Myanmar

E

Health and Welfare

Average life expectancy at birth in Myanmar in 2007 was 60.3 years for men and 65 years for women. Infant mortality in 2007 was 51 deaths per 1,000 live births. In 1956 the government began a social-security programme that seeks to provide accident and illness insurance, free medical care, and survivor’s benefits. It is funded by employers, employees, and the government.

The health services in the country have been greatly extended, and since 1964 the number of rural health stations, dispensaries, and hospitals has steadily increased. In 1995-1996 the country had more than 730 hospitals with a total of 28,370 beds, and 12,245 doctors (1 per 3,554 people), but these official figures may not be accurate. The country has long been faced with leprosy and tuberculosis. The number of malaria cases has sharply declined, however, as a result of aid provided by the World Health Organization. The rate of HIV infection and the number of people contracting AIDS increased rapidly in the early 1990s.

F

Defence

In 1998 the armed forces of Myanmar included about 429,000 personnel; the army had around 400,000, the navy had 20,000, and the air force had 9,000. There is also a People’s Police Force of 50,000 and a People’s Militia of 35,000, both paramilitary units. The political process is dominated by the military.

G

International Organizations

Myanmar is a member of the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Colombo Plan.

VI

History

The history of Myanmar (Burma) has been made by a succession of peoples who migrated down the Irrawaddy River from Tibet and China, and who were influenced by social and political institutions that had been carried across the sea from India. First came the Mon, perhaps as early as 3000 bc. They established settlements in the central area of what is now Myanmar, in the Irrawaddy delta, and farther down the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal. They constructed irrigation systems and developed commercial and cultural contacts with India, while maintaining loose ties with other Mon civilizations in the Chao Phraya river valley of Siam (now Thailand). The Pyu followed much later, moving down the western side of the Irrawaddy and founding a capital near present-day Prome in ad 628. The Burmans, who eventually gave their name to the country that was known for centuries as Burma, entered the Irrawaddy valley in the mid-9th century, absorbing the nearby Pyu and Mon communities. Later waves brought in the Shan and Kachin, who, along with the indigenous Karen, have all played a part in the country’s development.

A

The Pagan Kingdom

The first unified state was founded in the mid-11th century by the Burman (or Burmese) King Anawrahta at Pagan in what is now Upper Myanmar and was brought to full flower by his able son, Kyanzittha. Their domain advanced from the dry zone to incorporate the delta Mon centres at Pegu and Thaton; they extended political and religious ties overseas to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and fought off a Chinese invasion from the north. The internal structure of the state was that of a Hindu kingdom, with a court at the capital supported by direct household taxes or service obligations drawn from villages, which were under the guidance of hereditary myothugis (“township headmen”). In time, an increasing proportion of the land was donated to Buddhist monasteries in the form of slave villages for the maintenance of the sangha monastic community. Kingship was legitimated by both Hindu ideology and the king’s role as defender of the Buddhist faith. During 250 years of relative peace, the devout rulers built the many pagodas for which Pagan is known today.

The fall of Pagan to the Mongols under Kublai Khan in 1287 was the beginning of a turbulent period during which the area of Upper Myanmar led an uncertain existence between Shan domination and tributary relations with China, while the area of Lower Myanmar reverted to Mon rule based at Pegu.