Demographics of Myanmar explained

Place:Myanmar
Size Of Population:57,526,449 (2022 est.)
Growth:0.78% (2022 est.)
Nation:Burmese
Major Ethnic:Burman (Bamar) (68%)
Birth:16.34 births/1,000 population
Death:8.75 deaths/1,000 population
Net Migration:-1.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Age 0–14 Years:26.93%
Age 15–64 Years:66.49%
Age 65 Years:6.58%
Sr At Birth:1.06 male(s)/female
Total Mf Ratio:0.97 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
Infant Mortality:32.94 deaths/1,000 live births
Life:69.92 years
Life Male:68.27 years
Life Female:71.67 years
Fertility:2.02 children

This is a demography of Myanmar (also known as Burma) including statistics such as population, ethnicity, language, education level, and religious affiliations.

Population

1983 census

At the time of the 1983 census in Burma, as of 31 March 1983, the population was 35,442,972., this was estimated by the CIA World Factbook to have increased to 60,584,650. Other estimates put place the total population at around 60 million. China's People's Daily reported that Burma had a census in 2007, and at the end of 2009 has 59.2 million people, and growing at 2% annually.[1] with exception for Cyclone Nargis in 2008. Most of these estimates have indeed overlooked the demographic changes that were at work since the 1970s in the country.[2] [3] [4]

Britain-based human rights agencies place the population as high as 70 million. Estimates for the country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS. This can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.

No trustworthy census has occurred since the 1930s. In the 1940s, the detailed census results were destroyed during the Japanese invasion of 1942. Census results after that time have been flawed by civil wars and a series of military governments. The census in 1983 occurred at a time when parts of the country were controlled by insurgent groups and inaccessible to the government.

2014 census

See main article: 2014 Myanmar census.

The Provisional results of the 2014 census show that the total population of Myanmar is 51,419,420—a population well below the official estimates of more than 60 million.[3] [4] This total population includes 50,213,067 persons counted during the census and an estimated 1,206,353 persons in parts of northern Rakhine State, Kachin State and Kayin State who were not counted. More females (51.8%) were counted than males (48.2%). People who were out of the country at the time of the census are not included in these figures.

The provisional census results indicated that there were 10,889,348 households in Myanmar. On average, 4.4 people lived in each household in the country. The average household size was highest in Kachin State and Chin State at 5.1. The lowest household sizes were observed in Ayeyawady Region, Bago Region, Magway Region and Naypyidaw Union Territory, each at 4.1.[5]

Vital statistics

Burma has a low fertility rate (2.23 in 2011), slightly above replacement level, especially as compared to other Southeast Asian countries of similar economic standing, like Cambodia (3.18) and Laos (4.41), representing a significant decline from 4.7 in 1983 to 2.4 in 2001, despite the absence of any national population policy.[2] [4] [6] [7]

The fertility rate is much pronouncedly lower in urban areas. This is attributed to extreme delays in marriage (almost unparalleled in the region, with the exception of developed countries), the prevalence of illegal abortions, and the high proportion of single, unmarried women of reproductive age (with 25.9% of women aged 30–34 and 33.1% of men and women aged 25–34 single).[7] [8]

These patterns stem from several cultural and economic dynamics. The first is economic hardship, which results in the delay of marriage and family-building (the average age of marriage in Burma is 27.5 for men, 26.4 for women).[7] [8] The second is the social acceptability of celibacy among the Burmese, who are predominantly Buddhist and value celibacy as a means of spiritual development.[6] [9]

