Myanmar

Myanmar is a country in Asia.

It has tall mountains in the north. A long river flows down the middle. The capital city is called Naypyidaw.

Myanmar is a country on the western side of mainland Southeast Asia. For a long time its English name was Burma; in 1989 the official English name changed to Myanmar, a name used in the Burmese language since the 1200s.

On a map, Myanmar looks like a kite with a long tail: the tail runs south along the Malay Peninsula. Mountains rise in the north, east and west, and the Irrawaddy River flows through the middle. The capital is Naypyidaw, a newly built city, and about 55 million people lived in Myanmar in 2025.

Myanmar occupies the western part of mainland Southeast Asia. In 1989 its official English name, held since 1885, changed from the Union of Burma to the Union of Myanmar; in Burmese the country has been called Myanma (Mranma Prañ) since the 13th century. The same year the English name Rangoon gave way to Yangon, the capital from 1948 to 2006. From 2005 the government moved its administrative center north to Pyinmana and then to the newly built Nay Pyi Taw (Naypyidaw), proclaimed the capital in 2006.

The country covers about 676,600 km². The World Bank put its population at 54,850,648 in 2025, and Britannica records about 30 percent of people living in urban areas (2019–2020). Agriculture, forestry and fishing are the largest part of the economy, employing about two-thirds of workers.

Yangon is the biggest city in Myanmar.

It has a big golden pagoda. Bagan is an old city with thousands of temples. They stand on flat land by a river.

Britannica calls Myanmar a land of villages: apart from a few large cities, notably Yangon, Mandalay and Mawlamyine, most towns are really big villages. Yangon, the largest city, stands on the Yangon River in the south and was the capital until 2006. Its Shwedagon Pagoda is a golden Buddhist place of worship.

Bagan lies on a bend of the Irrawaddy River in the dry middle of the country. From the 11th to the 13th centuries it was the capital of a powerful kingdom, and 3,595 temples, stupas and other monuments have been recorded there. Bagan became a World Heritage Site in 2019.

Apart from Yangon, Mandalay and Mawlamyine (Moulmein), Britannica describes Myanmar's towns as essentially large villages. Yangon, on the left bank of the Yangon River, the easternmost stream of the Irrawaddy delta, was the capital from 1948 to 2006 and is the largest city; the Shwedagon Pagoda, a Buddhist place of worship, rises over it.

UNESCO lists two cultural sites. The Pyu Ancient Cities (2014) are the walled and moated brick cities of Halin, Beikthano and Sri Ksetra, from Pyu kingdoms that flourished for more than 1,000 years between 200 BCE and 900 CE, with irrigation works some of which are still in use. Bagan (2019), on a bend of the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) in the central dry zone, was the capital of a regional empire in the 11th to 13th centuries; its eight components hold 3,595 recorded monuments, as well as murals, sculptures and inscriptions, and temple building there peaked in the 13th century.

Myanmar has tall, snowy mountains in the north.

Long rivers flow down to the sea. For about half the year, lots of rain falls. Big forests cover much of the land.

Myanmar slopes from north to south. Its highest peak, Hkakabo Razi, rises 5,881 meters in the far north, where the mountains get snow for two months a year. Rivers run north to south between the ranges. The Irrawaddy, about 2,170 kilometers long, flows only through Myanmar and drains about three-fifths of the country.

Myanmar has three seasons: cool and fairly dry, then hot and dry, then the rainy southwest monsoon from mid-May to late October. The coast can get more than 5,000 millimeters of rain a year, but the dry zone in the middle gets only 500 to 1,000. About half the country is still forest, including teak trees.

Myanmar runs from about 10° N to 28° 30′ N and slopes from Hkakabo Razi (5,881 m) to sea level at the Irrawaddy and Sittang deltas. Britannica divides it into five regions: the northern mountains, a knot of ranges marking where the Indian-Australian Plate has been colliding with the Eurasian Plate for about 50 million years; the western ranges, which continue under the sea to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands; the Shan Plateau, averaging about 900 m; the central basin; and the coastal plains. The Irrawaddy, about 2,170 km long and formed by the Nmai and Mali rivers, drains about three-fifths of the country and is navigable for nearly 1,600 km.

Northern mountains get snow for two months a year, but the rest of the country is ruled by the monsoon. The coast and the western and southeastern ranges receive more than 5,000 mm a year, the deltas about 2,500 mm, and the central dry zone, in the rain shadow of the Rakhine Mountains, only 500 to 1,000 mm. Official estimates put forest cover at about half the land, from rhododendron forests above 1,800 m to teak-bearing monsoon forests and delta mangroves up to 30 m tall.

Many elephants live in Myanmar.

Tigers and leopards live in the forests. Gibbons and monkeys climb in the trees. Crocodiles swim in the river deltas.

Myanmar's forests and jungles are full of birds, such as pheasants, parrots and peafowl. Elephants are numerous, and many are trained to work. Tigers, leopards and wildcats still live in the forests, including the endangered Bengal tiger. Bears live in the hills, and gibbons and monkeys live in the thickest forests.

Snakes include pythons and cobras, crocodiles live in the deltas, and turtles live along the coast. Some big animals, like wild water buffalo and the gaur, a kind of wild cattle, were once common but are now rare and protected.

Britannica describes Myanmar's jungles as rich in birdlife, including pheasants, parrots, peafowl and grouse. Elephants are numerous, and many are trained for work. Tigers, leopards and wildcats are still common, and the endangered Bengal tiger is still present; bears inhabit the hills, and gibbons and other monkeys the denser forests. Pythons, cobras and vipers occur widely, crocodiles live in the deltas, turtles on the coasts, and edible fish are found in every stream.

Several large mammals are now reduced and protected: the Sumatran (Asian two-horned) rhinoceros, the wild water buffalo, the gaur and various deer. Forests change with height and rain: oak and pine above 900 m, rhododendrons above 1,800 m in the northern mountains, evergreen rainforest where more than 2,000 mm of rain falls, and teak-bearing monsoon forest where 1,000 to 2,000 mm falls.

About 55 million people live in Myanmar.

Many people speak Burmese. People also speak many other languages. Rice is the main food.

Myanmar is home to many peoples. The Burmans are the largest group, more than half of the population. The Karen are about one in ten people, and there are also Shan, Mon, Chin, Kachin and many smaller groups, most living in the hills. Burmese is the official language, and many other languages are spoken too.

Nearly nine in ten people follow Theravada Buddhism, and there are Christian, Muslim and Hindu minorities. Rice is the main food: about half of all farmland grows it. In many villages, houses are made of timber and bamboo, and some are built up on posts.

Britannica describes Myanmar as a country of great ethnic diversity. Burmans, concentrated in the Irrawaddy valley and coastal strips, are more than half the population; the Karen, about one-tenth, live in the deltas, the Bago Mountains and along the lower Salween; the Shan live on the Shan Plateau; and numerous upland groups, including the Chin and Kachin, together make up about one-fifth. Burmese is official and spoken as a second language by most hill people; local languages belong to the Tibeto-Burman, Tai and Mon-Khmer families.

Nearly nine-tenths of people follow Theravada Buddhism, with a significant Protestant minority among the Karen, Kachin and Chin and small Muslim and Hindu minorities. Rice grown in the Irrawaddy delta is the staple diet, and about half of all farmland is planted in it. Village houses are built of timber and bamboo, traditionally on piles, and outdoor theater called pwe, with actors or puppets, is the most popular dramatic form.