Burma (Also Known as Myanmar)

Background: Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; independence outside of the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as president, and later as political kingmaker. Despite multiparty elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party winning a decisive victory, the ruling military junta refused to hand over power.
Location: Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand. Area: Total: 678,500 sq km, land: 657,740 sq km, water: 20,760 sq km. Area - comparative: Slightly smaller than Texas. Land boundaries: Total: 5,876 km, border countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km. Coastline: 1,930 km.
Climate and Terrain: Climate: tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April) Terrain: Central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands.
People: Population: 42,510,537. Ethnic groups: Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%. Religions: Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%. Languages: Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages. Country name: Local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw. Since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name Myanmar; this decision was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US did not adopt the name.
Government: Government did not adopt the name. Government type: Military regime. Capital: Rangoon (regime refers to the capital as Yangon).
Economy overview: Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from abject rural poverty. The military regime took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to Socialism", but those efforts have since stalled. Most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta suppressed the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 election. Burma is data poor, and official statistics are often dated and inaccurate.
Statistics: Telephones - main lines in use: 250,000. Telephones - mobile cellular: 8,492. Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 3. Radios: 4.2 million. Television broadcast stations: 2. Televisions: 320,000. Internet users: 10,000, as of September 2000, Internet connections were legal only for the government, tourist offices, and a few large businesses Railways: Total: 3,955 km. Highways: Total: 28,200 km, paved: 3,440 km, unpaved: 24,760 km. Waterways: 12,800 km note: 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels Airports - with paved runways: 8, with unpaved runways: 72. Heliports: 1