Myanmar

Myanmar, or Burma, is a southeast Asian country bordered by India, China, Bangladesh, Laos, and Thailand. With a population of 53,582,855 people in 2017, Myanmar is home to 135 ethnic groups including Kachin, Kayin, Kayah, and Chin. Buddhism is the most prominently practiced religion in Myanmar.

## Landscape and Climate

Myanmar is heavily influenced by monsoons in Asia. The western coast of Myanmar, due to the valley landscapes and western monsoon winds, experience tropical cyclones. Primarily ruled by three monsoonal seasons: (1) the northeast monsoon is cool and relatively dry in October through February (2) the inter-monsoonal season is hot and dry which begins in February and lasts to May (3) the third is the southwest monsoon and is characterized by heavy rain from May until October. The nation's geography and variation in elevation produce zones that are more prone to rain and precipitation.

Dependence on rice cultivation and agriculture have encouraged the clearance of forestry to provide for flatter, more farmable land. Myanmar is generally tropical in geography, and forestry varies by elevation.

Myanmar is also heavily subjected and at risk of deforestation as oil and agriculture industries take advantage of the country to use unstable practices.

## Ethnic Groups

The variety and number of ethnic groups in Myanmar has contributed the most to the inequalities and discrimination that ethnic minorities face in Myanmar. Differences in ethnicity has created a deeper divide in the nation's identity, making it more difficult for ethnic groups to find their place as a citizen in Myanmar, and allowing for some groups to feel more deserving than others. National sentiments to establish a national ethnicity are the prime proponents of the ethnic crises in Myanmar. The immense ethnic diversity of Myanmar makes it nearly impossible to declare one ethnic group as the nation's identity. In an effort to demonstrate their beliefs and as a call to action, non-state ethnic groups have taken arms to protest the discrepancies in treatment towards some ethnic groups, which continues today.

The Rohingya, a Muslim minority ethnic group, has been long subjected to ethnic cleansing in Myanmar and has been the prime motivator for the current ethnic crisis in the country today.

## Economy

Myanmar's economy heavily relies on the agriculture scene and is underdeveloped compared to neighboring nations. Transport, export, processing, and marketing of agricultural goods are also essential to the nation's agricultural economy. Nearly half of the farmable land in Myanmar is devoted to rice, which the government supports through a multiple cropping system. Two-thirds of the labor force is dedicated to farming rice, which accounts for almost half of the country's Gross Domestic Product. Growing rice depends on the paddies of coastal areas, and is less suitably farmed in the inlands of Myanmar. To compensate for these dry zones, agricultural techniques like irrigation become more important.

Geographically, Myanmar contains a large amount of mineral deposits, but very little of mineral product is accounted for in the country's GDP. The mineral mines, however, account for a sizable portion of the country's laborforce. This is due to exploitation of Myanmar's mineral deposits.

Manufacturing continues to expand in Myanmar, but has not significantly become part of the economy. Limited trade in and out of Myanmar means most consumer goods are smuggled and brought in illegally.

## Works Cited

1. “General Information of Myanmar.” EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE UNION OF MYANMAR IN BRAZIL, myanmarbsb.org/\_site/general-information/.
2. “Identity Crisis: Ethnicity and Conflict in Myanmar.” *Crisis Group*, 22 Jan. 2021, www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-east-asia/myanmar/312-identity-crisis-ethnicity-and-conflict-myanmar.
3. “Climate of Myanmar.” *Encyclopædia Britannica*, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/place/Myanmar/Climate.
4. “Resources and Power.” *Encyclopædia Britannica*, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/place/Myanmar/Resources-and-power.