Myanmar,[a] officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Burmese: ပြည်ထောင်စု

သမ္မတ မြန်မာနို င်ငံ တော်‌, [pjìdàuɴzṵ θàɴmədaa̰ mjəmà nàiɴŋàɴdɔ̀]), also known as Burma,
[b] is a country in Southeast Asia. It is the largest country in Mainland Southeast Asia,
and has a population of about 54 million as of 2017.[7] Myanmar is bordered by
Bangladesh and India to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its
east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and
southwest. The country's capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon
(Rangoon).[3]

Republic of the Union of Myanmar

ပြည်ထောင်စု သမ္မတ မြန်မာနို င်ငံ တော်‌ (Burmese)
Pyidaunzu Thanmăda Myăma Nainngandaw
Flag of Myanmar
Flag
State Seal of Myanmar
State Seal
Anthem: ကမ္ဘာမကျေ
Kaba Ma Kyei
"Till the End of the World"
0:40
Myanmar (orthographic projection).svg
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Location of Myanmar (green)
in ASEAN (dark grey) – [Legend]

Capital
Naypyidaw[a]
19°45′N 96°6′E
Largest city
Yangon[b]
Official languages
Burmese
Recognised languages
English[1]
Recognised regional languages
ChinKachinKarenKayahMonRakhineShan
Official script
Burmese script
Ethnic groups (2018[2][3])
68% Bamar
9% Shan
7% Karen
4% Rakhine
3% Chinese
2% Indians
2% Mon
5% others
Religion
87.9% Buddhism (official)[4]
6.2% Christianity
4.3% Islam
1.6% Others[5]
Demonym(s)
Burmese[6]
Government
Unitary assembly-independent republic under a military junta
• President
Myint Swe (acting)
• SAC Chairman and Prime Minister
Min Aung Hlaing
• SAC Vice Chairman and Deputy Prime Minister
Soe Win
Legislature
Assembly of the Union
• Upper house
House of Nationalities
• Lower house
House of Representatives
Formation
• Pagan Kingdom
23 December 849
• Toungoo dynasty
16 October 1510
• Konbaung dynasty
29 February 1752
• Annexation by Britain
1 January 1886
• Independence
from British India
4 January 1948
• 1962 coup d'état
2 March 1962
• Renamed from "Burma" to "Myanmar"
18 June 1989
• Restoration of presidency
30 March 2011
• 2021 coup d'état
1 February 2021
Area
• Total
676,578 km2 (261,228 sq mi) (39th)
• Water (%)
3.06
Population
• 2017 census
53,582,855 (2017)[7] (26th)
• Density
76/km2 (196.8/sq mi) (125th)
GDP (PPP)
2022 estimate
• Total
Increase $243.420 billion[8] (63rd)
• Per capita
Increase $4,517[8] (142nd)
GDP (nominal)
2022 estimate
• Total
Decrease $63.052 billion[8] (71nd)
• Per capita
Decrease $1,170[8] (160th)
Gini (2017)
Positive decrease 30.7[9]
medium
HDI (2019)
Decrease 0.583[10]
medium · 147th
Currency
Kyat (K) (MMK)
Time zone
UTC+06:30 (MMT)
Driving side
right
Calling code
+95
ISO 3166 code
MM
Internet TLD
.mm
^ Also spelled "Nay Pyi Taw".
^ Formerly known as "Rangoon".
‹ The template Contains special characters is being considered for merging. ›
You may need rendering support to display the Burmese script in this article correctly.
Early civilisations in the area included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in
Upper Myanmar and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Myanmar.[11] In the 9th century, the
Bamar people entered the upper Irrawaddy valley, and following the establishment of
the Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language, culture, and Theravada
Buddhism slowly became dominant in the country. The Pagan Kingdom fell to Mongol
invasions, and several warring states emerged. In the 16th century, reunified by the
Taungoo dynasty, the country became the largest empire in the history of Southeast
Asia for a short period.[12]
The early 19th-century Konbaung dynasty ruled over an area that included modern
Myanmar and briefly controlled Manipur and Assam as well. The British East India
Company seized control of the administration of Myanmar after three Anglo-Burmese
Wars in the 19th century, and the country became a British colony. After a brief
Japanese occupation, Myanmar was reconquered by the Allies and gained
independence in 1948. Following a coup d'état in 1962, it became a military
dictatorship under the Burma Socialist Programme Party.

For most of its independent years, the country has been engrossed in rampant ethnic
strife and its myriad ethnic groups have been involved in one of the world's longest-
running ongoing civil wars. During this time, the United Nations and several other
organisations have reported consistent and systemic human rights violations in the
country.[13] In 2011, the military junta was officially dissolved following a 2010 general
election, and a nominally civilian government was installed. This, along with the
release of Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners and successful elections in 2015,
improved the country's human rights record and foreign relations and led to the easing
of trade and other economic sanctions,[14] although the country's treatment of its
ethnic minorities, particularly in connection with the Rohingya conflict, continued to be
condemned by international organizations and many nations.[15]

Following the 2020 Myanmar general election, in which Aung San Suu Kyi's party won a
clear majority in both houses, the Burmese military (Tatmadaw) again seized power in
a coup d'état.[16] The coup, which was widely condemned, led to continuous ongoing
widespread protests in Myanmar and has been marked by violent political repression
by the military.[17] The military also arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and charged her with
crimes ranging from corruption to the violation of Covid protocols, all of which have
been labeled as "politically motivated" by independent observers, in order to remove
her from public life.[18]

Myanmar is a member of the East Asia Summit, Non-Aligned Movement, ASEAN, and
BIMSTEC, but it is not a member of the Commonwealth of Nations despite once being
part of the British Empire. It is a country rich in jade and gems, oil, natural gas, teak and
other mineral resources. Myanmar is also endowed with renewable energy; it has the
highest solar power potential compared to other countries of the Great Mekong
Subregion.[19] In 2013, its GDP (nominal) stood at US$56.7 billion and its GDP (PPP) at
US$221.5 billion.[20] The income gap in Myanmar is among the widest in the world, as
a large proportion of the economy is controlled by cronies of the military junta.[21] As
of 2020, according to the Human Development Index, Myanmar ranks 147 out of 189
countries in terms of human development.[10]