Births and deaths

Year[10] Live births per yearDeaths per yearNatural change per yearCBR1CDR1NC1TFR1IMR1
1950808,000496,000312,00045.6 28.017.65.95213.7
1951820,000499,000321,00045.427.617.85.95209.8
1952832,000485,000347,00045.226.418.95.95201.1
1953845,000478,000367,00045.125.519.65.96193.6
1954858,000469,000389,00044.824.520.35.97186.7
1955868,000463,000404,00044.523.720.75.97180.6
1956879,000458,000421,00044.123.021.15.98175.2
1957891,000456,000435,00043.822.421.45.99170.5
1958900,000452,000447,00043.321.721.55.99166.4
1959908,000451,000457,00042.721.221.55.99162.8
1960917,000449,000467,00042.220.721.55.98159.3
1961926,000449,000477,00041.720.221.55.98155.7
1962938,000447,000491,00041.319.721.65.99151.7
1963948,000445,000503,00040.919.221.75.99147.4
1964960,000439,000521,00040.418.522.05.99142.3
1965974,000431,000543,00040.117.822.35.99136.9
1966983,000425,000559,00039.617.122.55.96131.3
1967996,000418,000578,00039.116.422.75.92126.2
19681,007,000413,000594,00038.715.922.85.87121.8
19691,019,000417,000601,00038.2 15.722.65.81119.6
19701,032,000420,000612,00037.815.422.45.75117.8
19711,046,000420,000625,00037.515.122.45.68115.9
19721,056,000424,000632,00037.014.922.15.59113.8
19731,066,000426,000640,00036.514.621.95.49111.8
19741,069,000427,000643,00035.914.321.65.38109.7
19751,078,000429,000649,00035.514.121.45.29107.8
19761,088,000428,000659,00035.113.821.35.21105.7
19771,096,000430,000666,00034.713.621.15.12103.7
19781,105,000435,000670,00034.313.520.85.02102.0
19791,117,000434,000683,00034.013.220.84.9499.9
19801,122,000434,000687,00033.513.020.54.8398.0
19811,129,000437,000692,00033.112.820.34.7396.2
19821,145,000439,000706,00032.912.620.34.6794.5
19831,162,000443,000719,00032.812.520.34.6292.8
19841,169,000447,000722,00032.312.420.04.5091.3
19851,153,000450,000702,00031.312.219.14.3089.9
19861,133,000452,000681,00030.212.018.14.0988.4
19871,112,000453,000659,00029.111.817.23.8987.0
19881,094,000459,000636,00028.111.816.43.7185.5
19891,102,000455,000646,00027.911.516.43.6483.9
19901,102,000461,000641,00027.511.516.03.5482.3
19911,101,000461,000640,00027.011.315.73.4580.8
19921,096,000462,000634,00026.611.215.43.3679.1
19931,092,000461,000631,00026.111.015.13.2877.3
19941,082,000461,000621,00025.510.914.73.1975.6
19951,072,000461,000611,00025.010.714.23.1174.0
19961,068,000452,000616,00024.610.414.23.0472.2
19971,059,000453,000606,00024.110.313.82.9670.6
19981,051,000448,000603,00023.610.113.52.8969.0
19991,046,000454,000592,00023.210.113.12.8367.4
20001,046,000456,000590,00022.910.012.92.7965.9
20011,059,000458,000601,00023.09.913.02.7864.3
20021,071,000460,000612,00023.09.913.12.7862.8
20031,054,000461,000593,00022.49.812.62.7061.1
20041,033,000462,000571,00021.89.712.02.6259.5
20051,016,000460,000556,00021.39.611.62.5557.8
20061,004,000461,000543,00020.89.611.32.5056.0
20071,000,000457,000543,00020.69.411.22.4854.2
2008984,000593,000391,00020.212.18.02.4362.8
2009973,000451,000521,00019.89.210.62.3950.5
2010960,000456,000504,00019.49.210.22.3548.7
2011952,000450,000502,00019.19.010.12.3146.9
2012943,000453,000489,00018.89.09.72.2745.2
2013941,000446,000495,00018.68.89.82.2643.5
2014941,000450,000491,00018.48.89.62.2442.0
2015948,000447,000501,00018.48.79.72.2540.7
2016952,000455,000497,00018.38.89.62.2539.4
2017949,000461,000488,00018.18.89.32.2338.1
2018942,000455,000488,00017.98.69.22.2136.9
2019938,000461,000476,00017.78.79.02.2035.7
2020928,000471,000457,00017.48.88.52.1734.6
2021920,000526,000395,00017.19.87.32.1533.7
1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Fertility and births

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[11]

Crude Birth Rate (CBR), Total Fertility Rate (TFR), and Total Marital Fertility Rate (TMFR) by region (2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census):[12]

