BURMA – ISOLATED STATE

Bhuri Gandak

Burma is located in the western portion of mainland Southeast Asia. It has an area of 261,228 square miles (676,577 square kilometers). It is bordered by China to the north and northeast, Laos to the east, Thailand to the southeast, the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal to the south and southwest, Bangladesh to the west, and India to the northwest.

In 1989 the country's official English name was changed from the Union of Burma to the Union of Myanmar; in the Burmese language the country has been known as Myanmar (or, more precisely, Mranma Pran) since the 13th century. Also in 1989, the English name of the capital, Rangoon, was dropped in favor of the common Burmese name, Yangon. In this article, the name Burma is used for the country during the period of British rule (1885–1948) and during the subsequent period of independence until 1989; the name Myanmar is used in all other contexts.

Myanmar stretches from latitude 10° N to about 28° 30′ N. It is thus the northernmost of the Southeast Asian countries, with considerable territory situated outside the tropics. The country is shaped like a kite with a long tail that runs south along the Malay Peninsula. Its total length from north to south is about 1,275 miles (2,050 kilometers), and its width at the widest part, across the centre of the country at about the latitude of Mandalay, is approximately 580 miles from east to west.