Portal:Myanmar

ကြိုဆိုပါတယ်။ / Welcome to the Myanmar Portal

Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has a population of about 55 million. It is bordered by India and Bangladesh 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. The country's capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon (formerly Rangoon).

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 despite once being part of the British Empire. Myanmar is a Dialogue Partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The country is very rich in natural resources, such as jade, gems, oil, natural gas, teak and other minerals, as well as endowed with renewable energy, having the highest solar power potential compared to other countries of the Great Mekong Subregion. However, Myanmar has long suffered from instability, factional violence, corruption, poor infrastructure, as well as a long history of colonial exploitation with little regard to human development. In 2013, its GDP (nominal) stood at US$56.7 billion and its GDP (PPP) at US$221.5 billion. The income gap in Myanmar is among the widest in the world, as a large proportion of the economy is controlled by cronies of the military junta. Myanmar is one of the least developed countries. Since 2021, more than 600,000 people have been displaced across Myanmar due to the civil war post-coup, with more than three million people in dire need of humanitarian assistance. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are over 1.3 million people counted as refugees and asylum seekers, and 3.5 million people displaced internally as of December 2024. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected articles - load new batch

Image 1
Black and white photograph of logging in Myanmar taken by a Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation official during British rule.
Deforestation in Myanmar (otherwise known as Burma) led to a reduction in forest cover from 70% of the country in 1948 to 48% by 2014. Myanmar possesses the largest expanse of tropical forest in mainland Southeast Asia, which contains high biodiversity. As of 2010, Myanmar's living forest biomass held 1,654 million metric tons of carbon and over 80 endemic species.

Under British rule, Myanmar's forests were logged for timber on an industrial scale for the first time. After independence, commercial logging greatly expanded under the military government of Ne Win. According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization, Myanmar lost 19%, or 7,445,000 hectares (28,750 sq mi), of its forest between 1990 and 2010. In the 21st century, contributing factors to deforestation in Myanmar include continued timber extraction, illegal logging, agricultural expansion, land disputes and civil conflict. Deforestation has increased amidst the escalation of civil war following the 2021 coup d'état. (Full article...)
Image 2

Protesters in Yangon with a banner that reads "Non-violence: National Movement" in Burmese, in the background is Shwedagon Pagoda

The Saffron Revolution (Burmese: ရွှေဝါရောင်တော်လှန်ရေး, romanized: Shwaywarraung Tawlhaanrayy; [sw̥èi wà jàʊɰ̃ tɔ̀ l̥àɰ̃ jéi]) was a series of economic and political protests and demonstrations that took place during August, September, and October 2007 in Myanmar. The protests were triggered by the decision of the national military government to remove subsidies on the sales prices of fuel. The national government is the only supplier of fuels and the removal of the price subsidy immediately caused diesel and petrol prices to increase by 66–100% and the price of compressed natural gas for buses to increase 500% in less than a week.

The various protests were led by students, political activists, including women, and Buddhist monks and took the form of a campaign of nonviolent resistance, sometimes also called civil resistance. (Full article...)
Image 3

The railway bridge over the Khwae Yai River in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand.

The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a 415 km (258 mi) railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 by Southeast Asian civilians abducted and forced to work by the Japanese and by captured Allied soldiers, to supply troops and weapons in the Burma campaign of World War II. It completed the rail link between Bangkok, Thailand, and Rangoon, Burma. The name used by the Imperial Japanese Government was Tai–Men Rensetsu Tetsudō (泰緬連接鉄道), which means Thailand-Burma-Link-Railway.

