Myanmar or Burma, republic in South East Asia, bordered on the north by China; on the east by China, Laos, and Thailand; on the south by the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal; and on the west by the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, and India. The country was known as Burma until June 19, 1989, when the military government changed its official name to the Union of Myanmar (Myanma Naingngandaw); this name is recognized by the United Nations, but not by all governments and in this article Myanmar will be used for post-June-1989 references. The coastal region is known as Lower Myanmar, while the interior region is known as Upper Myanmar. The total area of the country is 676,552 sq km (261,218 sq mi). Rangoon (Yangon) is the capital and largest city of Myanmar.

POPULATION

Myanmar has a population of 42,720,196 (2004 estimate). The overall population density is 65 people per sq km (168 per sq mi), one of the lowest in the region. The population is about 71 per cent rural, with almost half the urban population found in the three largest cities: Rangoon, Mandalay, and Moulmein.

LANGUAGE

The official language, Burmese (or “Myanmar”), is a first language for over half the population, and a second language for most of the remainder. A tonal language, it has its own alphabet and is from the Sino-Tibetan language family, as are many of the over 100 other languages spoken by ethnic minorities in Myanmar (Sino-Tibetan languages are spoken by 78 per cent of the population).

About 6 per cent of the population speaks Shan, a Tai-Kadai language, as a mother tongue, and different forms of the Karen language (Sino-Tibetan) are spoken by similar numbers, in particular S’gaw Karen and Pwo Eastern Karen, each of which have over 1 million first-language speakers in Myanmar. Some Austro-Asiatic languages are also spoken, including Vo, Parauk, Pale Palaung, and Mon. Chinese is also used by an immigrant community.


RELIGION

More than 85 per cent of the people of Myanmar are Buddhists, most of whom adhere to the Theravada school of Buddhism. Small groups of Hindus, Muslims, and Christians also live there. For the Burman majority population, Buddhism is central to daily life, with the monastery (pongyi kyaung) forming the core of the community, especially in the villages. The shinpyu rite of passage, usual for boys, involves entering the monastery temporarily as a novice monk, and many return later in life for temporary retreats. Monks normally begin each day by going round the villages begging alms.
Underlying the everyday practice of Buddhism is an indigenous culture of animism, the worship of spirits known as nat. This provides a basis for many nat festivals, and for much traditional medical practice. Muslims have long formed part of the population, and there is also a significant number of Christians (mostly Baptists), particularly in the hill areas.

Lebanon (country) (in Arabic, Lubnan), officially the Lebanese Republic, republic in the Middle East, bordered on the north and east by Syria, on the south-east and south by Israel, and on the west by the Mediterranean Sea. Its area is 10,452 sq km (4,036 sq mi). The capital and leading port is Beirut.


POPULATION

The population of Lebanon is 3,777,218 (2004 estimate); the overall density is about 369 people per sq km (956 per sq mi). About 90 per cent of the people live in urban areas.


LANGUAGE

The official language is Standard Arabic but French also has some official status according to the constitution. Standard Arabic is a second language, taught in schools and used in formal domains and for communication across Arab nations. The more popular form of Arabic, and the mother tongue for most Lebanese, is North Levantine Spoken Arabic. French is used daily by around 20 per cent of the people; many more are competent in the language, and it is used in most schools as the language of instruction. In addition to these languages, Armenian is the first language of a small percentage of the population, and is spoken widely as a second language. English can also be heard occasionally.

RELIGION

The most prevalent religion in Lebanon numerically is Islam, with around 40 per cent of the population adhering to Shiism and some 21 per cent to Sunni Islam. The principal denominations of Christians, who make up about 32 per cent of the population, are Maronite, Greek Orthodox Church, Armenian Church, and Protestant. Druze make up about 7 per cent.

Laos, officially Lao People’s Democratic Republic, independent state in South East Asia, bounded on the north by China and Vietnam, on the east by Vietnam, on the south by Cambodia, on the west by Thailand, and on the north-west by Myanmar (Burma). Laos is South East Asia’s only landlocked nation. The total area is 236,800 sq km (91,430 sq mi). The capital and largest city of Laos is Vientiane.


