World Enivironmental Issues Brief

  • LARGE AREAS SUBJECT TO OVERPOPULATION
  • INDUSTRIAL DISASTERS
  • POLLUTION (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances)
  • LOSS OF VEGETATION (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification)
  • LOSS OF WILDLIFE
  • SOIL DEGRADATION
  • SOIL DEPLETION
  • EROSION
  • GLOBAL WARMING

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Global Issues Snapshots

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Burma

— Current Environmental Issues —
deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease

— Health Indicators —
HIV / AIDS prevalancy rate: 1.2
Fertility Rate: 2.0
Infant Mortality Rate: 50.7
Life Expectancy at Birth: Male: 60.3
Life Expectancy at Birth: Female: 65.0
Life Expectancy at Birth: Total Population: 62.5

— Population —
Population Total: 47,373,958
Population Growth Rate: 0.8

— Economic Indicators —
GDP Real Growth Rate: 2.6
Military Expendatures Percent of GDP: 2.1
Unemployment Rate: 10.2
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 21.4
GDP Per Capita PPP: 1,800
Population Below Poverty Line: 25
    (Definitions of poverty vary considerably among nations.)

— Education and Communications —
Global Issues Snapshots
Global Issues Snapshots
Bordering country: Bangladesh
Bordering country: China
Bordering country: India
Bordering country: Laos
Bordering country: Thailand

— Background —
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. Despite multiparty legislative elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory, the ruling 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, where she remains virtually incommunicado. In February 2006, the junta extended her detention for another year. Her supporters, as well as all those who promote democracy and improved human rights, are routinely harassed or jailed.