At least 250,000 Southeast Asian civilians were subjected to forced labour to ensure the construction of the Death Railway and more than 90,000 civilians died building it, as did around 12,000 Allied soldiers. The workers on the Thai side of the railway were Tamils, Malays, and fewer Chinese civilians from Malaya. (Full article...)
Image 4

The Konbaung dynasty (Burmese: ကုန်းဘောင်မင်းဆက်), also known as the Third Burmese Empire (တတိယမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်), was the last dynasty that ruled Burma from 1752 to 1885. It created the second-largest empire in Burmese history and continued the administrative reforms begun by the Toungoo dynasty, laying the foundations of the modern state of Burma. The reforms, however, proved insufficient to stem the advance of the British Empire, who defeated the Burmese in all three Anglo-Burmese Wars over a six-decade span (1824–1885) and ended the millennium-old Burmese monarchy in 1885.

Pretenders to the dynasty claim descent from Myat Phaya Lat, one of Thibaw's daughters. (Full article...)
Image 5
On 2 July 2020, a major landslide at the Wai Khar jade mining site in the Hpakant area of Kachin State, Myanmar, killed between 175 and 200 miners in the country's deadliest-ever mining incident. At 06:30 local time (MMT) heavy rains triggered the collapse of a heap of mining waste, which came tumbling down into a lake. This generated a 6.1-meter (20 ft) wave of mud and water that buried those working at the Wai Khar mine. The miners killed or injured by the landslide were independent "jade pickers", who scavenge tailings from larger operators and who live in ramshackle quarters at the base of large mounds of rubble.

Myanmar's jade industry supplies 70% to 90% of the world jade supply. The industry had become known for its fatal accidents in the preceding years, with the previous deadliest accident in 2015 killing 116 people. While the government responded with promises of reforms in the jade mining industry, activists claim that little has been done in practice since then. (Full article...)
Image 6

Flag of the People's Defence Force

The People's Defence Force is the armed wing of the National Unity Government (NUG) in Myanmar. The armed wing was formed by the NUG from youths and pro-democracy activists on 5 May 2021 in response to the coup d'état that occurred on 1 February 2021 that put the military junta and their armed wing the Tatmadaw in power. The military junta designated it as a terrorist organisation on 8 May 2021. In October 2021, NUG's Ministry of Defence announced that it had formed a central committee to coordinate military operations across the country.

According to the NUG statement, the PDF is divided into five regional commands (Northern, Southern, Central, Eastern and Western commands), each mounting at least three brigades. Each brigade consists of five battalions, which divide into four companies. On 13 July 2021, NUG's minister of defence Yee Mon stated that the strength of the newly-formed militia was expected to reach 8,000 by the end of the month. Estimates by The Irrawaddy put the PDF's numbers at 65,000 in November 2022. More recent estimates put the PDF's strength at 100,000, even though not all are believed to be fully armed and trained. The PDF's leadership endorse guerrilla warfare tactics in pursuit of their aims. (Full article...)
Image 7

The Amyotha Hluttaw (Burmese: အမျိုးသားလွှတ်တော်, IPA: [ʔəmjóðá l̥ʊʔtɔ̀]; House of Nationalities) is the de jure upper house of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the bicameral legislature of Myanmar (Burma). It consists of 224 members, of which 168 are directly elected and 56 appointed by the Myanmar Armed Forces. The last elections to the Amyotha Hluttaw were held in November 2015. At its second meeting on 3 February 2016, Mahn Win Khaing Than and Aye Thar Aung were elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Amyotha Hluttaw and Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw as a whole.

After the coup d'état on 1 February 2021, the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw was dissolved by Acting President Myint Swe, who declared a one-year state of emergency and transferred all legislative powers to Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing. (Full article...)
Image 8

The 1912 Maymyo earthquake or Burma earthquake struck Burma on the morning of May 23, with an epicentre near Taunggyi and Pyin Oo Lwin in Shan State. The earthquake was initially calculated at 8.0 on the surface-wave magnitude scale (M_s ) by Beno Gutenberg and Charles Francis Richter, and described by them as being one of the most remarkable seismic events in the early 1900s. Recent re-evaluation of the earthquake, however, have revised the magnitude to 7.6–7.9. It was preceded by two foreshocks on May 18 and 21 with respective intensities V and VII on the Rossi–Forel scale, while the mainshock was assigned IX. Shaking was felt throughout most of Burma, parts of Siam and Yunnan; an area covering approximately 375,000 square miles. It was one of the largest earthquakes in the country. (Full article...)
Image 9

The early Pagan kingdom (Burmese: ခေတ်ဦး ပုဂံ ပြည်) was a city-state that existed in the first millennium CE before the emergence of the Pagan empire in the mid 11th century. The Burmese chronicles state that the "kingdom" was founded in the second century CE. The seat of power of the small kingdom was first located at Arimaddana, Thiri Pyissaya, and Tampawaddy until 849 CE when it was moved to Pagan (Bagan).

