Editing Myanmar (section)

== Demographics ==
{{main|Demographics of Myanmar}}
[[File:Downtownflatsyangon.jpg|thumb|A block of apartments in downtown Yangon, facing [[Bogyoke Market]]. Much of Yangon's urban population resides in densely populated flats.]]
{|class="wikitable" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px"
! colspan="4" style="text-align:center; background:#cfb;"|Population{{UN Population|ref}}
|-
! style="background:#cfb;"|Year
! style="background:#cfb;"|Million
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|1950 ||style="text-align:right;"|17.1
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|2000 ||style="text-align:right;"|46.1
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|{{UN Population|Year}} ||style="text-align:right;"|{{#expr:{{formatnum:{{UN Population|Myanmar}}|R}}/1e6 round 1}}
|}
The provisional results of the [[2014 Myanmar Census]] showed that the total population was 51,419,420.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Spoorenberg |first1=Thomas |year=2015 |title=Provisional results of the 2014 census of Myanmar: The surprise that wasn't |journal=Asian Population Studies |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=4–6 |doi=10.1080/17441730.2014.972084 |s2cid=154114929 }}</ref> This figure includes an estimated 1,206,353 persons in parts of northern [[Rakhine State]], [[Kachin State]] and [[Kayin State]] who were not counted.<ref name="spoor">{{cite journal |last1=Spoorenberg |first1=Thomas |year=2015 |title=Myanmar's first census in more than 30 years: A radical revision of the official population count |journal=Population & Societies |volume=527 |issue=November |pages=1–4 |url=http://www.ined.fr/fichier/s_rubrique/24592/population.societies.2015.527.census.birma.en.en.pdf |access-date=9 December 2015 |archive-date=8 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808043519/https://www.ined.fr/fichier/s_rubrique/24592/population.societies.2015.527.census.birma.en.en.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> People who were out of the country at the time of the census are not included in these figures. There are over 600,000 registered [[migrant worker]]s from Myanmar in [[Thailand]], and millions more work illegally. Burmese citizens account for 80% of all migrant workers in Thailand.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGASA390012005 |title=Thailand: The Plight of Burmese Migrant Workers |access-date=13 July 2006 |date=8 June 2006 |publisher=Amnesty International |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060626102346/http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGASA390012005 |archive-date = 26 June 2006}}</ref> At the beginning of the 20th century, Burma's [[Census in Myanmar|population]] was approximately 10&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite book|last=Maung|first=M. Ismael Khin|title=The population of Burma: An analysis of the 1973 Census|publisher=East-West Population Institute|date=April 1986|isbn=0866380779}}</ref> The national population density is {{convert|76|/km2}}, among the lowest in Southeast Asia.

Myanmar's fertility rate in 2011 was 2.23, slightly above the [[Sub-replacement fertility|replacement level]]<ref name="jon" /> and low compared to [[Southeast Asian countries]] of similar economic standing.<ref name="jon" /> There has been a significant decline in fertility in the 2000s, from a rate of 4.7 children per woman in 1983, down to 2.4 in 2001, despite the absence of any national population policy.<ref name="jon">{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Gavin W. |year=2007 |title=Delayed Marriage and Very Low Fertility in Pacific Asia |journal=Population and Development Review |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=453–478 |url=http://dahuang.dhxy.info/population/Delayed_Marriage_Fertility09.pdf |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5x361pgmm?url=http://dahuang.dhxy.info/population/Delayed_Marriage_Fertility09.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 March 2011 |doi=10.1111/j.1728-4457.2007.00180.x |access-date=5 January 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Spoorenberg |first1=Thomas |year=2013 |title=Demographic changes in Myanmar since 1983: An examination of official data |journal=Population and Development Review |volume=39 |issue=2 |pages=309–324 |doi=10.1111/j.1728-4457.2013.00593.x }}</ref><ref name="mya">{{cite journal |author=Myat |year=2000 |title=The Economic Position of Women in Burma |journal=Asian Studies Review |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=243–255 |doi=10.1080/10357820008713272 |s2cid=144323033 |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-8403.00076 |access-date=21 January 2020 |archive-date=27 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727060044/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-8403.00076 |url-status=live }}</ref> The fertility rate is much lower in urban areas.

