Region
Southeast Asia

Neighbours
Myanmar (Burma) is bordered by China on the north and east, Laos and Thailand on the east, the Andaman Sea on the south, and the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, and India on the west.

Area
676,552 square kilometres (261,218 square miles)

Size Comparison
More than twice the size of Vietnam

A horseshoe-shaped mountain complex and the valley of the Irrawaddy River (Aye yar wadi) system are the dominant topographical features of Myanmar. The mountains on the northern margin rise to 5,881 metres (19,295 feet) at Hkakabo Razi, the highest peak in the country. Two other mountain systems have axes that run north and south: the Arakan Yoma range forms a barrier between Myanmar and the subcontinent of India, while the Bilauktaung Range, the southern extension of the Shan Plateau, lies along the boundary between southwestern Thailand and southeastern Lower Myanmar. The Shan Plateau, extending from China, has an average elevation of about 1,215 metres Approximate (3,986 feet Approximate).

The central lowlands, generally narrow and elongated in the interior, reach a width of about 320 kilometres (199 miles) across the Irrawaddy delta. These plains cover an area of about 46,620 square kilometres (18,000 square miles). Both the Arakan Coast in the northwest and the Tenasserim Coast in the southwest are rocky and fringed with islands. Myanmar has a number of excellent natural harbours.

Most of Myanmar (Burma) lies within the tropics. The hot season is from March to October, and the cool season, the period of the northeast monsoon, lasts from November to February. Temperatures from the cool to hot seasons range from 16° to 38°C (61° to 100°F) in most areas of the country. Temperatures are generally lower in the mountainous regions.

The country receives practically all of its rainfall between mid-May and October, the period of the southwest monsoon. Annual precipitation in most of Upper Myanmar averages about 890 millimetres (35 inches), and in Lower Myanmar about 5,080 millimetres (200 inches). Flooding and landslides are common during the rainy season.

Myanmar (Burma) was settled by a succession of peoples who migrated down along the Irrawaddy River from Tibet and China. These groups were influenced by social and political institutions that had been carried across the sea from India. The Mon were the first to settle, establishing in central Myanmar, in the Irrawaddy delta, and farther down the east coast of the Bay of Bengal. They constructed irrigation systems and developed commercial and cultural contacts with India, whilst maintaining loose ties with other Mon civilizations in the Chao Phraya Valley of Siam (now Thailand).

The Pyu followed much later, moving down the western side of the Irrawaddy and founding a capital near present-day Pye in AD 628. The Burmans entered the Irrawaddy River valley in the mid-9th century, absorbing the nearby Pyu and Mon communities. Later waves brought in the Shan and Kachin, who, along with the native Karen, have all played a part in the country. s development.

Today more than two-thirds of the people of Myanmar are Burman, ethnically akin to the Tibetans and the Mongols. The most important of the native minority groups, who have their own language and culture, are the Karen and the Shan, each of which comprises less than one-tenth of the population. The Karen are found primarily in delta villages and along the border with Thailand, and the Shan are based throughout the vast Shan Plateau. There are several smaller groups such as the Arakanese (Rakhine), Mon, Chin, and Kachin, and other even smaller minorities. Chinese and Indian minorities dominated in the urban areas during British rule (1826. 1948); however, many of the Chinese have since assimilated as Sino-Burmans, and most of the Indians have emigrated, although some Indian Muslims remain in their traditional homeland on the Arakan coast.

Myanmar was known as Burma until 1989, this English version of the country. s name was replaced by the military government that took over in 1988. Yangon (formerly known as Rangoon) is the capital and largest city. For much of the period since World War II, the population growth rate has been quite low. The overall population density is one of the lowest in East Asia. The population is 73 per cent (1996) rural, with almost half the urban population found in the three largest cities: Yangon, Mandalay, and Moulmein.

The vast majority of the people of Myanmar are Buddhists, most of whom adhere to the Theravada school of Buddhism. Underlying the everyday practice of Buddhism is a well-developed culture of animism, the worship of spirits known as nat. There are a significant number of Muslims, and also Christians (mostly Baptists), the latter particularly in the hill areas.

Buddhism is the centre of individual life for much of the population and the monastery (pongyi kyaung) is the centre of the community. This is especially true in the villages, where most people live. Wisdom is believed to reside at the pongyi kyaung and refuge may be sought there. A rite of passage for every adolescent boy is the shinphyu, in which the boy briefly relives the princely life of Gautama, who became the Buddha, and enters the monastery as a novice monk. At any time later in life he may return to the monastic life for a long or short period of time. The daily life of the village begins with a pongyi (monk) making his rounds in the morning with a begging bowl. By donating that day. s food, the villagers earn merit, and the monks, who are forbidden to work, are nourished. It has been estimated that at any one point in time, around 10 per cent of the male population is living as a monk.

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