Demographics of Myanmar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is an overview of the demographics of Myanmar, including statistics such as population and religious affiliation.
At the time of the last official census in Myanmar, 31 March 1983, the population was 35,442,972. As of July 2003, this was estimated by the CIA World Factbook to have increased to 42,510,537; however, many other estimates put this much higher, at around 50-60 million. Estimates for Myanmar explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.
No trustworthy census of Myanmar/Burma has occurred since the 1930s. In the 1940s, the detailed census results were destroyed during the Japanese invasion of 1942. Census results after that time have been flawed by civil wars and a series of military governments. The last official census in 1983 occurred at a time when large parts of the country were controlled by insurgent groups and inaccessible to the government.
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[edit] Ethnic groups
The Burmese government identifies eight major national ethnic races (which comprise 135 "distinct" ethnic groups), which include:
- Kachin
- Kayah (also known as Karenni)
- Kayin (also known as Karen)
- Chin
- Bamar (also known as Burman)
- Mon
- Rakhine (also known as Arakanese)
- Shan
| Ethnicity | % |
|---|---|
| Bamar | 68% |
| Shan | 9% |
| Kayin | 7% |
| Rakhine | 4% |
| Chinese | 3% |
| Mon | 2% |
| Indian | 2% |
| Other (inc. Padaung and Moken) | 5% |
[edit] Religious affiliation
| Faith | % (2003 est.) |
|---|---|
| Total Buddhism | 89% |
| Theravada Buddhism | 89% |
| Mahayana Buddhism | <1% |
| Total Christianity | 4% |
| Baptist | 3% |
| Roman Catholicism | 1% |
| Total Islam | 4% |
| Sunni Islam | ? |
| Shi'a Islam | ? |
| Total other religions | 3% |
| Animism | 1% |
| Other (inc. Hinduism) | 2% |
See also: Buddhism in Myanmar, Myanmar Baptist Convention
[edit] Miscellaneous statistics
Age structure: (2003 est.)
- 0-14 years: 28.1% (male 6,091,220; female 5,840,968)
- 15-64 years: 67% (male 14,162,190; female 14,347,751)
- 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 916,702; female 1,151,706)
Population growth rate: 0.52% (2003 est.)
Birth rate: 19.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate: 12.17 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.81 migrants/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Sex ratios: (2003 est.)
- at birth: 1.06 males/female
- under 15 years: 1.04 males/female
- 15-64 years: 0.99 male/female
- 65 years and over: 0.8 male/female
- total population: 0.99 male/female
Infant mortality rate: 70.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Life expectancy: (2003 est.)
- total population: 55.79 years
- male: 54.12 years
- female: 57.56 years
Total fertility rate: 2.15 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Literacy: (age 15 and over can read and write, official statistics)
- total population: 83.1%
- male: 88.7%
- female: 77.7% (1995 est.)
Languages: Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
[edit] References
- Population Projections for Myanmar, 1983-2013 - Asia Pacific Population Journal, Vol. 6, No. 2 (PDF document)
- This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain.