The relatively rapid decline in fertility is attributed to several factors, including extreme delays in marriage (almost unparalleled among developing countries in the region), the prevalence of illegal abortions, and the high proportion of single, unmarried women of reproductive age, with 25.9% of women aged 30–34 and 33.1% of men and women aged 25–34 being single.<ref name="mya" /><ref name=mar>[https://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldmarriage/worldmarriagepatterns2000.pdf WorldMarriage Patterns 2000] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031225072830/https://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldmarriage/worldmarriagepatterns2000.pdf |date=25 December 2003 }}. United Nations</ref>

These patterns stem from economic dynamics, including high income inequality, which results in residents of reproductive age opting for delay of marriage and family-building in favour of attempting to find employment and establish some form of wealth;<ref name="mya" /> the average age of marriage in Myanmar is 27.5 for men, 26.4 for women.<ref name="mya" /><ref name=mar />

=== Largest cities ===
{{further|List of cities and largest towns in Myanmar}}
{{Largest cities
 | country      = Myanmar
 | stat_ref     = [http://www.geohive.com/cntry/myanmar.aspx geohive.com]
 | list_by_pop  =
 | div_name     = Division
 | div_link     =

| city_1 = Yangon
 | div_1 = Yangon Region{{!}}Yangon
 | pop_1 = 5,211,431
 | img_1 = Yangoon-south.jpg

| city_2 = Mandalay
 | div_2 = Mandalay Region{{!}}Mandalay
 | pop_2 = 1,225,546
 | img_2 = Mandeley vue panoramique.JPG

| city_3 = Naypyidaw
 | div_3 = Naypyidaw Union Territory {{!}}Naypyidaw
 | pop_3 = 1,160,242
 | img_3 = Uppatasanti Pagoda, view from west, closeup.jpg

| city_4 = Bago, Burma{{!}}Bago
 | div_4 = Bago Region{{!}}Bago
 | pop_4 = 491,434
 | img_4 = Bago,_Myanmar_(15168477180).jpg

| city_5 = Hpa-An
 | div_5 = Kayin State{{!}}Kayin
 | pop_5 = 421,575

| city_6 = Taunggyi
 | div_6 = Shan State{{!}}Shan
 | pop_6 = 381,636

| city_7 = Monywa
 | div_7 = Sagaing Region{{!}}Sagaing
 | pop_7 = 372,095

| city_8 = Myitkyina
 | div_8 = Kachin State{{!}}Kachin
 | pop_8 = 306,949

| city_9 = Mawlamyine
 | div_9 = Mon State{{!}}Mon
 | pop_9 = 289,388

| city_10 = Magway, Burma{{!}}Magway
 | div_10 = Magway Region{{!}}Magway
 | pop_10 = 289,247

}}

=== Ethnic groups ===
{{main|Ethnicity in Myanmar}}
{{bar box
|title=Ethnic composition in Burma/Myanmar<br />(rough estimate)
|titlebar=
|width=
|left1=Ethnic group
|right1=Percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Bamar]]|orange|68}}
{{bar percent|[[Shan people|Shan]]|blue|10}}
{{bar percent|[[Karen people|Karen]]|green|7}}
{{bar percent|[[Rakhine people|Rakhine]]|yellow|3.5}}
{{bar percent|[[Burmese Chinese|Han-Chinese]]|purple|3}}
{{bar percent|[[Mon people|Mon]]|red|2}}
{{bar percent|[[Burmese Indians|Indians]]|violet|2}}
{{bar percent|[[Jingpo people|Kachin]]|black|1.5}}
{{bar percent|[[Chin people|Chin]]|brown|1}}
{{bar percent|[[Karenni people|Kayah]]|lime|0.8}}
{{bar percent|Other groups|cyan|5}}
}}

[[File:Ethnolinguistic map of Burma 1972 en.svg|thumb|upright=1.25|Ethnolinguistic groups of Burma/Myanmar|alt=]]

