Myanmar

Myanmar

POPULATION 42,238,224
BUDDHIST 87.2 percent
CHRISTIAN 5.6 percent
MUSLIM 3.6 percent
HINDU 1.0 percent
OTHER 2.6 percent

Country Overview

Introduction

The Union of Myanmar, also called Burma, situated along the southeastern rim of continental Asia, is bordered by five countries: India and Bangladesh to the west, China to the north and east, and Laos and Thailand to the east. To the south of Myanmar and the west of peninsular Myanmar lies the Bay of Bengal. Myanmar is an economically undeveloped, semitropical, and mountainous country whose people have relied on rivers as the major travel routes. Buddhist monks accompanied Indian traders sailing to Myanmar's ports along the Bay of Bengal. Buddhist monks, however, also crossed mountains and used river routes to enter the country from the north.

Theravada Buddhism, the dominant religion in Myanmar, appeared about 2,000 years ago. Hinduism also dates back to this time. Christianity was encouraged during British colonial rule in the nineteenth century and has drawn the most converts from Myanmar's tribal animist populations. The ancestors of many of Myanmar's Muslims arrived during the British colonial period.

The impact of British colonial rule on the Buddhist sangha (community of monks) led monks to identify the precolonial past as a time when "pure" Buddhism flourished in Burma.

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