f Mission Franklin P.
HUDDLE, Jr.; Embassy at 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (mailing address
is G. P. O. Box 521, Rangoon or Box B, APO San Francisco 96346);
telephone 82055 or 82181

_#_Flag: red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner
bearing, all in white, 14 five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel
containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 14 administrative
divisions

_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Burma is a poor Asian country, with a per capita GDP
of about $400. The nation has been unable to achieve any substantial
improvement in export earnings because of falling prices for many
of its major commodity exports. For rice, traditionally the most
important export, the drop in world prices has been accompanied by
shrinking markets and a smaller volume of sales. In 1985 teak replaced
rice as the largest export and continues to hold this position. The
economy is heavily dependent on the agricultural sector, which generates
about half of GDP and provides employment for 66% of the work force.

_#_GDP: $16.8 billion, per capita $408; real growth rate NEGL%
(FY90 est.)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 22.6% (FY89 est.)

_#_Unemployment rate: 9.6% in urban areas (FY89 est.)

_#_Budget: revenues $4.9 billion; expenditures $5.0 billion,
including capital expenditures of $0.7 billion (FY89 est.)

_#_Exports: $228 million (f.o.b., FY89)

commodities--teak, rice, oilseed, metals, rubber, gems;

partners--Southeast Asia, India, China, EC, Africa

_#_Imports: $540 million (c.i.f., FY89)

commodities--machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, food
products;

partners--Japan, EC, China, Southeast Asia

_#_External debt: $5.5 billion (December 1990 est.)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate 2.6% (FY90 est.); accounts
for 10% of GDP

_#_Electricity: 950,000 kW capacity; 2,900 million kWh produced,
70 kWh per capita (1990)

_#_Industries: agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood
and wood products; petroleum refining; mining of copper, tin, tungsten,
iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer

_#_Agriculture: accounts for 51% of GDP (including fish and
forestry); self-sufficient in food; principal crops--paddy rice, corn,
oilseed, sugarcane, pulses; world's largest stand of hardwood trees;
rice and teak account for 55% of export revenues; fish catch of
732,000 metric tons (FY90)

_#_Illicit drugs: world's largest illicit producer of