The country known as Myanmar has been in existence for centuries. Naturally, she has been going through ups and downs of time along the course of her existence. Under the leadership of the national heroes, however, the country was usually opulent and peaceful. For example, Myanmar was organized as a strong union in the early 11th century (i.e. Bagan period) by King Anawrahta. It is generally referred to as the first union of Myanmar. Also in the middle of the 16th entury. King Bayinnaung established the second union of Myanmar that used to be one of the mightiest countries in Southeast Asia then. Myanmar was thirdly unified in 1752 by King Alaungpaya. The founder of the last dynasty of Myanmar.
During the colonial period, Burma was occupied by the British Empire. Not until 12th February 1947, all the nationalities were again united. This event is a milestone in the history of Myanmar as it could regain the national unity at least in principle, and thus was referred to as the Fourth Union. However, Burma attained a genuine unity only in the late 1960 (i.e. nearly two decades after her Independence), when both internal and external dangers were practically overcome.
Burma had changed its official country name to MYANMAR in 1989. The country is comprising of seven states and seven divisions, covering an area of 261,789 square miles.
Myanmar is the largest country in the region. The population is estimated at 44 million in 1997.
The coastal districts are usually referred to as "Lower Myanmar" whereas the inland districts are called "Upper Myanmar".
2. NATIONALITY
There are altogether 135 groups of nationalities in Myanmar, which have been coexisting with one another for a long time: Bamar, Kachin, Kaya, Kayin, Chin, ,Mon, Rakhine and Shan are regarded as the major groups. Burma has a population of 43,455,953 (July 1993 est.) consisting primarily of Burman (68%). The predominant regligion is Buddhist (89%). Nationals in Burma are known as Burmese and they speak mainly the Burmese language.
The Bamar Group is the largest among the other groups and constitutes up to 69% of the total population.
3. CLIMATE
A year is generally divided in to three seasons:
Hot season (from March till May)
Rainy season (from June to October)
Cold season (from November to February)
The rainy season, being the longest period of the year, is favorable to cultivation. Consequently, the country’s major industry is agriculture. Moreover, rains help the forests to grow abundantly in Burma. Large portion of the country is covered with forest, yielding a wide range of timbers and other products.
4. RELIGION
Buddhism is the faith of the majority. In fact, 80% of the people are Buddhists. However, there is full freedom of worship for followers of other religions. Thus, we find Christianity, Islam, Hindus and even animists, living together peacefully in Myanmar.
5. LANGUAGE
Every group of nationality has its own dialect. The official language is Myanmar (Burmese), which is widely spoken all over the country. English is also widely spoken and understood especially in the main cities like Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan and so on
6. ECONOMNY
Burma is a poor Asian country, with a per capita GDP of about $660. The nation has been unable to achieve any substantial improvement in export earnings because of falling prices for many of its major commodity exports. For rice, traditionally the most important export, the drop in world prices has been accompanied by shrinking markets and a smaller volume of sales. In 1985 teak replaced rice as the largest export and continues to hold this position. The economy is heavily dependent on the agricultural sector, which generates about 40% of GDP and provides employment for 65% of the work force. Burma has been largely isolated from international economic forces and has been trying to encourage foreign investment, so far with little success.
On account of Market Oriented Economy initiated since 29th October 1988, Myanmar has been advancing by leaps and bounds in economy. Foreign investment is earnestly invited and the local private sector also is unprecedented encouraged. Business can be done in the form of joint-venture (either with the government or with local private entrepreneurs). To sum up, Myanmar has reached the golden age through her booming economy.
7. Geography
Burma is located in south-east Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal between Bangladesh and Thailand. This is a strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes. The country occupies a total of 678,500 sq km of which 657,740 sq km is land. The country has 1,930 km of coastline. It has a 5,876 km long land border, sharing 193 km with Bangladesh, 2,185 km with China, 1,463 km with India, 235 km with Laos and 1,800 km with Thailand. A map of Burma is available.
Burma has a tropical monsoon climate - cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (south-west monsoon from June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (north-east monsoon from December to April). The terrain is marked by steep rugged highlands surrounding central lowlands. Natural resources include petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones and natural gas. Burma is subject to destructive earthquakes and cyclones, flooding and landslides common during rainy season, and deforestation.
8.Government
Burma is known fully as Union of Burma and in short, Burma. Burma is a military regime. The capital is Rangoon. The country gained independence on 4 January 1948 from UK. The Burmese flag consists of a red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, all in white, 14 five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 14 administrative divisions
