Portal:Myanmar

ကြိုဆိုပါတယ်။ / Welcome to the Myanmar Portal

Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has a population of about 55 million. It is bordered by India and Bangladesh to its northwest, China to its northeast, Laos and Thailand to its east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to its south and southwest. The country's capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city is Yangon (formerly Rangoon).

Myanmar is a member of the East Asia Summit, Non-Aligned Movement, ASEAN, and BIMSTEC, but it is not a member of the Commonwealth of Nations despite once being part of the British Empire. Myanmar is a Dialogue Partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The country is very rich in natural resources, such as jade, gems, oil, natural gas, teak and other minerals, as well as endowed with renewable energy, having the highest solar power potential compared to other countries of the Great Mekong Subregion. However, Myanmar has long suffered from instability, factional violence, corruption, poor infrastructure, as well as a long history of colonial exploitation with little regard to human development. In 2013, its GDP (nominal) stood at US$56.7 billion and its GDP (PPP) at US$221.5 billion. The income gap in Myanmar is among the widest in the world, as a large proportion of the economy is controlled by cronies of the military junta. Myanmar is one of the least developed countries. Since 2021, more than 600,000 people have been displaced across Myanmar due to the civil war post-coup, with more than three million people in dire need of humanitarian assistance. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are over 1.3 million people counted as refugees and asylum seekers, and 3.5 million people displaced internally as of December 2024. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected articles - load new batch

Image 1

Aerial view of the river

The Irrawaddy River (Burmese: ဧရာဝတီမြစ်, pronounced [ʔèjàwədì mjɪʔ], official romanisation: Ayeyarwady) is the principal river of Myanmar, running through the centre of the country. Myanmar’s most important commercial waterway, it is about 1,350 miles (2,170 km) long. Originating from the confluence of the N'mai and Mali rivers, it flows from north to south before emptying through the Irrawaddy Delta in the Ayeyarwady Region into the Andaman Sea. Its drainage basin of about 404,000 square kilometres (156,000 sq mi) covers 61% of the land area of Burma, and contains five of its largest cities.

As early as the sixth century, the river was used for trade and transport, and an extensive network of irrigation canals was developed to support agriculture. The river is still of great importance as the largest commercial waterway of Myanmar. It also provides important ecosystem services to different communities and economic sectors, including agriculture, fisheries, and tourism. (Full article...)
Image 2

Myanmar

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Myanmar face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity is illegal and section 377 of Myanmar's Penal Code 1861, enacted in 1886, subjects same-sex sexual acts (regardless of whether they were consensual or done in private) to a term of imprisonment of up to 20 years in prison. Heterosexual anal intercourse and oral sex are also illegal. Transgender people are subject to police harassment and sexual assault, and their gender identity is not recognised by the state. During the country's long military dictatorship under the authoritarian State Peace and Development Council between 1988 and 2011, it was difficult to obtain accurate information about the legal or social status of LGBT Burmese citizens. Following the 2011–2015 Myanmar political reforms, improvements in media and civil freedoms have allowed LGBTQ people to gain more visibility and support in the country. Despite the 2015 electoral victory of the National League for Democracy, which promised improved human rights and whose leader Aung San Suu Kyi had once called for the decriminalisation of homosexuality, there have been no changes to anti-LGBT laws. Nevertheless, LGBT activists have noted a growing climate of societal acceptance and tolerance toward LGBT people, in line with worldwide trends. (Full article...)
Image 3

British colonial rule in Burma lasted from 1824 to 1948, from the successive three Anglo-Burmese Wars through the creation of Burma as a province of British India to the establishment of an independently administered colony, and finally independence. The region under British control was known as British Burma, and officially known as Burma (Burmese: မြန်မာပြည်) from 1886.

Some portions of Burmese territories, including Arakan and Tenasserim, were annexed by the British after their victory in the First Anglo-Burmese War; Lower Burma was annexed in 1852 after the Second Anglo-Burmese War. These territories were designated as a chief commissioner's province known as British Burma in 1862. (Full article...)
Image 4
The military history of Myanmar (Burma) spans over a millennium, and is one of the main factors that have shaped the history of the country, and to a certain degree, the history of Southeast Asia. At various times in history, successive Burmese kingdoms were also involved in warfare against their neighbouring states in the surrounding regions of modern Burmese borders—from Bengal, Manipur and Assam in the west, to Yunnan (the southern China) in the northeast, to Laos and Siam in the east and southeast.

The Royal Burmese Army was a major Southeast Asian armed force between the 11th and 13th centuries and between 16th and 19th centuries. It was the premier military force in the 16th century when the Toungoo dynasty built the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia. The centuries-long warfare between Burma and Siam (1547–1855) shaped not only the history of both countries but also that of mainland Southeast Asia. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, highly militaristic Konbaung kings had built the largest empire in mainland Southeast Asia until they encountered the British in present-day northeast India. Prior to the three Anglo-Burmese wars (1824–1885), previous existential threats to the country had come from China in the form of Mongol invasions (1277–1301) and Manchu invasions (1765–1769). (Full article...)
Image 5

The Provisional Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Burmese: ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော် အာဏာသိမ်းခေါင်းဆောင်), was a provisional government for Myanmar appointed by the State Administration Council. On 1 August 2021, it replaced the Management Committee of the State Administration Council, which had been in place since 19 February 2021, following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. Some ministers were appointed by Min Aung Hlaing immediately following the coup on 1 February, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services exercising emergency powers.

