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Burma, officially Myanmar, is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China,
Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh and India. One-third of Burma's total perimeter forms an uninterrupted
coastline along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Myanmar is the 40th largest country
in the world and the second largest country in Southeast Asia. It is also the 24th most
populous country in the world with over 58.8 million people.
Burma is home to some of the early civilizations of Southeast Asia. In the 9th century, the
Burmans of the Kingdom of Nanzhao, entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following
the establishment of the Pagan Kingdom in 1057, the language and culture of these peoples
slowly became dominant in the country. Sometime during this period, Buddhism became the predominant
religion of the country. Following the Mongol invasion of Burma in 1287, the kingdom of
Pagan fell and a period of control by several warring states emerged. In the second half
of the 16th century, the country was reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty which, for a brief
period of time, was the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia. The 18th century
Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that includes modern Burma as well as Manipur in India.
In the 19th century, following three Anglo-Burmese Wars, Burma was colonized by Britain. British
rule brought social, economic, cultural and administrative changes to the once-feudal
society. Since independence in 1948, the country has been in one of the longest running civil
wars among the country's myriad ethnic groups that remains unresolved. From 1962 to 2011,
the country was under military rule. The military junta was dissolved in 2011 following a general
election in 2010 and a civilian government installed.