billion (2024 est.) $290.381 billion (2023 est.) $287.624 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$5,300 (2024 est.) $5,400 (2023 est.) $5,400 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

-1% (2024 est.) 1% (2023 est.) 4% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

8.8% (2019 est.) 6.9% (2018 est.) 4.6% (2017 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

35.7% of GDP (2016 est.)

$20.4 billion (2021 est.) $17.523 billion (2019 est.) $15.728 billion (2018 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$23.1 billion (2021 est.) $17.356 billion (2019 est.) $18.664 billion (2018 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

3.1% (2024 est.) 3.1% (2023 est.) 3.1% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $10.945 billion (2019 est.) expenditures: $10.22 billion (2019 est.) note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenses converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

agricultural processing; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; cement, construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; oil and natural gas; garments; jade and gems

rice, sugarcane, vegetables, beans, maize, groundnuts, plantains, fruits, coconuts, onions (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 57,931,718 (2025 est.) male: 28,591,467 female: 29,340,251

0.69% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 24.4% (male 7,197,177/female 6,843,879) 15-64 years: 68.5% (male 19,420,361/female 19,998,625) 65 years and over: 7.1% (2024 est.) (male 1,770,293/female 2,296,804)

15.44 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

7.17 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 70.3 years (2024 est.) male: 68.5 years female: 72.1 years

urban population: 32.1% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 1.85% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Burman (Bamar) 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5% note: the largest ethnic group the Burman (or Bamar) dominate politics, and the military ranks are largely drawn from this ethnic group; the Burman mainly populate the central parts of the country, while various ethnic minorities have traditionally lived in the peripheral regions that surround the plains in a horseshoe shape; the government recognizes 135 indigenous ethnic groups

Burmese (official) major-language sample(s): ကမ္ဘာ့အချက်အလက်စာအုပ်- အခြေခံအချက်အလက်တွေအတွက် မရှိမဖြစ်တဲ့ အရင်းအမြစ် (Burmese) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. note: minority ethnic groups use their own languages

Buddhist 87.9%, Christian 6.2%, Muslim 4.3%, Animist 0.8%, Hindu 0.5%, other 0.2%, none 0.1% (2014 est.) note: religion estimate is based on the 2014 national census, including an estimate for the non-enumerated population of Rakhine State, which is assumed to mainly affiliate with the Islamic faith; as of December 2019, Muslims probably make up less than 3% of Burma's total population due to the large outmigration of the Rohingya population since 2017

total population: 93.5% (2020 est.) male: 94.7% (2020 est.) female: 92.7% (2020 est.)

petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower, arable land

USG identification: major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit country major precursor-chemical producer (2025)

tier rating: Tier 3 Burma does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, Burma remained on Tier 3; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/burma/

IDPs: 3,646,658 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 619,429 (2024 est.)

74 (2025)

total: 5,031 km (2008) narrow gauge: 5,031 km (2008) 1.000-m gauge

total: 101 (2023) by type: bulk carrier 1, general cargo 44, oil tanker 5, other 51

total subscriptions: 62.3 million (2024 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 114 (2024 est.)

percent of population: 59% (2023 est.)