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.