Region Crude Birth Rate (CBR) Total Fertility Rate (TFR) Total Marital Fertility Rate (TMFR)
Total (Myanmar) 18.8 2.29 4.0
Urban 15.8 1.79 3.6
Rural 20.1 2.52 4.2
Kachin22.0 2.82 5.1
Kayah26.1 3.34 5.7
Kayin23.8 3.43 5.4
Chin29.9 4.37 6.9
Sagaing19.4 2.32 4.4
Tanintharyi21.9 2.98 5.0
Bago17.6 2.19 3.6
Magway17.6 2.07 3.8
Mandalay16.9 1.94 3.7
Mon18.1 2.44 4.2
Rakhine18.0 2.24 3.5
Yangon15.5 1.72 3.3
Shan21.2 2.67 4.3
Ayeyawady20.2 2.58 4.1
Naypyitaw18.7 2.15 3.4

Structure of the population

Age GroupMaleFemaleTotal%
Total30 139 44730 836 54660 975 993100
0-42 892 3462 843 8045 736 1509.41
5-93 019 5382 933 7515 953 0549.76
10-143 061 7252 939 7516 001 4769.84
15-192 939 1762 830 8305 770 0069.46
20-242 804 0282 729 4665 533 4949.07
25-292 608 6522 578 1755 186 8278.51
30-342 378 3952 414 2214 792 6167.86
35-392 134 8202 212 3154 347 1357.13
40-441 868 7091 984 9073 853 6166.32
45-491 604 9101 737 5703 342 4805.48
50-541 325 5841 459 9782 785 5624.57
55-591 081 4791 213 5292 295 0083.76
60-64838 871962 7281 801 5992.95
65-69647 286766 0661 413 3522.32
70-74477 948593 6661 071 6141.76
75-79335 405449 974785 3791.29
80+120 575186 050306 6250.50
Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent
0-148 973 6098 717 30617 690 91529.01
15-6419 584 62420 123 48439 708 10865.12
65+1 581 2141 995 7563 576 9705.87
Age GroupMaleFemaleTotal%
Total24 228 71426 051 18650 279 900100
0-42 262 7832 209 3474 472 1308.89
5-92 438 3722 380 7054 819 0779.58
10-142 595 7592 512 6135 108 36210.16
15-192 290 9982 334 9914 625 9899.20
20-242 091 5252 239 5444 331 0698.61
25-291 995 4652 150 6694 146 1348.25
30-341 884 5492 014 3123 898 8617.75
35-391 705 6301 857 8503 563 4807.09
40-441 548 9421 734 1313 283 0736.53
45-491 375 0411 571 1072 946 1485.86
50-541 182 3411 376 8912 559 2325.09
55-59935 9791 115 9582 051 9374.08
60-64712 040864 8051 576 8453.14
65-69466 618597 8751 064 4932.12
70-74301 679411 491713 1701.42
75-79228 315324 983553 2981.10
80-84130 875204 701335 5760.67
85-8956 979101 090158 0690.31
90+24 83448 12372 9570.15
Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent
0-147 296 9047 102 66514 399 56928.64
15-6415 722 51017 260 25832 982 76865.60
65+1 209 3001 688 2632 897 5635.76
Age GroupMaleFemaleTotal%
Total26 253 02928 564 888 54 817 917100
0–42 530 9192 466 6364 997 5559.12
5–92 440 079 2 391 0314 831 1108.81
10–142 498 6902 434 9824 933 6729.00
15–192 580 2052 502 4275 082 6329.27
20–242 303 8932 352 5344 656 4278.49
25–292 048 2872 234 7354 283 0227.81
30–341 933 9972 157 1914 091 1887.46
35–391 848 3912 048 8163 897 2077.11
40–441 686 6271 892 3463 578 9736.53
45–491 524 7181 764 3613 289 0796.00
50–541 352 1841 607 9002 960 0845.40
55–591 155 2161 413 1512 568 3674.69
60–64896 1351 145 018 2 041 1533.72
65-69640 767863 9561 504 7232.74
70-74395 453576 158971 6111.77
75-79211 626342 884554 5101.01
80-84124 414213 715338 1290.62
85-8961 122113 105174 2270.32
90+20 30643 94264 2480.12
Age group MaleFemaleTotalPercent
0–147 469 6887 292 64914 762 33726.93
15–6417 329 65319 118 47936 448 13266.49
65+1 453 6882 153 7603 607 4486.58

Life expectancy

PeriodLife expectancy in
Years		PeriodLife expectancy in
Years
1950–195536.11985–199057.8
1955–196041.31990–199559.6
1960–196544.21995–200061.3
1965–197049.62000–200562.9
1970–197551.92005–201064.3
1975–198054.02010–201566.0
1980–198556.0

Source: UN World Population Prospects[13]

Ethnic groups

See main article: article and List of ethnic groups in Myanmar.