Due to the state of emergency, the cabinet was led by Prime Minister Min Aung Hlaing rather than Acting President Myint Swe, despite the president being the constitutional head of government. (Full article...)
Image 6

Confluence of Ruak River and Mekong Rivers, view from Wat Phra That Doi Pu Khao [th] in Ban Sop Ruak

The Golden Triangle is a large, mountainous region of approximately 200,000 km² (77,000 sq mi) in northeastern Myanmar, northwestern Thailand and northern Laos, centered on the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers. The name "Golden Triangle" was coined by Marshall Green, a U.S. State Department official, in 1971 in a press conference on the opium trade. Today, the Thai side of the river confluence, Sop Ruak, has become a tourist attraction, with the House of Opium Museum, a Hall of Opium, a Golden Triangle Park, and no opium cultivation.

The Golden Triangle has been one of the largest opium-producing areas of the world since the 1950s. Most of the world's heroin came from the Golden Triangle until the early 21st century when opium production in Afghanistan increased. Myanmar was the world's second-largest source of opium after Afghanistan up to 2022, producing some 25% of the world's opium, forming part of the Golden Triangle. While opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar had declined year-on-year since 2015, the cultivation area increased by 33% totalling 40,100 ha (99,000 acres) alongside an 88% increase in yield potential to 790 t (780 long tons; 870 short tons) in 2022 according to the latest data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Myanmar Opium Survey 2022. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has also warned that opium production in Myanmar may rise again if the economic crunch brought on by COVID-19 and the country's 2021 Myanmar coup d'état persists, with significant public health and security consequences for much of Asia. (Full article...)
Image 7

A map of the Bay of Bengal

The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Indochinese peninsula, located south of the Bengal region.

Many South Asian and Southeast Asian countries are dependent on the Bay of Bengal. Geopolitically, the bay is bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between Sangaman Kanda, Sri Lanka, and the northwesternmost point of Sumatra, Indonesia. Cox's Bazar, the longest sea beach in the world and Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest and the natural habitat of the Bengal tiger, are located along the bay. (Full article...)
Image 8

Mandalay Region (Burmese: မန္တလေးတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, pronounced [máɰ̃dəlé táiɰ̃ dèθa̰ dʑí]; formerly Mandalay Division) is an administrative division of Myanmar. It is located in the center of the country, bordering Sagaing Region and Magway Region to the west, Shan State to the east, and Bago Region and Kayin State to the south. The regional capital is Mandalay. To the south of the region lies the national capital of Naypyidaw. The division consists of eleven districts, which are subdivided into 28 townships and 2,320 wards and village-tracts.

Mandalay Region is important in Myanmar's economy, accounting for 15% of the national economy. It is under the administration of the Mandalay Region Government. (Full article...)
Image 9

Location of Andaman Sea in the Indian Ocean

The Andaman Sea (historically also known as the Burma Sea) is a marginal sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean bounded by the coastlines of Myanmar and Thailand along the Gulf of Martaban and the west side of the Malay Peninsula, and separated from the Bay of Bengal to its west by the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands. Its southern end is at Breueh Island just north of Sumatra, with the Strait of Malacca further southeast.

Traditionally, the sea has been used for fishery and transportation of goods between the coastal countries and its coral reefs and islands, which are popular tourist destinations. The fishery and tourist infrastructure was severely damaged by the December 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. (Full article...)
Image 10
Tattooing in Burma was a widespread custom practiced by various ethnic groups, including the Bamar, Shan, and Karen, until the 20th century. Tattooing was a distinguishing cultural marker and a symbol of strength, courage and intimidation for Lethwei fighters. (Full article...)

More selected articles

Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that the DI MA-1 Mk. III rifle was made in Myanmar as a reverse-engineered copy of the Chinese QBZ-97?
... that the talabaw soup, which consists primarily of bamboo shoots, is the essential dish of Myanmar's Karen people, who use it to supplement rice?
... that the Myanmar Photo Archive (example photograph shown) revealed "a side of modern Myanmar that, until very recently, remained hidden in dusty attics"?
... that Myinsaing withstood a ten-week siege by the Mongols because its three brother leaders bribed the invaders to withdraw?
... that Maung O, Prince of Salin, and his sister Nanmadaw Me Nu became de facto rulers of Burma when King Bagyidaw was suffering from depression?
... that Burma the elephant once escaped Auckland Zoo?
... that while defending Zaw Myint Maung following his arrest by the Myanmar junta, lawyer Ywet Nu Aung was herself arrested and charged?
... that the Burmese Buddhist monk Sagyo Thu-Myat successfully lobbied for the recalibration of the Burmese calendar?

