Mother Earth Travel > Country Index > Burma > Map Economy |
| Economy - overview: Burma has a mixed economy with private
activity dominant in agriculture, light industry, and transport, and with
substantial state-controlled activity, mainly in energy, heavy industry,
and the rice trade. Government policy in the 1990s has aimed at
revitalizing the economy after three decades of tight central planning.
Private activity markedly increased in the early to mid-1990s, but began
to decline in the past several years due to frustrations with the
unfriendly business environment and political pressure from western
nations. Published estimates of Burma's foreign trade are greatly
understated because of the volume of black-market, illicit, and border
trade. A major ongoing problem is the failure to achieve monetary and
fiscal stability. Burma remains a poor Asian country and living standards
for the majority have not improved over the past decade. Short-term growth
will continue to be restrained because of poor government planning and
minimal foreign investment. GDP: purchasing power parity - $63.7 billion (2000 est.) GDP - real growth rate: 4.6% (1999 est.), 4.9% (2000 est.) GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 42% industry: 17% services: 41% (2000 est.) Population below poverty line: 23% (1997 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.8% highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 18% (1999) Labor force: 19.7 million (FY98/99 est.) Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 65%, industry 10%, services 25% (1999 est.) Unemployment rate: 7.1% (official FY97/98 est.) Budget: revenues: $7.9 billion expenditures: $12.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (FY96/97) Industries: agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer Electricity - production: 4.813 billion kWh (1999) Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 68.56% hydro: 31.44% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) Electricity - consumption: 4.476 billion kWh (1999) Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999) Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999) Agriculture - products: paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, pulses; hardwood Exports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999) Exports - commodities: apparel 36%, foodstuffs 22%, wood products 21%, precious stones 5% (1999) Exports - partners: India 13%, Singapore 11%, China 11%, US 8% (1999 est.) note: official trade statistics do not include trade in illicit goods - such as narcotics, teak, and gems - or the largely unrecorded border trade with China and Thailand Imports: $2.5 billion (f.o.b., 1999) Imports - commodities: machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, food products Imports - partners: Singapore 28%, Thailand 12%, China 10%, Japan 10%, South Korea 9% (1999 est.) Debt - external: $6 billion (FY99/00 est.) Economic aid - recipient: $99 million (FY98/99) Currency: 1 kyat (K) = 100 pyas SOURCE: The World Factbook |
Mother Earth Travel > Country Index > Burma > Map Economy