Myanmar (English pronunciation below; Burmese:  or Burma, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar,  is a country in Southeast Asia.

Myanmar (English pronunciation below; Burmese:  or Burma, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar,  is a country in Southeast Asia. Myanmar is bordered by Bangladesh and India to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. Myanmar is the largest country in Mainland Southeast Asia and the 10th largest in Asia by area. As of 2017, the population was about 54 million.[5] Its capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon (Rangoon).[2] Early civilisations in Myanmar included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Burma and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Burma.[9] In the 9th century, the Bamar people entered the upper Irrawaddy valley, and following the establishment of the Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language, culture, and Theravada Buddhism slowly became dominant in the country. The Pagan Kingdom fell to Mongol invasions, and several warring states emerged. In the 16th century, reunified by the Taungoo dynasty, the country became the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia for a short period.[10] The early 19th-century Konbaung dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Myanmar and briefly controlled Manipur and Assam as well. The British East India Company seized control of the administration of Myanmar after three Anglo-Burmese Wars in the 19th century, and the country became a British colony. After a brief Japanese occupation, Myanmar was reconquered by the Allies and granted independence in 1948. Following a coup d'état in 1962, it became a military dictatorship under the Burma Socialist Programme Party. For most of its independent years, the country has been engrossed in rampant ethnic strife and its myriad ethnic groups have been involved in one of the world's longest-running ongoing civil wars. During this time, the United Nations and several other organisations have reported consistent and systematic human rights violations in the country.[11] In 2011, the military junta was officially dissolved following a 2010 general election, and a nominally civilian government was installed. This, along with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners, had improved the country's human rights record and foreign relations and has led to the easing of trade and other economic sanctions.[12] There is, however, continuing criticism of the government's treatment of ethnic minorities, its response to the ethnic insurgency, and religious clashes.[13] In the 2015 election, Aung San Suu Kyi's party won a majority in both houses. However, the Burmese military remained a powerful force in politics and, on 1 February 2021, again seized power in a coup d'état.[14] Myanmar is a member of the East Asia Summit, Non-Aligned Movement, ASEAN, and BIMSTEC, but it is not a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is a country rich in jade and gems, oil, natural gas, and other mineral resources. Myanmar is also endowed with renewable energy; it has the highest solar power potential compared to other countries of the Great Mekong Subregion.[15] In 2013, its GDP (nominal) stood at US$56.7 billion and its GDP (PPP) at US$221.5 billion.[16] The income gap in Myanmar is among the widest in the world, as a large proportion of the economy is controlled by supporters of the military government.[17] As of 2020, according to the Human Development Index, Myanmar ranks 147 out of 189 countries in human development.[8] Contents 1    Etymology 2    History 2.1    Prehistory 2.2    Early city-states 2.3    Pagan Kingdom 2.4    Taungoo and Konbaung 2.5    British Burma (1885–1948) 2.6    Independence (1948–1962) 2.7    Military rule (1962–2011) 2.8    Civil wars 2.9    Democratic reforms 2.10    2015 general elections 2.11    2020 elections and 2021 military coup d'etat 2.11.1    Election and aftermath 2.11.2    Coup 2.11.3    Reaction 3    Geography 3.1    Administrative divisions 3.2    Climate 3.3    Biodiversity 3.4    Climate change 4    Government and politics 4.1    Political culture 4.2    Foreign relations 4.3    Military 4.4    Human rights and internal conflicts 4.4.1    Child soldiers 4.4.2    Slavery and human trafficking 4.4.3    Genocide allegations and crimes against Rohingya people 4.4.4    Government reforms 5    Economy 5.1    Economic history 5.2    Agriculture 5.3    Extractive industries 5.4    Tourism 6    Society 6.1    Demographics 6.2    Largest cities 6.3    Ethnic groups 6.4    Languages 6.5    Religion 6.6    Health 6.7    Education 6.8    Crime 7    Culture 7.1    Cuisine 7.2    Sport 7.3    Art 7.4    Media and communications 7.4.1    Internet 7.5    Film 8    See also 9    Notes 10    References 11    Bibliography 12    External links Etymology Main article: Names of Myanmar The name of the country has been a matter of dispute and disagreement, particularly in the early 21st century, focusing mainly on the political legitimacy of those using Myanmar versus Burma.[18][19] Both names derive from the earlier Burmese Myanma or Myamma, an ethnonym for the majority Bamar ethnic group, of uncertain etymology.[20] The terms are also popularly thought to derive from Brahma Desha or ब्रह्मादेश/ब्रह्मावर्त (Sanskrit) after Brahma.[21] In 1989, the military government officially changed the English translations of many names dating back to Burma's colonial period or earlier, including that of the country itself: Burma became Myanmar. The renaming remains a contested issue.[22] Many political and ethnic opposition groups and countries continue to use Burma because they do not recognise the legitimacy of the ruling military government or its authority to rename the country.