Government classifications

The Burmese government identifies eight major national ethnic groups (which comprise 135 "distinct" ethnic groups), which include the Bamar (68%), Shan (10%), Karen (7%), Rakhine (4%), Mon (3%), Kayah (1.5%), and Kachin (1.3%). However, the government classification system is flawed, because it groups ethnic groups by geography, rather than by linguistic or genetic similarity (e.g. the Kokang are under the Shan ethnicity, although they are a Han Chinese sub-group).

Unrecognised ethnic groups include Burmese Han-Chinese and Burmese Indians, who form 3% and 2% of the population respectively. The remaining 5% of the population belong to small ethnic groups such as the remnants of the Anglo-Burmese and Anglo-Indian communities, as well as the Lisu, Rawang, Naga, Padaung, Burmese Gurkha, Moken, and many minorities across Shan State.

Language

See main article: article and Languages of Myanmar.

The official language and primary medium of instruction of Burma is Burmese (65%). Multiple languages are spoken in Burma, that includes Shan (7.4%), Karen (6.2%), Hindi or Urdu (4.3%), Kachin (2.1%), Chinese (2%) Chin (1.6%), Bengali (1.3%), Mon (1.8%), and Rakhine (2%), Nepali (1%). Additionally English is spoken as a second language, particularly by the educated urban elite, and is the secondary language learnt in government schools. In recent years, instruction of the Chinese language has been recovered, after long-term limitations from the government of Myanmar.

Religious affiliation

Religious
group		Population
% 1973[14] 		Population
% 1983		Population
% 2014[15]
Buddhism88.8% 89.4% 87.9%
Christianity4.6% 4.9% 6.2%
Islam3.9% 3.9% 4.3%
Hinduism0.4% 0.5% 0.5%
Tribal religions2.2% 1.2% 0.8%
Other religions0.1% 0.1% 0.2%
Not religiousn/a n/a 0.1%
Religion in Myanmar! Faith !! %
(2008 est.)
Total Buddhism 89%
89%
<1%
Total Christianity 4%
3%
1%
Total Islam 4%
4%
＞0%
Total other religions <1%
1%
Other (inc. Hinduism) 2%

Buddhist Sangha

Below are statistics regarding the Buddhist monastic community in Myanmar, compiled by the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee.[16]

Sangha in Myanmar
DivisionSamanera members%Bhikkhu members%Sangha members%
Kachin State3,1211.2%4,8451.7%7,9661.5%
Kayah State1,3000.5%7600.3%2,0600.4%
Kayin State5,9672.4%8,1132.9%14,0802.6%
Chin State1570.1%3000.1%4570.1%
Sagaing Region25,0509.9%29,99110.6%55,04110.3%
Tanintharyi Region3,0091.2%6,0862.2%9,0951.7%
Naypyidaw Union Territory5,7132.3%5,2431.9%10,9562%
Bago Region18,0327.1%32,16611.4%50,1989.4%
Magway Region13,6545.4%17,6956.3%31,3495.9%
Mandalay Region47,21718.7%52,74718.7%99,96418.7%
Mon State13,4665.3%19,3036.8%32,7696.1%
Rakhine State6,3952.5%6,5482.3%12,9432.4%
Yangon Region36,65414.5%51,78818.3%88,44216.5%
Shan State57,85022.9%19,6637%77,51314.5%
Ayeyawady Region15,3776.1%27,1179.6%42,4947.9%
Subtotal252,962100%282,365100%535,227100%
Thilashin in Myanmar! Division! Thilashin members! %
Kachin State1,1031.8%
Kayah State3030.5%
Kayin State1,0001.7%
Chin State430.1%
Sagaing Region9,91516.4%
Tanintharyi Region9781.6%
Naypyidaw Union Territory9231.5%
Bago Region5,1008.4%
Magway Region2,4734.1%
Mandalay Region8,17413.5%
Mon State3,5505.9%
Rakhine State5340.9%
Yangon Region16,96028.1%
Shan State3,8146.3%
Ayeyawady Region5,5209.1%
Subtotal60,390100%

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Age structure

Median age

Population growth rate

0.91% (2017 est.)

