Name
Burma was renamed “Myanmar” by the country’s ruling military regime in 1989. However, the democracy movement inside the country, the European Union, the United States, and many major media outlets continue to use the term “Burma” as a symbolic protest against the military regime.

Location
Burma is located in Southeast Asia and borders Thailand, Laos, China, India, Bangladesh, and the Andaman Sea. It shares the longest border with Thailand, and is roughly the same size as Texas.

Geography
The country is geographically diverse, with beaches and oceanfront on the Southwest, while mountainous and rugged in the Shan and Karen States. Hundreds of islands make up the Mergui archipelago near Thailand.

Population / Ethnic Makeup
It is impossible to get an accurate estimate of the population of Burma, since a census has not been conducted in over 30 years. However, most observers estimate the total population to be around 50 million persons.

There are eight major ethnic groups in Burma, each comprising part of the total population. Karen and Shan groups comprise about 10% each of the total population, while Akha, Chin, Danu, Indian, Kachin, Karenni, Kayan, Kokang, Lahu, Mon, Naga, Palaung, Pao, Rakhine, Tavoyan, and Wa peoples each constitute 5% or less of the population.

Human Rights / Democracy / Freedom
The U.S. State Department and two credible NGOs found in 2002 that Burma’s military regime is using rape as a weapon of war.

There are approximately 1,600 political prisoners in Burma, including 38 elected members of parliament.

Millions of Burmese have been pressed into what the International Labor Organization, a United Nations agency, calls “a modern form of slavery”.

More persons died from landmines in Burma in 2002 than any other country in the world.

Burma is ranked “Not Free” by Freedom House’s international reports.

Burma was ranked the fifth most repressive government in the world by Parade Magazine.

The Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, which passed the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly, found that Burma’s regime is using ethnic cleansing against Burma’s ethnic peoples.

Political History
Britain colonized Burma, and ruled the country as part of India until 1947. General Aung San, father of Aung San Suu Kyi, exploited the Japanese occupation to gain Burma’s independence in 1948, but was assasssinated just before the handover. The country functioned as a parliamentary democracy until 1962, when General Ne Win assumed power, ostensibly to prevent Burma’s ethnic groups from seeking autonomy or independence. Many attempts were made to overthrow Ne Win and reinstate democracy, but he held onto power until a nationwide uprising in 1988. A group of military leaders formed a military junta, now known as the State Peace and Development Council, and have ruled ever since. The junta held an election in 1990, presumably believing it would win, but lost in a landslide to the National League for Democracy, which was led by future Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi. The junta has locked up Suu Kyi on and off ever since, from 1989-1995, again from September 2000-May 2002, and most recently in May 2003. NLD members and supporters are regularly killed.

Narcotics
Burma is the world’s second largest producer of illegal opium and Southeast Asia’s largest producer of methamphetamines, both of which are highly addictive.

Burma was one of only two countries to be “decertified” for refusing to comply with U.S. anti-narcotics efforts in 2002-2003.