New to Myanmar?
The basics, before the stories
Myanmar sits at the meeting point of South and Southeast Asia — a
single country holding an unusual amount of variety. A few facts to
start from, before the stories fill in the rest.
- Location
-
Southeast Asia, bordered by Bangladesh and India to the west,
China to the north and east, and Laos and Thailand to the east,
with coastline along the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.
- Capital
-
Naypyidaw. Yangon, the former capital, remains the largest city
and the commercial centre.
- Population
- Around 54 million people.
- Ethnic groups
-
135 officially recognised ethnic groups across 8 major national
races — Bamar, Shan, Kayin, Rakhine, Chin, Mon, Kachin and Kayah.
- Languages
-
Burmese is the official language; well over 100 ethnic languages
are spoken across the country.
- Religion
-
Mostly Theravada Buddhist, alongside Christian, Muslim, Hindu and
animist communities.