Urbanisation

Human sex ratios

Life expectancy

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Literacy

Age 15 and over can read and write, official statistics:

Education expenditures

0.8% of GDP (2011)

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Myanmar population hits over 59 mln in 2009. 1 July 2010. People's Daily. Xinhua. 17 July 2011. 29 April 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110429050508/http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7049436.html. live.
  2. Spoorenberg . Thomas . 2013 . Demographic changes in Myanmar since 1983: An examination of official data . Population and Development Review . 39 . 2 . 309–324 . 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2013.00593.x .
  3. Spoorenberg . Thomas . 2015 . Provisional results of the 2014 census of Myanmar: The surprise that wasn't . Asian Population Studies . 11 . 1 . 4–6 . 10.1080/17441730.2014.972084 . 154114929 .
  4. Spoorenberg . Thomas . 2015 . Myanmar's first census in more than 30 years: A radical revision of the official population count . Population & Societies . 527 . November . 1–4 . 9 December 2015 . 8 August 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190808043519/https://www.ined.fr/fichier/s_rubrique/24592/population.societies.2015.527.census.birma.en.en.pdf . dead .
  5. Book: Summary of the Provisional Results . Ministry of Immigration and Population . August 2014 . 31 August 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140903142929/http://countryoffice.unfpa.org/myanmar/drive/SummmaryoftheProvisionalResults.pdf . 3 September 2014 . dead . dmy-all .
  6. Jones . Gavin W. . 2007 . Delayed Marriage and Very Low Fertility in Pacific Asia . Population and Development Review . 33 . 3 . 453–478 . dead . https://www.webcitation.org/5x361pgmm?url=http://dahuang.dhxy.info/population/Delayed_Marriage_Fertility09.pdf . 2011-03-09 . 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2007.00180.x .
  7. Myat Mon . 2008 . The Economic Position of Women in Burma . Asian Studies Review . 24 . 2 . 243–255 . 10.1080/10357820008713272 . 144323033 .
  8. Web site: WorldMarriage Patterns 2000. 30 June 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20031225072830/https://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldmarriage/worldmarriagepatterns2000.pdf. 2003-12-25. dead. United Nations, Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 20 April 2023.
  9. Master's . V: Conclusion and Recommendation . The Determinants of Age at First Marriage in Myanmar . http://mulinet10.li.mahidol.ac.th/e-thesis/4738657.pdf . Nyi Nyi . 2005 . Mahidol University . 20 September 2010 . dmy .
  10. Web site: World Population Prospects: The 2022 Revision . 18 January 2021 . 16 August 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150816232627/http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm . live .
  11. Web site: Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey 2015-16. 15 March 2017. 28 August 2017. 24 March 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170324084948/http://www.dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR324/FR324.pdf. live.
  12. Web site: The Union Report : Census Report Volume 2. 10 April 2015. 28 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170215021040/http://www.themimu.info/sites/themimu.info/files/documents/Census_Union_Report_Eng_2015.pdf. 15 February 2017. dead.
  13. Web site: World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations. 2017-07-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20160919061238/https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DataQuery/. 19 September 2016. dead.
  14. Book: The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census Census Report Volume 2-C . Department of Population Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population MYANMAR . Department of Population Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population MYANMAR . July 2016 . 12–15 . 28 July 2016 . 27 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200427034248/https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B067GBtstE5TSl9FNElRRGtvMUk/view?usp=drive_open . live .
  15. Based on the estimated overall population, including both the enumerated and non-enumerated population (51,486,253), and on the assumption that the non-enumerated population in Rakhine State affiliate with the Islamic faith.
  16. Web site: 2016. ၁၃၈၁(၂၀၁၉) ခုနှစ်၊ ဝါဆိုသံဃာနှင့်သီလရှင်စာရင်း. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170817214424/http://www.mahana.org.mm:80/?page_id=98 . 17 August 2017 . 2021-01-18. နိုင်ငံတော် သံဃာ့မဟာနာယကအဖွဲ့. my.
  17. Book: The Union Report: Census Report Volume 2. Ministry of Immigration and Population. Nay Pyi Taw. 2015. The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census. 12.

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