Related portals and projects

Southeast Asia

Other Countries

WikiProject Myanmar WikiProject Southeast Asia WikiProject Asia

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various Myanmar-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Sculpture of Myanmar mythical lion (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 2Portuguese ruler and soldiers mounting an elephant. Jan Caspar Philips (draughtsman and engraver). (from History of Myanmar)
Image 3First Anglo-Burmese War in 1824 (from History of Myanmar)
Image 4A wide range of Burmese lacquerware from Bagan (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 5Myinhkin thabin - equestrian sport (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 6Myanmar (Burma) map of Köppen climate classification (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 7A wedding procession, with the groom and bride dressed in traditional Burmese wedding clothes, reminiscent of royal attire (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 8Vegetable stall on the roadside at the Madras Lancer Lines, Mandalay, January 1886. Photographer: Hooper, Willoughby Wallace (1837–1912). (from History of Myanmar)
Image 9A group of Buddhist worshipers at Shwedagon Pagoda, an important religious site for Burmese Buddhists (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 10Political map of Burma (Myanmar) c. 1450 CE. (from History of Myanmar)
Image 11A bull fight, 19th-century watercolour (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 12View of Hpa-An from Mount Zwegabin in Southeastern Hills (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 13A theatrical performance of the Mon dance (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 14Mount Popa, a dormant volcano in the Central Lowlands (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 15British soldiers remove their shoes at the entrance of Shwedagon Pagoda. To the left, a sign reads "Foot wearing is strictly prohibited" in Burmese, English, Tamil, and Urdu. (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 16Two female musicians play the saung at a performance in Mandalay. (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 17Deforestation in Myanmar during the British colonial era. (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 18Saint Mary's Cathedral in Downtown Yangon is the largest Roman Catholic cathedral in Burma. (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 19Recorder's Court on Sule Pagoda Road, with the Sule Pagoda at the far end, Rangoon, 1868. Photographer: J. Jackson. (from History of Myanmar)
Image 20Grandfather Island, Dawei (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 21An ear-piercing ceremony at Mahamuni Buddha in Mandalay (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 22Aerial view of a burned Rohingya village in Rakhine state, September 2017 (from History of Myanmar)
Image 23Hlei pyaingbwè - a Burmese regatta (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 24Protesters in Yangon carrying signs reading "Free Daw Aung San Suu Kyi" on 8 February 2021 (from History of Myanmar)
Image 2519th-century funeral cart and spire, which would form part of the procession from the home to the place of cremation (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 26The paddle steamer Ramapoora (right) of the British India Steam Navigation Company on the Rangoon river having just arrived from Moulmein. 1895. Photographers: Watts and Skeen. (from History of Myanmar)
Image 27Salween river at Mae Sam Laep on the Thai-Myanmar border (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 28Pagan Kingdom during Narapatisithu's reign. Burmese chronicles also claim Kengtung and Chiang Mai. Core areas shown in darker yellow. Peripheral areas in light yellow. Pagan incorporated key ports of Lower Burma into its core administration by the 13th century. (from History of Myanmar)
Image 29Military situation in Myanmar as of 2024^[update]. Areas controlled by the Tatmadaw are highlighted in red. (from History of Myanmar)
Image 30British soldiers on patrol in the ruins of the Burmese town of Bahe during the advance on Mandalay, January 1945 (from History of Myanmar)
Image 31The restored Taungoo or Nyaungyan dynasty, c. 1650 CE (from History of Myanmar)
$Image 32A large fracture on the Mingun Pahtodawgyi caused by the 1839 Ava earthquake. (from Geography of Myanmar)$

Image 32A large fracture on the Mingun Pahtodawgyi caused by the 1839 Ava earthquake. (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 33Protesters in Yangon with a banner that reads "non-violence: national movement" in Burmese. In the background is Shwedagon Pagoda. (from History of Myanmar)
Image 34Boxing match, 19th-century watercolour (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 35Mountains near Pindaya on the Shan Plateau (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 36Temples at Mrauk U, the capital of the Mrauk U Kingdom, which ruled over what is now Rakhine State (from History of Myanmar)
Image 37British soldiers dismantling cannons belonging to King Thibaw's forces, Third Anglo-Burmese War, Ava, 27 November 1885. Photographer: Hooper, Willoughby Wallace (1837–1912). (from History of Myanmar)
Image 38Aung San Suu Kyi addresses crowds at the NLD headquarters shortly after her release. (from History of Myanmar)
Image 39Sculpture of Thagyamin nat (from Culture of Myanmar)
Image 40Jade Mine in Hpakant (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 41The shores of Irrawaddy River at Nyaung-U, Bagan (from Geography of Myanmar)
Image 42Former US President Barack Obama poses barefoot on the grounds of Shwedagon Pagoda, one of Myanmar's major Buddhist pilgrimage sites. (from Culture of Myanmar)