The 2004 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency

65 years and over: 4.9% (male 927,570; female 1,172,889) (2004 est.)

      Median age:

       total: 25.7 years

       male: 25.2 years

       female: 26.3 years (2004 est.)

      Population growth rate:

       0.47% (2004 est.)

      Birth rate:

       18.64 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

      Death rate:

       12.16 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

      Net migration rate:

       −1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

      Sex ratio:

       at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

       under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

       15–64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

       65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female

       total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

      Infant mortality rate:

       total: 68.78 deaths/1,000 live births

       female: 62.42 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)

       male: 74.78 deaths/1,000 live births

      Life expectancy at birth:

       total population: 56.01 years

       male: 54.22 years

       female: 57.9 years (2004 est.)

      Total fertility rate:

       2.08 children born/woman (2004 est.)

      HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

       1.2% (2003 est.)

      HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

       330,000 (2003 est.)

      HIV/AIDS - deaths:

       20,000 (2003 est.)

      Major infectious diseases:

       typhoid fever, dengue fever, malaria, leptospirosis

       overall degree of risk: very high (2004)

      Nationality:

       noun: Burmese (singular and plural)

       adjective: Burmese

      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

      Literacy:

       definition: age 15 and over can read and write

       total population: 85.3%

       male: 89.2%

       female: 81.4% (2002)

      Government Burma

      Country name:

       conventional long form: Union of Burma

       conventional short form: Burma

       local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw

       former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma

       local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the

       US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of

       Myanmar)

       note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the

       name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision

       was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US

       Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the

       Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw

      Government type:

       military junta

      Capital:

       Rangoon (government refers to the capital as Yangon)

      Administrative divisions: 7 divisions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne) : divisions: Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Yangon (Rangoon) : states: Chin State, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Mon State, Rakhine State, Shan State

      Independence:

       4 January 1948 (from UK)

      National holiday:

       Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947)

      Constitution:

       3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); national

       convention convened in 1993 to draft a new constitution but

       collapsed in 1996; reconvened in 2004 but does not include

       participation of democratic opposition

      Legal system:

       has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

      Suffrage:

       18 years of age; universal

      Executive branch:

       chief of state: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council

       Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992)

       head of government: Prime Minister, Gen SOE WIN (since 19 October

       2004)

       elections: none

       cabinet: State Peace and Development Council (SPDC); military junta,

       so named 15 November 1997, which initially assumed power 18

       September 1988 under the name State Law and Order Restoration

       Council (SLORC); the SPDC oversees the cabinet

      Legislative branch:

       unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw (485 seats; members

       elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

       election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -

       NLD 392 (opposition), SNLD 23 (opposition), NUP 10 (pro-government),

       other 60

       elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never allowed by

       junta to convene

      Judicial branch:

       remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is

       no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not

       independent of the executive

      Political parties and leaders:

       National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, chairman, AUNG SAN

       SUU KYI, general secretary]; National Unity Party or NUP

       (progovernment) [THA KYAW]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy

       or SNLD [KHUN HTUN OO]; and other smaller parties

      Political pressure groups and leaders:

       National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB

       (self-proclaimed government in exile) ["Prime Minister" Dr. SEIN

       WIN] consists of individuals, some legitimately elected to the

       People's Assembly in 1990 (the group fled to a border area and

       joined insurgents in December 1990 to form parallel government in

       exile); Kachin Independence Army or KIA;