"He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the Oppressor." Psalm 72:4

History

OFFICIAL NAME: Union of Burma. In 1989, the government changed the name of the country to Myanmar; however, the democratically-elected but never seated government of 1990 does not recognize the name change. Out of support for the democratically-elected leaders, the U.S. government likewise uses "Burma".

GOVERNMENT: Military junta called the "State Peace and Development Council". The junta is a ruling elite composed of several hundred senior military officers that own key businesses and control state corporations.

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS: Head of State- Senior General Than Shwe (since 1992)
Prime Minister- Lt. General Thein Sein (since 2007)

CAPITAL: Nay Pyi Taw (means "Royal City of the Seat of Kings"; estimated population 200,000) Re-located from Rangoon (now, Yangon) in November 2005

LARGEST CITIES: Yangon (formerly, Rangoon; estimated population 5.5 million)
Mandalay (estimated population 1.2 million)

POPULATION: 57.6 million (2007 IMF estimate) in a land area slightly smaller than the state of Texas in the USA

ETHNICITY: Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Mon 2%, other 7%