Burma           Introduction        

Background:         Despite multiparty elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party winning a decisive victory, the military junta ruling the country refused to hand over power. Key opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG San Suu Kyi, under house arrest from 1989 to 1995, was again placed under house detention in September 2000; her supporters are routinely harassed or jailed.

Burma           Geography

Location:         Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand

Geographic coordinates:        22 00 N, 98 00 E

Map references:         Southeast Asia

Area: total:  678,500 sq km

land:  657,740 sq km

water:  20,760 sq km

Area - comparative:        slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries:         total:  5,876 km

border countries:  Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km

Coastline:         1,930 km