Myanmar is [[ethnically diverse]]. The government recognises [[List of ethnic groups in Myanmar|135 distinct ethnic groups]]. There are at least 108 different ethnolinguistic groups in Myanmar, consisting mainly of distinct [[Tibeto-Burman]] peoples, but with sizeable populations of [[Tai–Kadai-speaking peoples|Tai–Kadai]], [[Hmong–Mien]], and Austroasiatic (Mon–Khmer) peoples.<ref name="languages-of-myanmar">{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=MM |title=Languages of Myanmar |access-date=13 January 2007 |last=Gordon |first=Raymond G. Jr. |year=2005 |work=Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition |publisher=SIL International |archive-date=7 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121207085517/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=MM |url-status=live }}</ref> 

Ethnic identity in modern-day Myanmar has been significantly shaped by British colonial rule, Christian missionaries, and [[Decolonization|decolonisation]] in the post-independence era. To this day, the [[Burmese language]] does not have precise terminology that distinguishes the European concepts of [[Ethnicity|race]] [[Ethnicity|and ethnicity]]; the term ''lu-myo'' ({{lang|my|လူမျိုး}}, {{lit|type of person}}) can reference race, ethnicity, and religion.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-28 |title=Identity Crisis: Ethnicity and Conflict in Myanmar |url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-east-asia/myanmar/312-identity-crisis-ethnicity-and-conflict-myanmar |website=International Crisis Group}}</ref> For instance, many [[Bamar people|Bamar]] self-identify as members of the 'Buddhist ''lu-myo''' or the '[[Burmese people|Myanmar ''lu-myo'']],' which has posed a significant challenge for census-takers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Callahan |first=Mary P. |date=2017 |title=Distorted, Dangerous Data? Lumyo in the 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/665626 |journal=Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=452–478 |issn=1793-2858}}</ref>

The [[Bamar]] form an estimated 68% of the population.<ref name="statedept">{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35910.htm |title=Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs |access-date=17 April 2010 |date=August 2005 |publisher=[[U.S. Department of State]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122194342/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35910.htm |archive-date=22 January 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{irrelevant citation|date=July 2024|reason=the source doesn't mention ethnic composition in Myanmar}} 10% of the population are [[Shan people|Shan]].<ref name="statedept" /> The Kayin make up 7% of the population.<ref name="statedept" /> The [[Rakhine people]] constitute 4% of the population. [[Burmese Chinese|Overseas Chinese]] form approximately 3% of the population.<ref name="statedept" /><ref>{{cite book | author=Than, Mya | editor=Suryadinata, Leo | year=1997 | title=Ethnic Chinese As Southeast Asians}}</ref> Myanmar's ethnic [[Minority group|minority]] groups prefer the term "ethnic nationality" over "ethnic minority" as the term "minority" furthers their sense of insecurity in the face of what is often described as "Burmanisation"—the proliferation and domination of the dominant [[Bamar people|Bamar culture]] over minority cultures.

[[Mon people|Mon]], who form 2% of the population, are ethno-linguistically related to the [[Khmer people|Khmer]].<ref name="statedept" /> [[Burmese Indians|Overseas Indians]] are 2%.<ref name="statedept" /> The remainder are [[Kachin people|Kachin]], [[Chin people|Chin]], [[Rohingya]], [[Anglo-Indian]]s, [[Burmese Gurkha|Gurkha]], [[People of Nepal|Nepali]] and other ethnic minorities. Included in this group are the [[Anglo-Burmese]]. Once forming a large and influential community, the Anglo-Burmese left the country in steady streams from 1958 onwards, principally to Australia and the United Kingdom. It is estimated that 52,000 Anglo-Burmese remain in Myanmar. {{As of|2009}}, 110,000 Burmese [[refugee]]s were living in refugee camps in Thailand.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kato |first=Mariko |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2009/02/18/national/myanmar-refugees-to-try-resettling/ |title=Myanmar refugees to try resettling |work=Japan Times |date=18 February 2009 |access-date=6 August 2014 |archive-date=8 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808052623/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2009/02/18/national/myanmar-refugees-to-try-resettling/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Refugee camps exist along Indian, Bangladeshi and Thai borders while several thousand are in [[Malaysia]]. Conservative estimates state that there are over 295,800 minority refugees from Myanmar, with the majority being [[Rohingya]], [[Karen people|Karen]], and [[Karenni people|Karenni]] are principally located along the Thai-Myanmar border.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/publ/opendoc.pdf?tbl=PUBL&id=449676844 |title=Myanmar Refugees in South East Asia |access-date=13 July 2006 |date=April 2006 |format=PDF |publisher=UNHCR |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060621015621/http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/publ/opendoc.pdf?tbl=PUBL&id=449676844 |archive-date=21 June 2006 }}</ref> There are nine permanent refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border, most of which were established in the mid-1980s. The refugee camps are under the care of the Thai-Burma Border Consortium (TBBC). Since 2006,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/from-tropical-burma-to-syracuse-refugees-adjust/ |title=From tropical Burma to Syracuse, refugees adjust |work=CBS News |date=25 April 2012 |access-date=20 November 2012 |archive-date=5 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705231358/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57420502/from-tropical-burma-to-syracuse-refugees-adjust |url-status=live }}</ref> over 55,000 Burmese [[refugee]]s have been resettled in the United States.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20120914041135/http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/data/ Office Of Refugee Resettlement: Data]". U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.</ref>