POPULATION

The people of Laos are of three main groups. The largest group is composed of Lao, who are closely related to the Thai. They constitute about half of the population and live mainly in the lowlands along the Mekong River and its tributaries. An Indonesian people, called Lao Theung (“mountain people”), live in the highlands, and minority groups of Sino-Tibetan origin, such as the Hmong (Miao) and Yao, inhabit the northern mountains. Smaller minority groups include Vietnamese and Chinese.

LANGUAGE

The official and national language of the country is Lao, a Tai-Kadai language spoken by around 3 million people as a mother tongue. Around 80 other indigenous languages are spoken by minority groups, from the Tai-Kadai, Austro-Asiatic, Daic, and Sino-Tibetan language families.

RELIGION

The principal religion of Laos is Theravada Buddhism. Many of the mountain peoples follow animist beliefs, sometimes in combination with Buddhism.

Kuwait (country), independent state on the north-western coast of the Persian Gulf. It is bordered on the north and north-west by Iraq, on the east by the Persian Gulf, and on the south by Saudi Arabia. The country’s total area, including the islands of Bubiyan, Warbah, and Faylakah, is 17,818 sq km (6,880 sq mi). The national capital and chief port is Kuwait City. From August 1990 to February 1991, Iraq, in defiance of the United Nations Security Council, annexed and occupied Kuwait, claiming it as Iraq’s 19th province. This action led to the Gulf War, which liberated the country. In November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the UN-demarcated border with Kuwait, which had been spelled out in Security Council Resolutions made in 1991 and 1993; this formally ends earlier claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah islands.

POPULATION

The native population of Kuwait consists of Arabs; citizenship is reserved for those able to demonstrate local ancestry from before 1920. Many minority groups are present, however, including Arabs from other countries, Indians, Pakistanis, and Iranians. Prior to 1990 native Kuwaitis only comprised some 25 per cent of the population; they now make up 50 per cent. Palestinians were formerly the largest minority, but Palestinian support for the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait made the government encourage them to leave after liberation. Official Kuwaiti policy is now to maintain at least a marginal majority of native residents. The population of Kuwait is 2,257,549 (2004 estimate). The overall population density is about 127 people per sq km (328 per sq mi). Average life expectancy at birth in 2004 was 76 years for men and 78 years for women.

LANGUAGE

Standard Arabic is the official language, a second language learnt in schools and used in official domains. The more popular form of Arabic used is Gulf Spoken Arabic, which is a mother tongue for around 85 per cent of the population. Mehri, a Semitic language, is the first language for a small minority. Immigrant Arabic languages are also spoken by some.


RELIGION

Islam is the predominant religion, 45 per cent being Sunni Muslims, and 30 per cent, Shiite Muslims. A law of 1981 limits citizenship to Muslims.

Kazakhstan, republic in Central Asia, bordered on the north by Russia; on the east by China; on the south by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan; and on the west by the Caspian Sea and Russia. It was formerly the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

POPULATION

Until recently, Russians outnumbered Kazakhs in the republic. Beginning in the 19th century, large-scale immigration boosted the number of Russians and other Slavic peoples, while the number of Kazakhs declined as a result of attacks by Russian settlers and forced collectivization under Stalin. Higher birth rates among Kazakhs eventually led to the greater percentage of Kazakhs in the country. Large numbers of Germans (3.6 per cent of the total) and Ukrainians (5.1 per cent) also reside in the republic.

LANGUAGE

Kazakh is the official language, from the Turkic sub-group of the Altaic language family. It is spoken by around 40 per cent of the population as a first language, is being taught in more and more schools, and is written in the Cyrillic script. Standard German is a mother tongue for just under a million speakers (mainly ethnic Germans), and Plautdietsch, another Germanic language, is also spoken by a minority. Uyghur, Ili Turki (both Altaic), and Sinte Romani (an Indo-Iranian language) are also spoken. Many immigrant languages, including Russian, Tatar, and North Azerbaijani, are spoken, the former being widely known.

