Economy of Myanmar

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Economy of Myanmar
Currency	kyat (MMK)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March
Trade organisations	WTO, ASEAN
Statistics
GDP (PPP)	$78.74 billion (2005 est.) (66th [1])
GDP growth	2.9% (2005 est.)
GDP per capita	$1,700 (2005 est.)
GDP by sector	agriculture: 56.4%, industry: 8.2%, services: 35.3% (2005 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	20.2% (2005 est.)
Pop below poverty line	25% (2000 est.)
Labour force	27.75 million (2005 est.)
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 70%, industry: 7%, services: 23% (2001)
Unemployment	5% (2005 est.)
Main industries	Agricultural Processing, Textiles and Footwear, Wood and Wood Products, Metallurgical industry(Copper, Tin, Tungsten, Iron), Construction Materials, Pharmaceuticals, Fertilizer industry
Trading Partners
Exports	$3.111 billion f.o.b. note: official export figures are grossly underestimated due to the value of timber, gems, narcotics, rice, and other products smuggled to Thailand, China, and Bangladesh (2004)
Export goods	clothing, gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice
Main partners	Thailand 44.9%, India 11.5%, the People's Republic of China 6.9%, Japan 5.1% (2005)
Imports	$3.454 billion f.o.b. note: import figures are grossly underestimated due to the value of consumer goods, diesel fuel, and other products smuggled in from Thailand, China, Malaysia, and India (2004)
Imports goods	fabric, petroleum products, plastics, machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, crude oil; food products
Main Partners	China 29.3%, Thailand 22.2%, Singapore 18.7%, Malaysia 5.4% (2005)
Public finances
Public debt	$6.99 billion (2005 est.)
Revenues	$473.3 million (FY04/05 est.)
Expenses	$716.6 million; including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (FY04/05 est.)
Economic aid	recipient: $127 million (2001 est.)
Main source [2] All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars

Myanmar has a mixed economy. The private sector dominates in agriculture, light industry, and transport activities. The state controls mainly the energy, heavy industry, and the rice trade.

Government policy in the 11 years, 1989-99, was aimed at revitalizing the economy within three decades of tight central planning, but recently many of those reforms have been cancelled. This has enabled the private sector to grow.

[edit] Macro-economic trend

This is a chart of trend of gross domestic product of Myanmar at market prices estimated by the International Monetary Fund and EconStats with figures in millions of Myanmarese Kyats.

Year	Gross Domestic Product
1965	7,627
1970	10,437
1975	23,477
1980	38,608
1985	55,988
1990	151,941
1995	604,728

Though foreign investment has been encouraged, it has so far met with moderate success. This is because foreign investors are not compelled to trust the junta government policies and because of international pressure to boycott the junta government. The United States has placed sanctions on Myanmar, which it calls Burma, due to a concern over human rights in the nation.

The public sector enterprises remain highly inefficient and also privatization efforts have stalled. The estimates of Myanmar's foreign trade are highly ambiguous because of the great volume of black market trading.

A major ongoing problem is the failure to achieve monetary and fiscal stability. Due to this, Myanmar remains a poor country with no improvement of living standards for the majority of the population over the past decade.

The main causes for continued sluggish growth are: Poor government planning; Internal unrest; Minimal foreign investment; And the large trade deficit.

One of the recent government initiatives is to utilise Myanmar's large natural gas deposits.

Myanmar is the poorest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita. (nominally $97 as in 2005)

According to the CIA World Factbook[3],

Burma, a resource-rich country, suffers from pervasive government controls, inefficient economic policies, and rural poverty. The junta took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to Socialism," but those efforts stalled, and some of the liberalization measures were rescinded. Burma does not have monetary or fiscal stability, so the economy suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including inflation, multiple official exchange rates that overvalue the Burmese kyat, and a distorted interest rate regime. Most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta began to suppress the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently refused to honor the results of the 1990 legislative elections. In response to the government of Burma's attack in May 2003 on AUNG SAN SUU KYI and her convoy, the US imposed new economic sanctions against Burma - including a ban on imports of Burmese products and a ban on provision of financial services by US persons. A poor investment climate further slowed the inflow of foreign exchange. The most productive sectors will continue to be in extractive industries, especially oil and gas, mining, and timber. Other areas, such as manufacturing and services, are struggling with inadequate infrastructure, unpredictable import/export policies, deteriorating health and education systems, and corruption. A major banking crisis in 2003 shuttered the country's 20 private banks and disrupted the economy. As of December 2005, the largest private banks operate under tight restrictions limiting the private sector's access to formal credit. Official statistics are inaccurate. Published statistics on foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and unofficial border trade - often estimated to be as large as the official economy. Burma's trade with Thailand, China, and India is rising. Though the Burmese government has good economic relations with its neighbors, better investment and business climates and an improved political situation are needed to promote foreign investment, exports, and tourism.

[edit] Statistics

Electricity - production: 7.393 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 61.72%
hydro: 38.28%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 6.875 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products: paddy rice, maize, oilseed, sugarcane, pulses; hardwood

Currency: 1 kyat (K) = 100 pyas

Exchange rates: kyats per US dollar - 5.82 (2005), 5.7459 (2004), 6.0764 (2003), 6.5734 (2002), 6.6841 (2001) note: these are official exchange rates; unofficial exchange rates ranged in 2004 from 815 kyat/US dollar to nearly 970 kyat/US dollar, and by year-end 2005, the unofficial exchange rate was 1,075 kyat/US dollar