Burma Military - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Burmese Defense Service (Tatmadaw): Army (Tatmadaw Kyi), Navy (Tatmadaw Yay), Air Force (Tatmadaw Lay); People’s Militia; Border Guard Forces; Ministry of Home Affairs: People's Police Force (2021)

note: the Burmese military controls the People's Militia, Border Guard Forces, and the Ministry of Home Affairs

Military expenditures

2.7% of GDP (2019 est.)

2.9% of GDP (2018 est.)

3.2% of GDP (2017 est.)

3.7% of GDP (2016 est.)

4.1% of GDP (2015 est.)

Military and security service personnel strengths

information varies widely; approximately 400,000 total active troops (est. 360,000 Army; 20,000 Navy; 20,000 Air Force) (2021)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the Burmese military inventory is comprised mostly of older Chinese and Russian/Soviet-era equipment with a smaller mix of more modern acquisitions; since 2010, China and Russia are the leading suppliers of military hardware; Burma has a limited defense industry, including a growing shipbuilding capability (2020)

Military service age and obligation

18-35 years of age (men) and 18-27 years of age (women) for voluntary military service; no conscription (a 2010 law reintroducing conscription has not yet entered into force); 2-year service obligation; male (ages 18-45) and female (ages 18-35) professionals (including doctors, engineers, mechanics) serve up to 3 years; service terms may be stretched to 5 years in an officially declared emergency (2019)

Military - note

since the country's founding, the armed forces have been heavily involved in domestic politics and ran the country for five decades following a military coup in 1962; the military controls three key security ministries (Defense, Border, and Home Affairs), one of two vice presidential appointments, 25% of the parliamentary seats, and has a proxy political party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)

the military owns and operates two business conglomerates that have over 100 subsidiaries and have close ties to other companies; the business activities of these conglomerates include banking and insurance, hotels, tourism, jade and ruby mining, timber, construction, real estate, and the production of palm oil, sugar, soap, cement, beverages, drinking water, coal, and gas; some of the companies supply goods and services to the military, such as food, clothing, insurance, and cellphone service; the military also runs manages a film industry, publishing houses, and television stations

the military's primary operational focus is internal security, particularly counterinsurgency operations against ethnic-based insurgent groups; these operations have resulted in numerous civilian casualties, human rights abuses, and internal displacement

there are approximately 20 ethnic-based armed groups operating in Burma with strengths of a few hundred up to more than 20,000 estimated fighters; they are estimated to control about one-third of the country’s territory, primarily in the border regions; key groups include the United Wa State Army, the Karen National Union, the Kachin Independence Army, the Arakan Army, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, and the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army; in 2015, the Burmese Government signed a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with eight mostly small armed groups, including the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front, Arakan Liberation Party, Chin National Front, Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council, Karen National Union, Pa-O National Liberation Organization, and Shan State Army-South; seven other groups did not sign the NCA, but have signed bi-lateral ceasefires with the Burmese Government, including the National Democratic Alliance Army, Shan State Army, New Mon State Army, Karenni Army, National Socialist Council of Nagaland–Khaplang, and the United Wa State Army, which is assessed to be the largest and most capable group, with more than 20,000 fighters; others, such as the Arakan Army (Chin, Kachin, Rakhine, Shan states; the Arakan Army entered into ceasefire negotiations with the Burmese Government in November 2020), Kachin Independence Army (Kachin state), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (Shan state), Shanni Nationalities Army (Kachin state), and Taang National Liberation Army (Shan state) continue to engage in active insurgent operations against the Burmese Government; since March 2021, the Karen National Union has resumed fighting with the Burmese military

in addition, Burma has a large number (estimates run into the thousands) of armed militias which take many different forms and vary in allegiances and size; most are pro-government and associated with the Tatmadaw; some are integrated within the Tatmadaw’s command structure as Border Guard Forces (BGF); BGF are organized as 325-man battalions that include a mix of militia forces, ethnic armed groups, and government soldiers; they are armed, supplied, and paid by the Tatmadaw; other pro-government militias are not integrated within the Tatmadaw command structure, but receive direction from the military and are recognized as government militias; the amount of support they receive from the Tatmadaw varies depending on local security conditions; a third type of pro-government militias are small community-based militias that are armed, coordinated, and trained by local Tatmadaw units and activated as needed; anti-government militias are typically associated with ethnic-based armed organizations

NOTE: The information regarding Burma on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Burma 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Burma 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.