National Context

With a total land area of 676,552 sq. km Myanmar is the second largest country in Southeast Asia. It shares common borders with Bangladesh and India in the West, China in the north and north-east, and Laos and Thailand in the east. The Bay of Bengal lies to the west and the Andaman Sea to the south of the country.

For administrative purposes, the country is divided into 7 States and 7 Divisions. There are 325 townships. Each township is divided into wards (urban) and village tracts (rural).

Myanmar   also is a diverse country with many cultures and ethnic groups (up to135 different ethnic groups and sub-groups). Disparities exist among different regions and between urban and rural populations. According to 2006 Human Resources Development Indicators the population of Myanmar is 55.4 million with an annual growth rate of 2.02 per cent. The urban population is estimated about 30 per cent and the rural at 70 per cent. The female population is about 50 per cent of the total population and 26 per cent are of the reproductive age. Youth constitute about 20 per cent of the total population.

According to the 1997 Household Income and Expenditure Survey conducted by Central Statistical Organization (CSO), one in four households (22.86%) have expenditures below the minimum subsistence level. Across the country, people spend an average of 71 % of their revenue on food items. The Human Development Index (HDI) ranks Myanmar 132 out of 177 countries. The UNDP Human Development Report 2006 places Myanmar in the medium human development category with an HDI value of 0.583. The United Nations system is by far the largest development donor in Myanmar.

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