Burma. Ballpoint Pens, Rollerball Pens,Cartridges, Fountain Pens.

Pen Ink City Bago Pen Ink City Mandalay Pen Ink City Mawlamyaing Pen Ink City Meiktila Pen Ink City Mergui Pen Ink City Monywa Pen Ink City Naypyidaw Pen Ink City Pathein Pen Ink City Sittwe Pen Ink City Taunggyi Pen Ink City Yangon England Description Burma Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; independence from the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as self-appointed president, and later as political kingpin. In September 1988, the military deposed NE WIN and established a new ruling junta. Despite multiparty legislative elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory, the junta refused to hand over power. NLD leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and 2000 to 2002, was imprisoned in May 2003 and subsequently transferred to house arrest. After the ruling junta in August 2007 unexpectedly increased fuel prices, tens of thousands of Burmese marched in protest, led by prodemocracy activists and Buddhist monks. In late September 2007, the government brutally suppressed the protests, killing at least 13 people and arresting thousands for participating in the demonstrations. Since then, the regime has continued to raid homes and monasteries and arrest persons suspected of participating in the pro-democracy protests. The junta appointed Labor Minister AUNG KYI in October 2007 as liaison to AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who remains under house arrest and only recently gained the opportunity for limited communication with NLD leaders. Burma in early May 2008 was struck by Cyclone Nargis which official estimates claimed left over 80,000 dead and 50,000 injured. Despite this tragedy, the junta proceeded with its May constitutional referendum, the first vote in Burma since 1990, setting the stage for the 2010 parliamentary elections. AUNG SAN SUU KYI's house arrest was due to end in May 2009, but was extended for eighteen months after she was convicted for violating the terms of her house arrest. Location Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand   Geographic Coordinates 22 00 N, 98 00 E Area - comparative slightly smaller than Texas Coast line 1,930 km Climate tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April) Terrain Burma central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands Natural Resources Burma petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower Irrigated land 18,700 sq km (2003) Total Renewable Water Resources 1,045.6 cu km (1999) Natural Hazards destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts Environment Currentissues deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease Geography Note strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes Population Burma 53,414,374 Population growth rate 1.096% (2010 est.) Birth Rate 19.49 births/1,000 population (2010 est.) Death Rate 8.23 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.) Netmigration Rate NA Total Fertility Rate 2.28 children born/woman (2010 est.) Hiv/Aids Adult Prevalence Rate 0.7% (2007 est.) Hiv/Aids People living with hiv/aids 240,000 (2007 est.) Hiv/Aids Deaths Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5% Religions Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2% Languages Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages Education Expenditures 1.2% of GDP (2001) Government Type military regime Administrative Divisions 7 divisions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states* (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne) Independence 4 January 1948 (from the UK) National Holiday Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947) Constitution 3 January 1974; suspended since 18 September 1988; a constitution officially received 92.48% support in a flawed May 2008 referendum that most observers judged fell far short of international standards of free and fair elections; note - a new constitution is to take effect when a parliament is convened following elections planned for 2010 Legal System based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction Suffrage 18 years of age; universal Legislative Branch a unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw was elected in 1990 but was never seated; according to the terms of the constitution approved on 10 May 2008, a bicameral Pyidaungsu Hluttaw consisting of an upper house with a maximum of 224 seats and a lower house with a maximum of 440 seats will be selected in elections planned for 2010; 25% of both houses are to be reserved for appointed members of the military Political Partie Sand Leaders remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of the executive Political Pressure Group Sand Leaders ADB, APT, ARF, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), SAARC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO International Organization Participation red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 14, white, five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the colors stand for courage (red), peace (blue), and purity (white); the rice plant and cogwheel symbolize agriculture and industry repectively; the 14 stars represent the seven administrative divisions and seven states of the country Flag Description Burma, a resource-rich country, suffers from pervasive government controls, inefficient economic policies, and rural poverty. Despite Burma's emergence as a natural gas