The persecution of [[Burmese Indians]], [[Burmese Chinese]] and other ethnic groups after the military coup headed by General [[Ne Win]] in 1962 led to the expulsion or emigration of 300,000 people.<ref>{{cite book|author=Smith, Martin |year=1991|title=Burma&nbsp;– Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity|publisher=Zed Books|location=London, New Jersey|pages=43–44, 98, 56–57, 176}}</ref> They migrated to escape [[Racial Discrimination against Burmese Indians|racial discrimination]] and the wholesale nationalisation of private enterprise that took place in 1964.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,875949,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208073731/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,875949,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 December 2008 |title=Asians v. Asians.|magazine=Time |date=17 July 1964 |access-date=20 November 2012}}{{subscription required}}</ref> The Anglo-Burmese at this time either fled the country or changed their names and blended in with the broader Burmese society.

Many [[Rohingya]] Muslims have fled Myanmar. Many refugees headed to neighbouring Bangladesh, including 200,000 in 1978 as a result of the [[King Dragon operation in Arakan]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Macan-Markar |first=Marwaan |title=Burma's Muslim Rohingyas&nbsp;– The New Boat People. |url=http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45850 |publisher=Ipsnews.net |access-date=6 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311004334/http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45850 |archive-date=11 March 2009}}</ref> 250,000 more left in 1991.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ford |first=Peter |title=Why deadly race riots could rattle Myanmar's fledgling reforms |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2012/0612/Why-deadly-race-riots-could-rattle-Myanmar-s-fledgling-reforms |work=The Christian Science Monitor |date=12 June 2012 |access-date=6 August 2014 |archive-date=5 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105222644/http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2012/0612/Why-deadly-race-riots-could-rattle-Myanmar-s-fledgling-reforms |url-status=live }}</ref> Since August 2017, an estimated 23,000-43,700 Rohingya have been killed<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Habib |first1=Mohshin |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-748001039 |title=Forced migration of Rohingya : the untold experience |last2=Ahmad |first2=Salahuddin |last3=Jubb |first3=Christine |last4=Pallard |first4=Henri |last5=Rahman |first5=Masudur |last6=Ontario International Development Agency (issuing body) |publisher=Ontario International Development Agency, Canada |year=2018 |isbn=9780986681516 |page=69 |access-date=30 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Barron |first=Laignee |date=8 March 2018 |title=More Than 43,000 Rohingya Parents May Be Missing. Experts Fear They Are Dead |url=https://time.com/5187292/rohingya-crisis-missing-parents-refugees-bangladesh/ |access-date=30 October 2024 |work=[[TIME Magazine]]}}</ref> in the ongoing [[Rohingya genocide]], and another 730,000 have fled to Bangladesh.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 August 2022 |title=Myanmar: No Justice, No Freedom for Rohingya 5 Years On |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/08/24/myanmar-no-justice-no-freedom-rohingya-5-years |access-date=30 October 2024 |website=[[Human Rights Watch]]}}</ref>