[23] In April 2016, soon after taking office, Aung San Suu Kyi said concerning the question of which name should be used that, "it is up to you, because there is nothing in the constitution of our country that says that you must use any term in particular". She continued, "I use Burma very often because I am used to using it. But it does not mean that I require other people to do that as well. And I’ll make an effort to say Myanmar from time to time so you all feel comfortable."[24] The country's official full name is the "Republic of the Union of Myanmar" (ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်, Pyihtaungsu Thamada Myanma Naingngantaw, pronounced [pjìdàʊɴzṵ θàɴməda̰ mjəmà nàɪɴŋàɴdɔ̀]). Countries that do not officially recognise that name use the long form "Union of Burma" instead.[2][25] In English, the country is popularly known as either Burma or Myanmar. Depending on the register used, the pronunciation would be Bama (pronounced [bəmà]) or Myamah (pronounced [mjəmà]).[22] The name Burma has been in use in English since the 18th century. Official United States policy retains Burma as the country's name, although the State Department's website lists the country as Burma (Myanmar).[26] The CIA's World Factbook lists the country as Burma as of February 2021.[2] The government of Canada has in the past used Burma,[27] such as in its 2007 legislation imposing sanctions[28] but as of August 2020 generally uses Myanmar.[29] The Czech Republic officially uses Myanmar, although its Ministry of Foreign Affairs uses both Myanmar and Burma on its website.[30] The United Nations uses Myanmar, as do the ASEAN, Australia,[31] Russia, Germany,[32] China, India, Bangladesh, Norway,[33] Japan[27] and Switzerland.[34] Most English-speaking international news media refer to the country by the name Myanmar, including the BBC,[35] CNN,[36] Al Jazeera,[37] Reuters,[38] and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)/Radio Australia.[39] Myanmar is known with a name deriving from Burma as opposed to Myanmar in Spanish, Italian, Romanian, and Greek – Birmania being the local version of Burma in the Spanish language, for example. Myanmar used to be known as Birmânia in Portuguese, and as Birmanie in French.[40] As in the past, French-language media today consistently use Birmanie.[41][42] There is no established pronunciation of the name Myanmar in English. It is approximated at least nine different ways: as three syllables /ˈmiː.ənmɑːr/, /miˈænmɑːr/, /ˌmaɪ.ənˈmɑːr/, /maɪˈɑːnmɑːr/, /ˈmaɪ.ænmɑːr/; or as two syllables /ˌmjænˈmɑːr/, /ˈmjænmɑːr/, /ˌmjɑːnˈmɑːr/ (About this soundlisten), /ˈmjɑːnmɑːr/.[43] History Main article: History of Myanmar Prehistory Main articles: Prehistory of Myanmar and Migration period of ancient Burma Pyu city-states c. 8th century; Pagan is shown for comparison only and is not contemporary Archaeological evidence shows that Homo erectus lived in the region now known as Myanmar as early as 750,000 years ago, with no more erectus finds after 75,000 years ago.[44] The first evidence of Homo sapiens is dated to about 25,000 BP with discoveries of stone tools in central Myanmar.[45] Evidence of Neolithic age domestication of plants and animals and the use of polished stone tools dating to sometime between 10,000 and 6,000 BCE has been discovered in the form of cave paintings in Padah-Lin Caves.[46] The Bronze Age arrived c. 1500 BCE when people in the region were turning copper into bronze, growing rice and domesticating poultry and pigs; they were among the first people in the world to do so.[47] Human remains and artefacts from this era were discovered in Monywa District in the Sagaing Region.[48] The Iron Age began around 500 BCE with the emergence of iron-working settlements in an area south of present-day Mandalay.[49] Evidence also shows the presence of rice-growing settlements of large villages and small towns that traded with their surroundings as far as China between 500 BCE and 200 CE.[50] Iron Age Burmese cultures also had influences from outside sources such as India and Thailand, as seen in their funerary practices concerning child burials. This indicates some form of communication between groups in Myanmar and other places, possibly through trade.[51] Early city-states Main articles: Pyu city-states and Mon kingdoms Around the second century BCE the first-known city-states emerged in central Myanmar. The city-states were founded as part of the southward migration by the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu people, the earliest inhabitants of Myanmar of whom records are extant, from present-day Yunnan.[52] The Pyu culture was heavily influenced by trade with India, importing Buddhism as well as other cultural, architectural and political concepts, which would have an enduring influence on later Burmese culture and political organisation.[53] By the 9th century, several city-states had sprouted across the land: the Pyu in the central dry zone, Mon along the southern coastline and Arakanese along the western littoral. The balance was upset when the Pyu came under repeated attacks from Nanzhao between the 750s and the 830s. In the mid-to-late 9th century the Bamar people founded a small settlement at Bagan. It was one of several competing city-states until the late 10th century, when it grew in authority and grandeur.[54] Pagan Kingdom Main articles: Pagan Kingdom, Taungoo Dynasty, and Konbaung Dynasty See also: Ava Kingdom, Hanthawaddy Kingdom, Kingdom of Mrauk U, and Shan States Pagodas and kyaungs in present-day Bagan, the capital of the Pagan Kingdom Pagan gradually grew to absorb its surrounding states until the 1050s–1060s when Anawrahta founded the Pagan Kingdom, the first ever unific