LOCATED IN SOUTHEAST Asia, the Union of Myanmar has a land area of 261,227 sq. mi. (676,577 sq. km.), a population of 48,798,000 (2006 est.), and a population density of 193 people per sq. mi. (75 people per sq. km.). Yangon (formerly Rangoon), the largest city and the former capital, has a population of 4,668,775, making it the 29th largest city in the world. The new capital, Naypyidaw, dates from 2005, and, internationally, little is known about it. About 15 percent of the country is arable, an additional 1 percent used for pasture, and 34 percent of Myanmar remains forested, although there has been an increase in logging in recent years, with teak now the major export of the country.

Relatively underdeveloped, and with large parts ...