=== Languages ===
{{main|Languages of Myanmar}}
Myanmar is home to four major language families: [[Sino-Tibetan]], [[Tai–Kadai]], [[Austroasiatic]], and [[Indo-European]].<ref name="languages-of-myanmar"/> Sino-Tibetan languages are most widely spoken. They include [[Burmese language|Burmese]], [[Karen people|Karen]], [[Jingpo people|Kachin]], [[Chin people|Chin]], and Chinese (mainly [[Hokkien]]). The primary Tai–Kadai language is [[Shan language|Shan]]. [[Mon language|Mon]], [[Palaung language|Palaung]], and [[Va people|Wa]] are the major Austroasiatic languages spoken in Myanmar. The two major Indo-European languages are [[Pali]], the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism, and English.<ref name="ethno">{{cite web |last=Gordon |first=Raymond G. Jr. |title=Language Family Trees: Sino-Tibetan |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=90150 |work=Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition |publisher=SIL International |year=2005 |access-date=9 July 2006 |archive-date=11 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080811202503/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=90150 |url-status=live }}</ref> More than a hundred languages are spoken in total. Since many of them are known only within small tribes around the country, they may have been lost (many if not all) after a few generations.

[[Burmese language|Burmese]], the mother tongue of the Bamar and official language of Myanmar, is related to [[Tibetic languages|Tibetan]] and Chinese.<ref name="ethno" /> It is written in a [[Burmese alphabet|script]] consisting of circular and semi-circular letters, which were adapted from the [[Mon language|Mon script]], which in turn was developed from a southern Indian script in the 5th century. The earliest known inscriptions in the Burmese script date from the 11th century. It is also used to write [[Pali]], the sacred language of Theravada Buddhism, as well as several ethnic minority languages, including Shan, several Karen dialects, and Kayah (Karenni), with the addition of specialised characters and [[diacritic]]s for each language.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lwinmoe.friendsofburma.org/doc/myanmar_extension.pdf |title=Proposal for encoding characters for Myanmar minority languages in the UCS |access-date=9 July 2006 |date=2 April 2006 |publisher=International Organization for Standardization |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060723083627/http://lwinmoe.friendsofburma.org/doc/myanmar_extension.pdf |archive-date=23 July 2006}}</ref>

=== Religion ===
{{main|Religion in Myanmar}}{{bar box|title=Religion in Myanmar|width=250px|barwidth=250px|float=right|left1=Religion|right1=Percentage|bars={{bar percent|[[Buddhism]]|Gold|87.9}}
{{bar percent|[[Christianity]]|Blue|6.2}}
{{bar percent|[[Islam in Myanmar|Islam]]|Green|4.3}}
{{bar percent|[[Hinduism]]|DarkOrange|0.5}}
{{bar percent|Tribal religions|Chartreuse|0.8}}
{{bar percent|Other|Crimson|0.2}}
{{bar percent|No religion|Black|0.1}}|caption=Source: [[Census in Myanmar|2014 Myanmar census]]}}Many religions are practised in Myanmar. Religious edifices and orders have been in existence for many years. The Christian and Muslim populations do, however, face religious persecution and it is hard, if not impossible, for non-Buddhists to join the army or get government jobs, the main route to success in the country.<ref>"Ethnic and Religious Diversity: Myanmar's Unfolding Nemesis", Matthews, Bruce, Institute of South East Asian Studies, Visiting Researcher Series, Volume 2001, No. 3. 2001.</ref> Such persecution and targeting of civilians is particularly notable in eastern Myanmar, where over 3,000 villages have been destroyed in the past ten years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tbbc.org/resources.html#reports |title=Internal Displacement in Eastern Burma 2006 Survey |access-date=4 February 2007 |author=Thailand Burma Border Consortium |year=2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070515121040/http://www.tbbc.org/resources.html |archive-date=15 May 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Harry |last=Priestly |url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=5380 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119160146/http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=5380 |archive-date=19 January 2012 |title=The Outsiders |work=[[The Irrawaddy]] |date=17 January 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://isrc.payap.ac.th/document/papers/paper23.pdf |title=The Encounter of Missionary Christianity and Resurgent Buddhism in Post-colonial Myanmar |access-date=14 July 2006 |author=Ling, Samuel Ngun |year=2003 |publisher=Payap University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060302235658/http://isrc.payap.ac.th/document/papers/paper23.pdf |archive-date=2 March 2006}}</ref> More than 200,000 Muslims have fled to Bangladesh by 2007 to escape persecution.<ref>{{cite book |last=Zatko |first=Martin |title=The Rough Guide to Myanmar|date=2015|page=357}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Dummett |first=Mark |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7019882.stm |title=Burmese exiles in desperate conditions |publisher=BBC News |date=29 September 2007 |access-date=20 November 2012 |archive-date=1 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901205917/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7019882.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>[[File:A nun and group of monks praying before idols in Myanmar.jpg|thumb|Praying Buddhist monks in [[Shwedagon Pagoda]]]]

