ABOUT MYANMAR

Myanmar is a Southeast Asian country with a rich and ancient cultural heritage. Sharing borders with India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand, Myanmar has a diverse population of approximately 50 million people, divided among at least 135 ethnic groups and speaking an estimated 107 languages and dialects. From the plains and coastal areas of the south to the mountain ranges of the north, Myanmar possesses a wealth of natural resources including fertile agricultural land, mineral and gas deposits, and forestry.

After emerging from British colonial rule in 1948, newly independent Myanmar (then Burma) struggled with armed insurgencies in many parts of the country, fuelled by ethnic and political tensions, and by the wider geopolitical and ideological conflicts playing out in the region at that time. Continued instability paved the way for a military coup in 1962. The country has been ruled by a succession of military regimes ever since.

In 1948 there was considerable cause for optimism for Myanmar’s future. The country’s health and education systems were considered to be among the best in Asia. Fertile agricultural lands enabled the country to become the world’s largest rice exporter in the 1950’s, and the country was often hailed as the ‘rice-basket of Asia’.

However, since that time, a combination of factors has led to a progressive decline into poverty. In 1989, Myanmar was designated as a ‘Least Developed Country’ by the United Nations, a status conferred on countries exhibiting the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development. The UN estimates the gross national income per capita (which includes foreign remittances) in Myanmar to be US$386 (2007), similar to Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Rwanda. However, according to figures released by the World Bank in 2005, Myanmar receives only US$2.86 per capita in foreign aid, contrasting with US$57 in Afghanistan, US$9.3 in Bangladesh and US$64 in Rwanda.

The UN’s 2007/2008 Human Development Report lists annual government expenditure per capita on health in Myanmar to be US$38, approximately ten times less than neighboring Thailand.

Despite the high value placed on education in Myanmar culture, the public education system has long been in decline, suffering from a critical lack of resources and skills. According to UNESCO figures, the average adult in Myanmar has received only 2.8 years of schooling, and only 36.5% of eligible students enroll in secondary education.

The accuracy of these statistics is questionable due to the difficulty of obtaining independent, verifiable statistical information in Myanmar. However, the evidence available from credible sources, whether quantitative, qualitative or anecdotal, reveals a country in the grip of chronic economic, social and political crisis.

In May 2008, Myanmar’s Ayeyawady River Delta was struck by Cyclone Nargis. The cyclone left a trail of death and destruction, leveling towns and villages, wiping out whole communities, and destroying livelihoods. Communities in this region will need many years to recover from such a blow to an already fragile infrastructure.

Myanmar faces an uncertain future, with glimmers of social, political and economic progress tempered by the caution of past experience. However, if opportunities for quality higher education for key individuals are not maintained and expanded, the capacity for positive social change in Myanmar will be seriously diminished.