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Government & Politics
Myanmar is under the control of the State Peace and Development
Council, (formerly the State Law and Order Restoration Committee,
SLORC).
The SPDC, and the SLORC before it, perform both
legislative and administrative functions and oversees the
cabinet. The Prime Minister is both the Head of State, Head
of Government, and Chairman of SPDC. He presides over the
executive cabinet, also made up of SPDC members. The country
is administratively broken down into 7 yin-mya (divisions)
and 7 pyine-mya (states) with each division and state governed
by its own divisional or SPDC Council. Mainly populated by
the dominant Burmans, the divisions are centrally located
and generally more developed than the seven remote and mountainous
states. States are named after and populated by each of the
seven other major indigenous races in Myanmar. The largest
cities are the national capital, Yangon, and Mandalay.
Economy
One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, according to
UN figures, Myanmar is nevertheless rich in natural resources,
with significant deposits of petroleum, tin, antimony, zinc,
copper, tungsten, lead, coal, limestone, precious stones,
natural gas, oil, tin, gemstones, silver and coal. Agriculture,
livestock and fishing employ two-thirds of the population,
and make up the largest sectors of the economy. About 15%
of the land is cultivated, mainly with rice, but other crops
include oil seeds, sugar cane, cotton, jute and rubber. Less
than 10% of the people are employed in manufacturing, which
has an emphasis on heavy industrial production. Major exports
include rice, timber and wood products (especially quality
hardwood), petroleum and various minerals and precious gems.
Several foreign companies are engaged in oil exploration and
hydroelectric projects, and energy production is seen as an
increasingly important activity.
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