A large majority of the population practices Buddhism; estimates range from 80%<ref name="pew">[http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/burma-myanmar/religious_demography#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010 Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project: Burma] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010114310/http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/burma-myanmar/religious_demography#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010 |date=10 October 2017 }}. [[Pew Research Center]]. 2010.</ref> to 89%.<ref name="Buddhanet">{{cite web | url = http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/burma-txt.htm | title = Buddhanet.net | access-date = 17 February 2011 | archive-date = 31 March 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170331000030/http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/burma-txt.htm | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="COTM">{{cite web | url = https://www.childrenofthemekong.org/in-myanmar-the-worst-is-yet-to-come-an-exclusive-interview/ | title = Children of the Mekong | date = 2 March 2023 | access-date = 14 March 2023 | archive-date = 14 March 2023 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230314154216/https://www.childrenofthemekong.org/in-myanmar-the-worst-is-yet-to-come-an-exclusive-interview/ | url-status = live }}</ref> According to the [[2014 Myanmar Census]], 87.9% of the population identifies as Buddhists.<ref name="TUR" /> [[Theravāda]] Buddhism is the most widespread.<ref name="Buddhanet" /> There are some 500,000 Buddhist monks and 75,000 nuns in this country of 54 million.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pyone |first1=Taung |title=Monks in Myanmar have a new target |url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2019/11/14/monks-in-myanmar-have-a-new-target |access-date=17 November 2019 |newspaper=The Economist |date=14 November 2019 |archive-date=17 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117122716/https://www.economist.com/asia/2019/11/14/monks-in-myanmar-have-a-new-target |url-status=live }}</ref> Other religions are practised largely without obstruction, with the notable exception of some religious minorities such as the Rohingya people, who have continued to have their citizenship status denied and treated as illegal immigrants instead,<ref name="rohingya">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7872635.stm |title=What drive the Rohingya to sea? |publisher=BBC |date=5 February 2009 |access-date=29 July 2012 |author=Head, Jonathan |archive-date=1 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001062936/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7872635.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> and Christians in Chin State.<ref name="2007-religious-freedom-report">{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90131.htm |title=International Religious Freedom Report 2007&nbsp;– Burma |publisher=U.S. Department of State |access-date=17 April 2010 |date=14 September 2007 |archive-date=8 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200508105248/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90131.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> According to 2014 census, 6.2% of the population identifies as Christian; 4.3% as Muslim; 0.8% as followers of tribal religions; 0.5% as [[Hinduism|Hindus]]; 0.2% as followers of other religions; and 0.1% follow no religion.<ref name="TUR">{{cite book | title=The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census Report Volume 2-C | publisher=Department of Population Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population| date=July 2016 | pages=12–15}}</ref> According to the 2010 estimates of the [[Pew Research Center]], 7% of the population is Christian; 4% is Muslim; 1% follows traditional [[animistic]] beliefs; and 2% follow other religions, including [[Mahayana Buddhism]], [[Hinduism]], and [[East Asian religions]].<ref name="2007-religious-freedom-report" /><ref name="statedept" /> Jehovah's Witnesses have been present since 1914<ref>{{cite book |title=2013 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses |publisher=Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. |year=2013 |page=85}}</ref> and have about 80 congregations around the country and a branch office in Yangon publishing in 16 languages.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/offices/myanmar |title=Office and Tour Information |publisher=jw.org |access-date=6 November 2015 |archive-date=9 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009050318/http://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/offices/myanmar/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A tiny Jewish community in Yangon had a synagogue but no resident rabbi.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148859.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121191852/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148859.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 November 2010 |title=Burma—International Religious Freedom Report 2010 |publisher=U.S. Department of State |date=17 November 2010 |access-date=22 February 2011}}</ref>

Although Hinduism is practised by 0.5% of the population, it was a major religion in Myanmar's past.<ref>{{cite book |last=Aung-Thwin |first=Michael A. |title=The Mists of Rāmañña: The Legend that was Lower Burma |publisher=University of Hawai'i Press |location=Honolulu |edition=illustrated |year=2005 |pages=31–34 |isbn=978-0-8248-2886-8}}</ref><ref>[[#Lieberman|Lieberman]], pp. 115–116</ref> [[Burmese folk religion]] is practised by many [[Bamars]] alongside Buddhism.

