Myanmar Overview

Photo credit

Steve Dowall

1:59am Monday 6 February

Diplomatic relations with Myanmar are maintained via accredited Ambassadors in Bangkok and Canberra respectively, with the most regular form of contact in the context of ASEAN.

New Zealand's trade with Myanmar is not significant. Exports were valued at around $5.82 million in the year to June 2008. Imports from Myanmar were valued at around $2.09 million for the same period. Milk powder and butter account for over 80% of New Zealand's exports. As a Least Developed Country (LDC), Myanmar has duty-free access to New Zealand, along with all of the 50 LDCs currently recognised by the WTO.

Natural gas is one of Myanmar's largest sources of export revenue, accounting for about thirty percent of total exports, with further growth expected and energy demand increasing from neighbouring countries, predominantly India, China and Thailand.

Map of Myanmar and surrounding region with ASEAN neighbours marked

Key demographics

Official Name	Union of Myanmar
Land Area	678,500 sq km
Population	47,758,180
Capital City	Rangoon, new capital Napyitaw
Religion	Buddhist 89%, Christian 4%, Islam 4%, Animist 1%, other 2%
Language	Burmese (65%) & 100 minority dialects
Currency	Kyat

Key statistics

GDP	US$13.48 billion (IMF estimate 2007)
GDP per capita	US$1,040 (PPP estimate 2007)
Total exports	US$5.35 billion
Total imports	US$3.25 billion
Total NZ exports to Myanmar	NZ$5.8 million (2007-8)
Total NZ imports from Myanmar	NZ$2.1 million (2007-8)

Sources of data: IMF (GDP data), World Bank (export/imports) and Statistics New Zealand (NZ exports/imports).