|
Economy -
overview:
|
|
Burma, a
resource-rich country, suffers from pervasive
government controls, inefficient economic
policies, corruption, and rural poverty. Despite
Burma's emergence as a natural gas exporter,
socio-economic conditions have deteriorated under
the regime's mismanagement, leaving most of the
public in poverty, while military leaders and
their business cronies exploit the country's ample
natural resources. The economy suffers from
serious macroeconomic imbalances - including
rising inflation, fiscal deficits, multiple
official exchange rates that overvalue the Burmese
kyat, a distorted interest rate regime, unreliable
statistics, and an inability to reconcile national
accounts to determine a realistic GDP figure.
Burma's poor investment climate hampers the inflow
of foreign investment; in recent years, foreign
investors have shied away from nearly every sector
except for natural gas, power generation, timber,
and mining. The business climate is widely
perceived as opaque, corrupt, and highly
inefficient. Over 60% of the FY 2009-10 budget is
allocated to state owned enterprises - most
operating at a deficit. The government has
recently privatized a number of state owned
enterprises, but most of the benefits have accrued
to regime insiders and cronies. The most
productive sectors will continue to be in
extractive industries - especially oil and gas,
mining, and timber - with the latter two causing
significant environmental degradation. Other
areas, such as manufacturing, tourism and
services, struggle in the face of inadequate
infrastructure, unpredictable trade policies,
neglected health and education systems, and
endemic corruption. A major banking crisis in 2003
caused 20 private banks to close; private banks
still operate under tight restrictions, limiting
the private sector's access to credit. The United
States, the European Union, Canada, and Australia
have imposed financial and economic sanctions on
Burma, prohibiting most financial transactions
with Burmese entities, imposing travel bans on
Burmese officials and others connected to the
ruling regime, and banning imports of certain
Burmese products. These sanctions affected the
country's fledgling garment industry, isolated the
struggling banking sector, and raised the costs of
doing business with Burmese companies,
particularly firms tied to Burmese regime leaders.
The global crisis of 2008-09 caused exports and
domestic consumer demand to drop. Remittances from
overseas Burmese workers - who had provided
significant financial support for their families -
slowed or dried up as jobs were lost and migrant
workers returned home. Though the Burmese
government has good economic relations with its
neighbors, better investment and business climates
and an improved political situation are needed to
promote serious foreign investment, exports, and
tourism.
|
|
|
GDP
(purchasing power parity):
|
|
$60.07 billion
(2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
$58.27 billion
(2009 est.)
$57.24 billion
(2008 est.)
note:
data
are in 2010 US dollars
|
|
|
GDP
(official exchange rate):
|
|
$35.65 billion
(2010 est.)
|
|
|
GDP -
real growth rate:
|
|
3.1% (2010
est.)
country
comparison to the world:
117
1.8% (2009
est.)
1.1% (2008
est.)
|
|
|
GDP -
per capita (PPP):
|
|
$1,100 (2010
est.)
country
comparison to the world:
209
$1,100 (2009
est.)
$1,100 (2008
est.)
note:
data
are in 2010 US dollars
|
|
|
GDP -
composition by sector:
|
|
agriculture: 43.2%
industry: 20%
services: 36.8%
(2010 est.)
|
|
|
Labor
force:
|
|
31.68 million
(2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
18 |
|
|
Labor
force - by occupation:
|
|
agriculture: 70%
industry: 7%
services: 23%
(2001 est.)
|
|
|
Unemployment
rate:
|
|
5.7% (2010
est.)
country
comparison to the world:
56
4.9% (2009
est.)
|
|
|
Population
below poverty line:
|
|
32.7% (2007
est.)
|
|
|
Household
income or consumption by percentage share:
|
|
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.4%
(1998)
|
|
|
Investment
(gross fixed):
|
|
15.1% of GDP
(2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
129 |
|
|
Inflation
rate (consumer prices):
|
|
9.6% (2010
est.)
country
comparison to the world:
197
1.5% (2009
est.)
|
|
|
Central
bank discount rate:
|
|
12% (31
December 2009)
country
comparison to the world:
34
12% (31
December 2008)
|
|
|
Commercial
bank prime lending rate:
|
|
17% (31
December 2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
33
17% (31
December 2008 est.)
