Country Profiles: Burma

Burma is located in Asia. Burma, once known as Myanmar, was part of Britain's Indian Empire for 62 years (1824-1886) and eventually attained independence in 1948. With an area of 676,578 sq km, it is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Texas.

Burma shares a border with Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, and Thailand. It is mostly central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands.

People who live in Burma are called Burmese, which is also an adjective used to describe something from this country. As of July 2012, there are 54,584,650 people in Burma. The ethnic groups that reside in Burma are mostly Burman (68%) with some Shan (95), Rakhine (4%), Chinese (3%), Indian (2%), and Mon (2%). Burmese is the official language of Burma, thought minority ethnic groups have their own languages. Buddhists make up approximately 89% of the population, while Christians and Muslims make up an additional 4% each.

The country's official name is Union of Burma. The capital is Rangoon, and the country is made up of 7 regions and 7 states. Though Burma gained independence from the UK on January 4, 1948, a constitution was not approved until 2008. The constitution can be found here through Constitution Finder. The current president is Thein Sein. Information about the leaders of Burma's government can be found here. The currency is the kyats (MMK), which stands at 5.39 MMK per USD as of 2011.

All of this information was gathered from the CIA World Factbook. For more information, check out these resources...

Burma, CIA World Factbook

Background Notes: Burma, U.S. Department of State

2011 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Burma, U.S. Department of State.

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