Myanmar
- Capital:
- Nay Pyi Taw
- Continent:
- Asia
- Region(s):
- Southeast Asia
- Largest Cities:
- Yangon, Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw
- Abbreviation:
- MMR
* As of 6/9/2025
1 birth
Every 35.5 seconds
1 death
Every 1.0 minutes
1 emigrant
Every 13.2 minutes
1 person
Every 1.5 minutes
Sometimes known as Burma, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar - which is often shortened to Myanmar, is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia.
In 1989, an unelected military regime changed the name of Burma to Myanmar. However, the BBC reports that not all countries give legitimacy to the change due to the fact that the change was brought by the unelected military regime. Some countries, and the United Nations recognize the name change due to the paperwork and preference to allow members to name themselves as they wish so long as the decision is recorded. Interestingly enough, “The two words mean the same thing and one is derived from the other. Burmah, as it was spelled in the 19th Century, is a local corruption of the word Myanmar”, according to the same report above.
The country is very ethnically diverse with 135 ethnic groups recognized by the government. There are at least 108 ethnolinguistic groups in Myanmar. The Bamar account for around 68% of the population, followed by the Shan (10%), Kayin (7%), Rakhine (4%) and overseas Chinese (3%). Ethnic minorities in the country prefer to be called ethnic nationalities to fight against the proliferation of the dominant Bamar people. Other ethnic groups include the Mon (2%), Overseas Indians (2%) and the Kachin, Chin, Anglo-Indians, Nepali and Anglo-Burmese.
The official language used is Burmese, with some ethnic groups using their own languages.
Religion in Myanmar is spread across Buddhist with 87.9%, Christian 6.2%, Muslim 4.3%, Animist 0.8%, Hindu 0.5%, other 0.2%, and none at 0.1% of the population.
The median age in Myanmar/Burma is 28.2 years of age, with a total life expectancy of approximately 68.2 years. The quality of life can be examined in numerous manners, including exploring healthcare, access to improved sanitation and drinking water, as well as the World Happiness Report. Only 2.3% of the GDP is spent in the healthcare sector, and this is likely related to the low physician and hospital bed density in the area. There are only .57 physicians and .9 beds available per 1,000 residents. Just over 80% of the country has access to clean drinking water with only 77% having access to improved sanitation facilities. When referring to the World Happiness Report, we see a ranking of 130, with an overall rating of 4.3 out of 10.
Literacy is only at 75.6% of the population over the age of 15 years.
Now, the last partial census was conducted in 1983, and until 2014, the last officially recorded nationwide census hadn’t occurred since 1931. It’s believed there are at least 300,000 refugees from Burma located along the Thai-Burma border, with many camps established in the 1980’s. Illegal groups are not recognized as citizens in the country, and they have been relentlessly persecuted. This led to the expulsion of close to 300,000 Burmese Indians.
and for 2030 is it 58,915,869.