|
|
|
Stock
of narrow money:
|
|
$4.907 billion
(31 December 2010 est)
country
comparison to the world:
89
$4.038 billion
(31 December 2009 est)
note:
this
number reflects the vastly overvalued official
exchange rate of 5.38 kyat per dollar in 2007; at
the unofficial black market rate of 1,305 kyat per
dollar for 2007, the stock of kyats would equal
only US$2.465 billion and Burma's velocity of
money (the number of times money turns over in the
course of a year) would be six, in line with the
velocity of money for other countries in the
region; in 2009, the unofficial black market rate
averaged 1,090 kyat per dollar.
|
|
|
Stock
of broad money:
|
|
$7.8 billion
(31 December 2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
108
$6.231 billion
(31 December 2009 est.)
|
|
|
Stock
of domestic credit:
|
|
$8.552 billion
(31 December 2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
98
$6.858 billion
(31 December 2009 est.)
|
|
|
Market
value of publicly traded shares:
|
|
$NA
|
|
|
Agriculture
- products:
|
|
rice, pulses,
beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood;
fish and fish products
|
|
|
Industries:
|
|
agricultural
processing; wood and wood products; copper, tin,
tungsten, iron; cement, construction materials;
pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; oil and natural gas;
garments, jade and gems
|
|
|
Industrial
production growth rate:
|
|
4.3% (2010
est.)
country
comparison to the world:
77 |
|
|
Electricity
- production:
|
|
6.286 billion
kWh (2007 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
105 |
|
|
Electricity
- consumption:
|
|
4.403 billion
kWh (2007 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
113 |
|
|
Electricity
- exports:
|
|
0 kWh (2008
est.)
|
|
|
Electricity
- imports:
|
|
0 kWh (2008
est.)
|
|
|
Oil -
production:
|
|
18,880 bbl/day
(2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
75 |
|
|
Oil -
consumption:
|
|
42,000 bbl/day
(2009 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
101 |
|
|
Oil -
exports:
|
|
2,200 bbl/day
(2007 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
112 |
|
|
Oil -
imports:
|
|
18,250 bbl/day
(2007 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
114 |
|
|
Oil -
proved reserves:
|
|
50 million bbl
(1 January 2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
78 |
|
|
Natural
gas - production:
|
|
12.4 billion cu
m (2008 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
39 |
|
|
Natural
gas - consumption:
|
|
3.85 billion cu
m (2008 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
66 |
|
|
Natural
gas - exports:
|
|
8.55 billion cu
m (2008 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
22 |
|
|
Natural
gas - imports:
|
|
0 cu m (2008
est.)
country
comparison to the world:
198 |
|
|
Natural
gas - proved reserves:
|
|
283.2 billion
cu m (1 January 2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
41 |
|
|
Current
account balance:
|
|
$652 million
(2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
47
$705 million
(2009 est.)
|
|
|
Exports:
|
|
$7.841 billion
(2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
94
$6.862 billion
(2009 est.)
note:
official
export figures are grossly underestimated due to
the value of timber, gems, narcotics, rice, and
other products smuggled to Thailand, China, and
Bangladesh
|
|
|
Exports
- commodities:
|
|
natural gas,
wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice,
clothing, jade and gems
|
|
|
Exports
- partners:
|
|
Thailand
46.57%, India 12.99%, China 9.01%, Japan 5.65%
(2009)
|
|
|
Imports:
|
|
$4.532 billion
(2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
121
$4.02 billion
(2009 est.)
note:
import
figures are grossly underestimated due to the
value of consumer goods, diesel fuel, and other
products smuggled in from Thailand, China,
Malaysia, and India
|
|
|
Imports
- commodities:
|
|
fabric,
petroleum products, fertilizer, plastics,
machinery, transport equipment; cement,
construction materials, crude oil; food products,
edible oil
|
|
|
Imports
- partners:
|
|
China 33.1%,
Thailand 26.28%, Singapore 15.18% (2009)
|
|
|
Reserves
of foreign exchange and gold:
|
|
$3.762 billion
(31 December 2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
79
$3.561 billion
(31 December 2009 est.)
|
|
|
Debt -
external:
|
|
$7.145 billion
(31 December 2010 est.)
country
comparison to the world:
96
$7.079 billion
(31 December 2009 est.)
|
|
|
Exchange
rates:
|
|
kyats (MMK) per
US dollar - 1,000 (2010), 1,055 (2009), 1,205
(2008), 1,296 (2007), 1,280 (2006)
|