=== Health ===
{{main|Health in Myanmar}}
The general state of [[health care]] in Myanmar is poor. The government spends anywhere from 0.5% to 3% of the country's GDP on health care, consistently ranking among the lowest in the world.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=108&subsecID=900003&contentID=254167 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427103224/http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=108&subsecID=900003&contentID=254167 |archive-date=27 April 2011 |title=PPI: Almost Half of All World Health Spending is in the United States |date=17 January 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Anwar |first=Yasmin |title=Myanmar junta faulted for rampant diseases |url=http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/06/28_Myanmar.shtml |publisher=UC Berkeley News |date=28 June 2007}}{{dead link|date=September 2016}}</ref> Although [[health care]] is nominally free, in reality, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even in public clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals lack many of the basic facilities and equipment. The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Myanmar is 240. This is compared with 219.3 in 2008 and 662 in 1990. The under 5 mortality rate, per 1,000 births is 73 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under 5's mortality is 47. According to Doctors without Borders, 25,000 Burmese AIDS patients died in 2007, deaths that could largely have been prevented by [[antiretroviral therapy]] drugs and proper treatment.<ref name="autogenerated1">[https://web.archive.org/web/20090225081933/http://www.msf.org/source/countries/asia/myanmar/2008/PreventableFate/PreventableFatereport.pdf A preventable fate: The failure of ART scale-up in Myanmar]. [[Médecins Sans Frontières]]. November 2008</ref>

HIV/AIDS, recognised as a disease of concern by the [[Ministry of Health (Myanmar)|Myanmar Ministry of Health]], is most prevalent among [[sex worker]]s and [[intravenous drug]] users. In 2005, the estimated adult [[HIV/AIDS in Myanmar|HIV prevalence rate in Myanmar]] was 1.3% (200,000–570,000 people), according to [[UNAIDS]], and early indicators of any progress against the HIV epidemic are inconsistent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/myanmar_statistics.html#25 |title=At a glance: Myanmar&nbsp;– statistics |access-date=9 January 2007 |work=UNICEF |archive-date=1 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901015340/http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/myanmar_statistics.html#25 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.unaids.org/UNA-docs/REPORT_ICAAP_01July05_en.pdf |title=A scaled-up response to AIDS in Asia and the Pacific |access-date=10 January 2007 |date=1 July 2005 |work=UNAIDS |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223010935/http://data.unaids.org/UNA-docs/report_icaap_01july05_en.pdf |archive-date=23 February 2007 }}</ref><ref name="06decUNAIDS">{{cite web|url=http://data.unaids.org/pub/EpiReport/2006/05-Asia_2006_EpiUpdate_eng.pdf |title=Asia |access-date=9 January 2007 |work=UNAIDS |date=December 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070116033206/http://data.unaids.org/pub/EpiReport/2006/05-Asia_2006_EpiUpdate_eng.pdf |archive-date=16 January 2007 }}</ref> However, the National AIDS Programme Myanmar found that 32% of sex workers and 43% of intravenous drug users in Myanmar have HIV.<ref name="06decUNAIDS" />

=== Education ===
{{main|Education in Myanmar}}

[[File:Students, Hakha, Chin State, Myanmar.jpg|thumb|Students on their way to school, [[Kalaymyo]], [[Sagaing Region]], Myanmar]]

According to the [[UNESCO]] Institute of Statistics, Myanmar's official [[literacy rate]] as of 2000 was 90%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uis.unesco.org/TEMPLATE/html/Exceltables/education/Literacy_Regional_April2006.xls|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070625071529/http://www.uis.unesco.org/TEMPLATE/html/Exceltables/education/Literacy_Regional_April2006.xls|archive-date=25 June 2007|title=Adult (15+) Literacy Rates and Illiterate Population by Region and Gender for |access-date=13 July 2006 |date=April 2006 |format=XLS |publisher=UNESCO Institute of Statistics}}</ref> Historically, Myanmar has had high literacy rates. The educational system of Myanmar is operated by the government agency, the [[Ministry of Education (Myanmar)|Ministry of Education]]. The education system is based on the United Kingdom's system after nearly a century of British and Christian presences in Myanmar. Nearly all schools are government-operated, but there has been an increase in privately funded English language schools in the early 21st century. Schooling is compulsory until the end of elementary school, approximately 9 years old, while the compulsory schooling age is 15 or 16 at international level.

