Myanmar

Its official name is Myanmar, although it was formerly known as Burma, and it is located in the Southeast Asian nation of Southeast Asia. Myanmar is surrounded on the northwest by Bangladesh and India, on the northeast by China, on the east and southeast by Laos and Thailand, and on the south and southwest by both the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Myanmar is also bordered on the west by Thailand and the Andaman Islands. Myanmar is the most populous nation in Mainland Southeast Asia and the tenth most populous country in the world by area. As of 2017, the country has a population of about 54 million people. Naypyidaw serves as the country's capital city, while Yangon serves as the country's biggest city (Rangoon).

Early civilisations in the region included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Myanmar and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Myanmar, both of which were located in Myanmar's northern region. The Bamar people first arrived in the upper Irrawaddy valley in the 9th century, and after the foundation of the Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language, culture, and Theravada Buddhism gradually gained dominance in the area, eventually becoming the official language. The Pagan Kingdom was overthrown by Mongol invasions, and many fighting nations arose as a result. It was only for a brief time in the 16th century that the nation, reunified by the Taungoo dynasty, rose to become the greatest empire in the history of Southeast Asia. The Konbaung dynasty reigned over a territory that encompassed current Myanmar and for a short period of time also included Manipur and Assam in the early nineteenth century. A series of Anglo-Burmese wars in the nineteenth century led to the establishment of the British East India Company as the administration of Myanmar, and the nation eventually became a British colony. A short Japanese occupation resulted in Myanmar being re-conquered by the Allies, and the country was given independence in 1948. The Burma Socialist Programme Party was in power after a coup in 1962, and the country was transformed into a military dictatorship.

However, Myanmar is not a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, nor is it a member of the East Asia Summit, the Non-Aligned Movement, ASEAN, or the Bilateral Investment and Market Development Cooperation. It is a mineral-rich nation with abundant jade and gemstones, as well as oil, natural gas, and other mineral resources. Myanmar is also well-endowed in terms of renewable energy; when compared to the other nations of the Great Mekong Subregion, it has the greatest solar power potential. In 2013, the country's nominal GDP was $56.7 billion, while its GDP (in purchasing power parity) was US$221.5 billion. Considering that a significant part of Myanmar's economic activity is controlled by supporters of its military regime, it has one of the world's most pronounced income disparities. According to the Human Development Index, Myanmar is ranked 147th out of 189 nations in terms of human development as of the year 2020.