exporter, socio-economic conditions have deteriorated under the regime's mismanagement, leaving most of the public in poverty, while military leaders and their business cronies exploit the country's ample natural resources. The economy suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including rising inflation, fiscal deficits, multiple official exchange rates that overvalue the Burmese kyat, a distorted interest rate regime, unreliable statistics, and an inability to reconcile national accounts to determine a realistic GDP figure. Burma's poor investment climate hampers the inflow of foreign investment; in recent years, foreign investors have shied away from nearly every sector except for natural gas, power generation, timber, and mining. The business climate is widely perceived as opaque, corrupt, and highly inefficient. Over 60% of the FY 2009-10 budget is allocated to state owned enterprises - most operating at a deficit. The most productive sectors will continue to be in extractive industries - especially oil and gas, mining, and timber - with the latter two causing significant environmental degradation. Other areas, such as manufacturing, tourism and services, struggle in the face of inadequate infrastructure, unpredictable trade policies, neglected health and education systems, and endemic corruption. A major banking crisis in 2003 caused 20 private banks to close; private banks still operate under tight restrictions, limiting the private sector's access to credit. The United States, the European Union, Canada, and Australia have imposed financial and economic sanctions on Burma, prohibiting most financial transactions with Burmese entities, imposing travel bans on Burmese officials and others connected to the ruling regime, and banning imports of certain Burmese products. These sanctions affected the country's fledgling garment industry, isolated the struggling banking sector, and raised the costs of doing business with Burmese companies, particularly firms tied to Burmese regime leaders. The global crisis of 2008-09 caused exports and domestic consumer demand to drop. Remittances from overseas Burmese workers - who had provided significant financial support for their families - slowed or dried up as jobs were lost and migrant workers returned home. 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 serious foreign investment, exports, and tourism. Economy Overview $56.92 billion (2009 est.) GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) $26.83 billion (2009 est.) GDP (Official Exchange Rate) 1.8% (2009 est.) GDP Real Growth Rate $1,100 (2009 est.) GDP Per Capita (PPP) 30.85 million (2009 est.) Labor Force 4.9% (2009 est.) Unemployment Rate 32.7% (2007 est.) Population Below Poverty Line 14.6% of GDP (2009 est.) Distribution Of Family Income 7.7% (2009 est.) Unvestment Gross Fixed 12% (31 December 2008) Inflation Rrate 17% (31 December 2008) Central Bank Discount Rate $NA (31 December 2008) Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate $NA (31 December 2008) Stock Of Money $NA (31 December 2008) Stock Of Quasi Money $NA Stock Of Domestic Credit rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products Market Value Of Publicly Traded Shares agricultural processing; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; cement, construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; oil and natural gas; garments, jade and gems Agriculture - Products 0.2% (2009 est.) Industries 6.286 billion kWh (2007 est.) Industrial Production Growth Rate 4.403 billion kWh (2007 est.) Electricity Production 0 kWh (2008 est.) Electricity Consumption 0 kWh (2008 est.) Electricity Exports 22,120 bbl/day (2008 est.) Electricity Imports 41,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) Oil Production 2,200 bbl/day (2007 est.) Oil Consumption 18,250 bbl/day (2007 est.) Oil Exports 50 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.) Oil Imports 12.4 billion cu m (2008 est.) Oil Proved Reserves 3.85 billion cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Production 8.55 billion cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Consumption 0 cu m (2008 est.) Natural Gas Exports 283.2 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) Natural Gas Imports $924 million (2009 est.) Natural Gas Proved Reserves $6.504 billion (2009 est.) Current Account Balance natural gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice, clothing, jade and gems Exports Thailand 52%, India 12.3%, China 8.8%, Japan 4.3% (2008) Exports Commodities $3.555 billion (2009 est.) Exports Partners fabric, petroleum products, fertilizer, plastics, machinery, transport equipment; cement, construction materials, crude oil; food products, edible oil Imports China 31.3%, Thailand 20.8%, Singapore 20.4%, Malaysia 5% (2008) Imports Commodities $3.561 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Imports Partners $7.373 billion (31 December 2009 est.) Reserves Of Foreign Exchange and Gold kyats (MMK) per US dollar - 1,090 (2009), 1,205 (2008), 1,296 (2007), 1,280 (2006), 5.761 (2005) Debt - External 829,000 (2008) Radio Broadcast Stations AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 3 (2007) Television Broadcast Stations 4 (2008) Internet Country Code .mm Airports 77 (2009) Military Service Age and Obligation Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw): Army (Tatmadaw Kyi), Navy (Tatmadaw Yay), Air Force (Tatmadaw Lay) (2010)

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