There are 101 universities, 12 institutes, 9 degree colleges and 24 colleges in Myanmar, a total of 146 higher education institutions.<ref>Chronicle of National Development Comparison Between Period Preceding 1988 and after (up to 31 December 2006).</ref> There are 10 technical training schools, 23 nursing training schools, 1 sport academy and 20 midwifery schools. There are four international schools acknowledged by WASC and College Board—[[The International School Yangon]], [[Myanmar International School]], Yangon International School, and International School of Myanmar in Yangon. Myanmar was ranked 125th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2024.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/|title=Global Innovation Index 2024. Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship|access-date=22 October 2024|author=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]]|year=2024|isbn=978-92-805-3681-2|doi= 10.34667/tind.50062|website=www.wipo.int|location=Geneva|page=18}}</ref>

=== Crime ===
{{Further|Crime in Myanmar}}

Myanmar had a murder rate of 15.2 per 100,000 population with a total of 8,044 murders in 2012.<ref name=UNODC>{{cite web|url=https://www.unodc.org/gsh/en/index.html|title=UNODC: Global Study on Homicide|author=agt|access-date=5 January 2015|archive-date=2 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602171852/http://www.unodc.org/gsh/en/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Factors influencing Myanmar's high murder rate include communal violence and armed conflict.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://investvine.com/asean-as-safe-as-we-think/|title=ASEAN: As safe as we think?|first=Justin|last=Calderon|work=Inside Investor|date=3 July 2013|access-date=7 July 2013|archive-date=22 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622190043/http://investvine.com/asean-as-safe-as-we-think/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Myanmar is one of the world's most corrupt nations. The 2012 [[Transparency International]] [[Corruption Perceptions Index]] ranked the country at number 171, out of 176 countries in total.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.trust.org/item/?map=myanmar-still-near-bottom-of-corruption-rankings-in-2012-despite-reforms%2F |publisher=[[Thomson Reuters Foundation]] |title=Myanmar still near bottom of corruption rankings in 2012 despite reforms |date=5 December 2012 |access-date=5 January 2015 |archive-date=5 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105214224/http://www.trust.org/item/?map=myanmar-still-near-bottom-of-corruption-rankings-in-2012-despite-reforms%2F |url-status=dead }}</ref> Myanmar is the world's second largest producer of [[opium]] after [[Opium production in Afghanistan|Afghanistan]], producing some 25% of the world's opium, and forms part of the [[Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia)|Golden Triangle]]. The opium industry was a monopoly during colonial times and has since been illegally operated by corrupt officials in the Burmese military and rebel fighters,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20150082 |title=UN report: Opium cultivation rising in Burma |publisher=BBC News |date=31 October 2012 |access-date=10 June 2013 |archive-date=15 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130715114536/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20150082 |url-status=live }}</ref> primarily as the basis for heroin manufacture. Myanmar is the largest producer of methamphetamines in the world, with the majority of ''[[Ya ba]]'' found in Thailand produced in Myanmar, particularly in the Golden Triangle and northeastern Shan State, which borders Thailand, Laos and China.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/279434/myanmar-reforms-mask-meteoric-rise-in-drug-trade|title=Myanmar's rising drug trade|last=Thornton|first=Phil|date=12 February 2012|work=Bangkok Post|access-date=19 February 2012}}</ref> Burmese-produced ''ya ba'' is typically trafficked to Thailand via Laos, before being transported through the northeastern Thai region of [[Isan]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/LG13Ae01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715054055/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/LG13Ae01.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=15 July 2010|title=Holes in Thailand's drug fences|last=McCartan|first=Brian|date=13 July 2010|work=Asia Times|access-date=19 February 2012}}</ref>