Myanmar (Burma) profile

Demography and Health

Myanmar (Burma) is home to roughly 54.5 million people as of 2024, placing it around the 27th largest population globally. The country’s demographic dynamics show a relatively high birth rate in 2023 of 16.7 births per 1,000 people and a crude death rate of 9.15 per 1,000, resulting in a natural increase that remains positive but modest. Life expectancy at birth stands at 66.9 years (2023), reflecting ongoing health challenges and uneven access to medical services. The mortality burden for young children remains pronounced, with under-5 mortality at about 38.7 per 1,000 live births, signaling gaps in maternal and child health, immunization coverage, and primary care delivery. Net migration in 2024 is negative (-37,979), suggesting out-migration of workers and potential talent drains in an economy already contending with governance and security pressures. The prevalence of undernourishment was 5.3% in 2022, indicating that food insecurity affects a portion of the population, though the figure is not at crisis levels. Social indicators are further colored by health system financing: current health expenditure accounts for 5.2% of GDP in 2022, and domestic general government health expenditure per capita, PPP, was about 26.7 international US dollars in 2022, underscoring constrained public health investment relative to needs. Internet access reached 58.5% of the population in 2023, pointing to expanding digital connectivity alongside persistent urban–rural and socio-economic divides. A suicide mortality rate of 2.89 per 100,000 people in 2021 is comparatively low, but this single indicator cannot fully capture mental health and substance-use burdens in the population.

Nutrition and health outcomes are closely linked to economic and governance conditions. The combination of a low public health footprint and limited health R&D expenditure—0.0238% of GDP in 2023—suggests a narrow base for health innovation and slower integration of new prevention or treatment technologies. While the country has not indicated extreme hunger at the national level, vulnerability persists, especially in rural regions affected by poverty and infrastructural gaps. The relatively moderate literacy of internet users (58.5% in 2023) reflects progress in digital infrastructure that can be harnessed for health information, telemedicine, and remote health education, but also highlights the remaining reach gap in medical and health service delivery. Policy emphasis on maternal and child health, nutrition programs, and expanded public health investments could meaningfully improve outcomes if paired with stable governance and security conditions that currently hinder large-scale health initiatives. Overall, Myanmar’s demography suggests a young and growing population facing health and nutrition challenges that require sustained investment and resilient delivery mechanisms.

Economy

Myanmar's economy is characterized by a low to lower-middle income profile, with GDP per capita of 1,359 current US dollars in 2024 and GDP per capita (PPP) of 5,997 international dollars, indicating significant affordability challenges and a wide gap between market income and purchasing power. The economy operates with constrained investment in research and development, as R&D expenditure amounts to just 0.0238% of GDP in 2023, which signals limited innovation capacity and a narrow base for technology-led productivity growth. Military expenditure remains notable in scale, recorded at about 2.49 billion current US dollars in 2023, pointing to the sizeable resource allocation to security and defense amidst a fragile governance environment, which can crowd out other essential public investments. The country also displays a modest openness to capital formation through foreign direct investment, with net inflows at 2.28% of GDP in 2023, a level that reflects cautious investor sentiment amid governance and conflict-related risks. The economy shows limited sophistication in high-technology production, as high-technology exports were 190.4 million US dollars in 2023 (ranked 75), underscoring a narrow export base and dependence on more traditional sectors. Total greenhouse gas emissions per capita stand at 2.13 t CO2e in 2023, a relatively low intensity that aligns with lower industrial activity and energy consumption patterns. Taken together, these indicators portray an economy with moderate living standards, constrained innovation capacity, and significant development and governance hurdles that affect long-term competitiveness and growth prospects.

