Location & People
Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) is a Southeast Asian country sharing borders with China, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Laos. It has a strategic location with access to the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The country’s geography is marked by a diverse topography including river valleys, mountainous regions, and coastal plains. The Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River is the country’s most important waterway. The total area of the country is 676,578 square km (261,227 square miles).
Borders
North/Northeast: China
East/Southeast: Laos and Thailand
South: Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal
West: Bangladesh and India
Major Rivers: Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady), Chindwin, Salween
Terrain: Mountains in the north and west, central lowlands along the Irrawaddy River (main agricultural zone) and coastal plains in the south.
It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and as of recent estimates, Myanmar has a population exceeding 55 million, with significant ethnic diversity. The majority group, the Burmese, constitutes approximately two-thirds of the population, while more than 135 officially recognized ethnic groups including the Shan, Karen, Rakhine, Chin, Kachin, and Mon reflect the country’s complex ethnolinguistic composition