Radiocarbon dating shows the earliest human settlement in the Pagan region dates only from the mid-7th century CE. It existed alongside Pyu city-states that dominated Upper Burma. The city-state of Pagan, according to mainstream scholarship, was founded in the mid 9th century by the Mranma of Nanzhao kingdom. Burmans at Pagan expanded irrigation-based cultivation while borrowing extensively from the Pyus' predominantly Buddhist culture. It was one of many competing city-states in the Pyu realm until the late 10th century when the principality began absorbing its surrounding states. The expansion accelerated in the 1050s and 1060s when King Anawrahta founded the Pagan Empire, the first ever unification of the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery. (Full article...)
Image 10
Burmese Days is the first novel and second book by English writer George Orwell, published in 1934. Set in British Burma during the waning days of empire, when Burma was ruled from Delhi as part of British India, the novel serves as "a portrait of the dark side of the British Raj." At the centre of the novel is John Flory, "the lone and lacking individual trapped within a bigger system that is undermining the better side of human nature." The novel describes "both indigenous corruption and imperial bigotry" in a society where, "after all, natives were natives—interesting, no doubt, but finally...an inferior people".

Burmese Days was first published "further afield," in the United States, because of concerns that it might be potentially libelous; that the real provincial town of Katha had been described too realistically; and that some of its fictional characters were based too closely on identifiable people. A British edition, with altered names, appeared a year later. Nonetheless, Orwell's harsh portrayal of colonial society was felt by "some old Burma hands" to have "rather let the side down". In a letter from 1946, Orwell wrote, "I dare say it's unfair in some ways and inaccurate in some details, but much of it is simply reporting what I have seen". (Full article...)

More selected articles

Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that while defending Zaw Myint Maung following his arrest by the Myanmar junta, lawyer Ywet Nu Aung was herself arrested and charged?
... that former Burmese actress Honey Nway Oo turned rebel and took up arms against the military junta following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état?
... that the talabaw soup, which consists primarily of bamboo shoots, is the essential dish of Myanmar's Karen people, who use it to supplement rice?
... that Thinzar Shunlei Yi hid in the Burmese jungle for a month and joined a rebel militia following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état?
... that the mission of the United Nations special envoy on Myanmar has been called a "diplomatic graveyard"?
... that the Burmese Buddhist monk Sagyo Thu-Myat successfully lobbied for the recalibration of the Burmese calendar?
... that squatters in Myanmar were punished for protesting against the 2021 coup d'état by being evicted?
... that Myinsaing withstood a ten-week siege by the Mongols because its three brother leaders bribed the invaders to withdraw?

Related portals and projects

Southeast Asia

Other Countries

WikiProject Myanmar WikiProject Southeast Asia WikiProject Asia

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various Myanmar-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1British soldiers remove their shoes at the entrance of Shwedagon Pagoda. To the left, a sign reads "Foot wearing is strictly prohibited" in Burmese, English, Tamil, and Urdu. (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 2Myanmar (Burma) map of Köppen climate classification (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 3Political map of Burma (Myanmar) c. 1450 CE. (from History of Myanmar)
$Image 4A large fracture on the Mingun Pahtodawgyi caused by the 1839 Ava earthquake. (from Geography of Myanmar)$

