Myanmar Population 2024

Myanmar (formerly Burma) is a Southeast Asian nation, It borders China in the north and northeast, Laos and Thailand in the east, and Bangladesh and the Indian states of Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram in the northwest. Myanmar population in 2024 is estimated to be 56.22 million, The country covers an area of 676,578 sq km, making it almost twice the size of Germany or slightly smaller than the US state of Texas. According to the U.N humanitarian agency, around 700 thousand people have been displaced by conflict since last year coup. Myanmar capital is Naypyidaw, a planned city in the country. Yangon (formerly Rangoon), the country's largest city, is home to bustling markets, numerous parks and lakes, and the towering, gilded Shwedagon Pagoda, which contains Buddhist relics and dates to the 6th century. Myanmar has a long coastline along the Bay of Bengal, the Gulf of Mottama and the Andaman Sea in the south. 28.2% of population of Myanmar is urban where as 71.8% is rural.

Religions in Myanmar

Religions in Myanmar are 90% of the Myanmar population follows Theravada Buddhism. The vast majority of Burmans and Shan are Buddhist. There is, however, a significant Protestant Christian minority, concentrated primarily among the Karen, Kachin, and Chin communities. Hindus are among the smallest religious minorities who have migrated mostly during British era.

Racial Groups in Myanmar

Myanmar has more than 100 ethnic groups. The Burmans, who form the largest group, account for more than half of the population. Other groups are Karen, Shan, Han Chinese, Mon, Yangby and Kachin. The Mon were conquered in the 11th century by the Burmans, and by the end of the 18th century they had largely been incorporated into Burman society. The Karen, Constituting about one-tenth of the population are the only hill people who have settled in significant numbers in the plains and they are the second largest ethnic group in Myanmar. They are found in the deltas among the Burmans, in the Bago Mountains, and along both sides of the lower Salween River. The Kayah ethnic group, who live on the southern edge of the Shan Plateau, were once known as the Red Karen, or Karenni, apparently for their red robes. The Shan represent a small but significant portion of the Myanmar population who lives in Shan plateau. Ethnic Indians today are estimated to account for approximately 2% (about 950,000) of the population of Burma and are concentrated largely in the two major cities (Yangon and Mandalay) and former colonial towns (Pyin U Lwin and Kalaw).

Languages in Myanmar

Official language is Burmese, Languages in Myanmar are Burmese, Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Chin, Mon, Rakhine, and Shan are major regional languages.

Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government relocated the administrative functions to the purpose-built capital city of Naypyidaw in north central Myanmar. With over 7 million people, Yangon is Myanmar's most populous city and its most important commercial centre. In the 1790s, the East India Company opened a factory in Yangon. The estimated population of Yangon in 1823 was about 30,000. The British captured Yangon and all of Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, and subsequently transformed Yangon into the commercial and political hub of British Burma. After the war, the British moved the capital of British Burma from Moulmein (present-day Mawlamyine) to Yangon. As per the census of 1931, the total population of Rangoon was 400,415 out of which comprised 212,929 Indians. Before World War II, By 1939, about 55% of (Rangoon) Yangon's population of 500,000 was Indian, about one-third was Burmese, Karens, Chinese and others made to rest. Yangon was under Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, after World War II, The city was retaken by British in May 1945. Yangon became the capital of the Union of Burma on 4 January 1948 when the country gained independence from British rule. In 1989, the military junta changed the English name Rangoon to Yangon.

Naypyidaw, officially spelled Nay Pyi Taw, The constitution states that Naypyidaw shall be a Union Territory under the direct administration of the President. It contains Naypyidaw, the capital city of Myanmar. Naypyidaw is Burmese for abode of the king, and is generally translated as royal capital.

Myanmar is a land of villages. Except for a few large cities—notably Yangon, Mandalay, and Mawlamyine (Moulmein). Moulmein Main Road, Rangoon. Myanmar population in 2023 is estimated to be 55.81 million, population in 2022 is estimated to be 55.4 million, and in 2021 is estimated to be 55 million.

History of Myanmar

Early civilisations in the area included the Tibeto Burman speaking Pyu city states in Upper Myanmar and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Myanmar. In the 9th century, the Bamar(Sino Tibetian ethnic group) people entered the upper Irrawaddy valley, and following the establishment of the Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language, culture, and Theravada Buddhism slowly became dominant in the country. The Pagan Kingdom fell to Mongol invasions, and several warring states emerged. In the 16th century, reunified by the Taungoo dynasty, the country became the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia for a short period. The early 19th-century Konbaung dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Myanmar and briefly controlled Manipur and Assam as well. The Burmese empire grew through conquests of Thailand (Ayutthaya) and India (Manipur), and shrank under attacks from China and internal rebellions.

Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) and incorporated it into British colonial Empire. It was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate self-governing colony.

While the Burmese independence fighters led by Aung San initially cooperated with the Japanese to oust the British, with the Japanese promising to grant independence to Burma in exchange, it soon became apparent that the Japanese promises of independence were empty. The Japanese occupation was very brutal, and many Burmese were killed, such as in the Kalagong massacre. Aung San subsequently switched allegiance and helped the British win Burma back from the Japanese. Aung San subsequently led negotiations with the British for Burmese independence after the end of World War II, and the British agreed in 1947 to grant independence to Burma the following year, though Aung San himself was assassinated later in the year and never lived to see his dream come true. Independence from the British under the name Union of Burma was finally attained in 1948, and till this day, Aung San is regarded by most Burmese people to be the father of independence.

During colonial times, ethnic Indians formed the backbone of the government and economy serving as soldiers, civil servants, merchants, moneylenders, mobile laborers and dock workers. A series of anti-Indian riots in the 1930s and mass emigration at the onset of the Japanese invasion of Burma in 1942 were followed in the 1960s by the forced migration of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Indians, exacerbated by internal conflict in Myanmar.

In 1962, an army coup led by Ne Win overthrew the government and established an authoritarian state. From 1962 to 2011, the country was ruled by a military junta with absolute power. The country's name was changed to Myanmar in 1989 by the ruling military government, officially recognized by the United Nations.

In 2011, the military junta was dissolved following a general election in 2010, and a civilian government has been installed. Since April 2016, Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy of Myanmar, is the incumbent State Counsellor and plays a vital role in the government, but her influence is relatively weak.

Population Projection

The first modern population census was carried out for lower Myanmar in 1872 under the British administration, as a part of Indian census. Thereafter censuses were taken every ten years starting from 1881. The 1872 and 1881 censuses covered only lower Myanmar. 1891 census and subsequence censuses were taken for the whole of the country. The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census was conducted based on the De-facto approach.

According to dop, Reason for Internal migration of population in the country are 8.3 million people has migrated between states, out of these 2.6 million migrated in search of employment, 283,811 people migrated on education purpose, 2.19 million migrated due to marriage, 3 million due to family followed, 60,149 due to Conflict, 22 thousand due to medical purpose, 63 thousand due to Natural disaster and 57 thousand stated for others.

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