Trade and Investment

Myanmar’s trade and investment profile reflects a mixed picture of potential and fragility. Foreign direct investment net inflows amount to 2.28% of GDP in 2023, suggesting a modest but notable external filing of capital that could support infrastructure and export-oriented activities if governance and security conditions improve. The country’s export sophistication appears limited, with high-technology exports totaling 190.4 million US dollars in 2023 and ranking 75th globally, indicating that most foreign exchange earnings come from lower-value or traditional sectors rather than cutting-edge industries. This points to a need for policy frameworks that attract higher-value manufacturing, digital services, and knowledge-intensive sectors, coupled with improvements in rule of law and regulatory quality to reduce investment risk. The data imply an economy that, while open to foreign capital, remains constrained by governance weaknesses and security concerns that can impede supply chains, project stability, and market access. For Myanmar to diversify its growth engine, it would benefit from targeted reforms to improve ease of doing business, strengthen contract enforcement, and enhance investor protections, along with investments in human capital to broaden the domestic market for advanced technologies and services.

Governance and Institutions

The governance indicators for Myanmar paint a picture of considerable fragility and weak institutional capacity. Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism is recorded at -2.13 in 2023, Regulatory Quality at -1.44, Rule of Law at -1.62, Control of Corruption at -1.22, and Government Effectiveness at -1.75, all signaling underperforming governance relative to many peers. These negative scores reflect ongoing conflict dynamics, institutional weakness, and challenges in delivering public services, enforcing laws, and maintaining policy predictability. Such governance conditions tend to elevate risk for investors and complicate the implementation of large-scale social and economic reforms. The data can help explain constraints on budgetary space for health, education, and infrastructure, as well as potential delays in implementing regulatory reforms essential for stable growth. The presence of a sizable military expenditure in a context of governance weakness further complicates the allocation of public resources toward development priorities. Overall, governance and institutional performance in Myanmar underscore a need for inclusive, credible reforms in rule of law, anti-corruption, efficiency of government functions, and security to create a more conducive environment for sustainable development and private sector investment.

Infrastructure and Technology

Myanmar shows a rapidly expanding but uneven digital landscape and a constrained innovation environment. Individuals using the Internet account for 58.5% of the population in 2023, reflecting meaningful digital connectivity progress yet leaving substantial portions of the population without online access, particularly in rural areas. Research and development expenditure remains very low at 0.0238% of GDP in 2023, indicating limited capacity to domestically generate new technologies or adapt advanced processes, which can hamper productivity growth and long-term competitiveness. The country’s technology export footprint is small, with high-technology exports valued at 190.4 million US dollars in 2023, signaling limited manufactured tech intensity and reliance on traditional sectors. However, the relatively high share of renewable energy consumption (62.9% of total final energy consumption in 2021) points to potential strengths in energy infrastructure, likely dominated by hydropower and other renewables. This energy mix can offer low-carbon advantages but also raises concerns about resilience to hydrological risk and climate variability. The balance of digital access, limited R&D investment, and modest tech exports suggests a policy focus on expanding broadband coverage, building a domestic innovation ecosystem, and fostering private-public partnerships to translate renewables and digital capabilities into broader economic development.

Environment and Sustainability

Myanmar’s environmental profile presents both opportunities and vulnerabilities. Renewable energy consumption accounted for 62.9% of total final energy consumption in 2021, indicating a strong reliance on renewable sources, likely dominated by hydropower, which offers potential for low-carbon development but also introduces exposure to climate-related hydrological fluctuations. The level of water stress, measured as freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources, stands at 5.8% in 2021, suggesting relatively low current water stress, though this metric can evolve with population growth, industrial demand, and climate patterns. Total greenhouse gas emissions per capita reach 2.13 t CO2e in 2023, a moderate level consistent with still-developing economies and limited heavy industry. The prevalence of undernourishment is 5.3% (2022), signaling persistent but not universal dietary insufficiency, while the population experiences a net outflow of nearly 38,000 people in 2024, which can reflect both conflict-driven displacement and climate- or security-related migration pressures. Taken together, Myanmar’s environmental indicators reveal a country with substantial renewable energy potential and relatively low water stress, but facing climate resilience challenges, governance weaknesses, and development constraints that complicate sustainable planning and investment.