RELIGION

Although a secular state, Islam is the major religion of the Kazakhs, with the majority of Muslims following the Sunni tradition. The Russian Orthodox Church has the most adherents in the minority Christian tradition and there are also some followers of the Baptist and Evangelical Lutheran Churches.

Jordan (country) (in Arabic, al-Mamlakah al-Urdunniyah al-Hashemiyah), officially Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, kingdom in the Middle East, bordered on the north by Syria, on the east by Iraq and Saudi Arabia, on the south by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf of Aqaba, and on the west by Israel and the West Bank. The area of Jordan is 89,556 sq km (34,578 sq mi) since an exchange of territory with Saudi Arabia in 1965. Amman is the capital and largest city of Jordan.


POPULATION

Jordan has a population of 5,611,202 (2004 estimate), yielding an average population density of 61 people per sq km (159 per sq mi). Average life expectancy at birth in 2004 was 76 years for men and 81 years for women, while the infant mortality rate was 18 per 1,000 live births; the annual average rate of population increase was 2.67 per cent

LANGUAGE

The official language is Standard Arabic, which is a second language taught in most schools (although some still use the vernacular) and used in official domains and as a lingua franca to communicate with other Arab states. The more popular Arabic language is South Levantine Spoken Arabic, which is a mother tongue for 3.5 million people. At least two other Arabic languages are used by minorities, and four other indigenous languages (Adyghe, Armenian, Chechen, and Domari) are also spoken.

RELIGION

Islam is the state religion. The great majority of the Jordanian people are Sunni Muslims. Shiite Muslims form a small minority. Christians, about one third of whom belong to the Greek Orthodox Church, make up about 8 per cent of the population. Arabic the official language.

Japan, constitutional monarchy in East Asia, comprising four large islands, as well as the Ryukyu Islands and more than 1,000 lesser adjacent islands. It is bounded on the north by the Sea of Okhotsk, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Pacific Ocean and the East China Sea, and on the west by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan (East Sea). In Japanese the country’s name is Dai (“great”) Nihon or Nippon (“origin of the Sun”), hence, Land of the Rising Sun. The Japanese islands extend in an irregular crescent from the island of Sakhalin (Russia) to the island of Taiwan (Formosa). Japan proper consists of the large islands of Hokkaido, the northernmost; Honshu, the largest, called the mainland; Shikoku; and Kyushu, the southernmost. The combined area of these islands is about 362,000 sq km (140,000 sq mi). The total area of Japan is 377,837 sq km (145,884 sq mi). Tokyo is Japan’s capital and largest city.

POPULATION

Japan has a population of 127,333,000 (2004 estimate). The overall population density is about 323 people per sq km (836 per sq mi), though local density varies considerably due to the mountainous terrain, with very many high concentrations along the Tokyo-Osaka metropolitan corridor and much lower densities in northern Honshu and Hokkaido.

RELIGION

The principal religious faiths of Japan are Shinto, a polytheistic religion based on ancestor and nature worship, with about 200 sects and denominations; and Buddhism, with about 207 sects and denominations. Christianity—represented in Japan by the Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Greek Orthodox faiths—is practised by less than 4 per cent of the population. Virtually all the Japanese engage in Shinto ceremonies, and the majority of Shintoists are also Buddhists. In the latter half of the 19th century Shinto was made a state religion, stressing worship of the emperor as a divinity and the unique divine origin of the Japanese; all Japanese, regardless of their religious affiliation, were obliged to worship at Shinto shrines. In 1946 the Allied occupation authorities ordered Shinto disestablished and reduced it to the level of a sect. On January 1, 1946, Emperor Hirohito renounced all claim to divinity. The constitution promulgated in 1947 re-established absolute freedom of religion and ended state support of Shinto.