Image 4A large fracture on the Mingun Pahtodawgyi caused by the 1839 Ava earthquake. (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 5An ear-piercing ceremony at Mahamuni Buddha in Mandalay (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 6The shores of Irrawaddy River at Nyaung-U, Bagan (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 7Boxing match, 19th-century watercolour (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 8Portuguese ruler and soldiers mounting an elephant. Jan Caspar Philips (draughtsman and engraver). (from History of Myanmar)
Image 9Protesters in Yangon carrying signs reading "Free Daw Aung San Suu Kyi" on 8 February 2021 (from History of Myanmar)
Image 10Jade Mine in Hpakant (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 11Former US President Barack Obama poses barefoot on the grounds of Shwedagon Pagoda, one of Myanmar's major Buddhist pilgrimage sites. (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 12Vegetable stall on the roadside at the Madras Lancer Lines, Mandalay, January 1886. Photographer: Hooper, Willoughby Wallace (1837–1912). (from History of Myanmar)
Image 13Hlei pyaingbwè - a Burmese regatta (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 14A theatrical performance of the Mon dance (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 15A bull fight, 19th-century watercolour (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 16Mountains near Pindaya on the Shan Plateau (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 17Protesters in Yangon with a banner that reads "non-violence: national movement" in Burmese. In the background is Shwedagon Pagoda. (from History of Myanmar)
Image 18British soldiers dismantling cannons belonging to King Thibaw's forces, Third Anglo-Burmese War, Ava, 27 November 1885. Photographer: Hooper, Willoughby Wallace (1837–1912). (from History of Myanmar)
Image 19Myinhkin thabin - equestrian sport (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 20A wedding procession, with the groom and bride dressed in traditional Burmese wedding clothes, reminiscent of royal attire (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 21Two female musicians play the saung at a performance in Mandalay. (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 22Deforestation in Myanmar during the British colonial era. (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 23View of Hpa-An from Mount Zwegabin in Southeastern Hills (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 24British soldiers on patrol in the ruins of the Burmese town of Bahe during the advance on Mandalay, January 1945 (from History of Myanmar)
Image 25A wide range of Burmese lacquerware from Bagan (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 26Sculpture of Myanmar mythical lion (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 27The restored Taungoo or Nyaungyan dynasty, c. 1650 CE (from History of Myanmar)
Image 28Mount Popa, a dormant volcano in the Central Lowlands (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 29Sculpture of Thagyamin nat (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 30Aung San Suu Kyi addresses crowds at the NLD headquarters shortly after her release. (from History of Myanmar)
Image 31British invasion of Burma in 1824 (from History of Myanmar)
Image 32Pagan Kingdom during Narapatisithu's reign. Burmese chronicles also claim Kengtung and Chiang Mai. Core areas shown in darker yellow. Peripheral areas in light yellow. Pagan incorporated key ports of Lower Burma into its core administration by the 13th century. (from History of Myanmar)
Image 33The paddle steamer Ramapoora (right) of the British India Steam Navigation Company on the Rangoon river having just arrived from Moulmein. 1895. Photographers: Watts and Skeen. (from History of Myanmar)
Image 3419th-century funeral cart and spire, which would form part of the procession from the home to the place of cremation (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 35A group of Buddhist worshipers at Shwedagon Pagoda, an important religious site for Burmese Buddhists (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 36Military situation in Myanmar as of 2024^[update]. Areas controlled by the Tatmadaw are highlighted in red. (from History of Myanmar)
Image 37Recorder's Court on Sule Pagoda Road, with the Sule Pagoda at the far end, Rangoon, 1868. Photographer: J. Jackson. (from History of Myanmar)
Image 38Saint Mary's Cathedral in Downtown Yangon is the largest Roman Catholic cathedral in Burma. (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 39Grandfather Island, Dawei (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 40Salween river at Mae Sam Laep on the Thai-Myanmar border (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 41Temples at Mrauk U, the capital of the Mrauk U Kingdom, which ruled over what is now Rakhine State (from History of Myanmar)
Image 42Aerial view of a burned Rohingya village in Rakhine state, September 2017 (from History of Myanmar)