Union of Myanmar
Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw
CAPITAL: Yangon (formerly Rangoon)
FLAG: The national flag is red with a blue canton, within which 14 white stars encircle a rice stalk and an industrial wheel.
ANTHEM: Kaba Makye (Our Free Homeland).
MONETARY UNIT: The kyat (K) is a paper currency of 100 pyas. There are coins of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 pyas and 1 kyat, and notes of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 100 kyats. K1 = $0.00125 (or $1 = K800) as of May 2003.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: Both British and metric weights and measures are in general use, but local units also are employed.
HOLIDAYS: Independence Day, 4 January; Union Day, 12 February; Peasants' Day, 2 March; Defense Services Day, 27 March; Burmese New Year, 17 April; World Workers' Day, 1 May; Martyrs' Day, 19 July; Christmas, 25 December. Movable religious holidays include Full Moon of Tabaung, February or March; Thingyan (Water Festival), April; Full Moon of Kason, April or May; Waso (Beginning of Buddhist Lent), June or July; Thadingyut (End of Buddhist Lent), October; and Tazaungdaing, November.
TIME: 6:30 PM = noon GMT.
Myanmar was admitted to UN membership on 19 April 1948; it is a member of ESCAP and all the nonregional specialized agencies. Regional bodies to which Myanmar belongs include the Asian Development Bank, ASEAN, and the Colombo Plan; it also is a member of G-77, a member of the WTO, and a signatory to the Law of the Sea. Myanmar's foreign policy is neutralist, and the country belongs to no alliances.
All 78 foreign insurance companies registered in Myanmar were nationalized on 1 March 1963. All forms of insurance, including life, fire, marine, automobile, workers' compensation, personal accident, and burglary, are handled by the Myanma Insurance Corp. Life insurance coverage is compulsory for government employees.
Myanmar has no territories or colonies.