Burma Economy 1997

Economy - overview Burma has a mixed economy with private activity dominant in agriculture,light industry, and transport, and with substantial state-controlled activity,mainly in energy, heavy industry, and the rice trade. Government policy inthe last eight years, 1989-96, has aimed at revitalizing the economy afterthree decades of tight central planning. Thus, private activity has markedlyincreased; foreign investment has been encouraged, so far with moderate success;and efforts continue to increase the efficiency of state enterprises. Publishedestimates of Burma's foreign trade are greatly understated because of thevolume of black-market trade. A major ongoing problem is the failure to achievemonetary and fiscal stability. Although Burma remains a poor Asian country,its rich resources furnish the potential for substantial long-term increasesin income, exports, and living standards.

GDP purchasing power parity - $51.5 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 7% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,120 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 63%
industry: 9%
services : 28% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 30%-40% (1996 est.)

Labor force
total: 16.007 million (1992)
by occupation: agriculture 65.2%, industry 14.3%, trade 10.1%, government 6.3%, other4.1% (FY88/89 est.)

Unemployment rate NA%

Budget
revenues: $5.3 billion
expenditures : $10 billion, including capital expenditures of $3 billion (1995 est.)

Industries agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood and wood products;copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer

Industrial production growth rate 8.9% (FY94/95 est.)

Electricity - capacity 1.21 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production 3.37 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity - consumption per capita 73 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, pulses; hardwood

Exports
total value: $1.1 billion (1996 est.)
commodities: rice, pulses and beans, teak, rubber, hardwood
partners: Singapore, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan

Imports
total value : $2 billion (1996 est.)
commodities: machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, food products,consumer goods
partners: Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, China, Malaysia, Thailand

Debt - external $5.5 billion (FY94/95 est.)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $61 million (1993)

Currency 1 kyat (K) = 100 pyas

Exchange rates kyats (K) per US$1 - 6.0600 (1997), 5.9176 (1996), 5.6670 (1995), 5.9749(1994), 6.1570 (1993), 6.1045 (1992); unofficial - 160-170 (1996)

Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March

NOTE: The information regarding Burma on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Burma Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Burma Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.