Burma Military - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Burmese Defense Service (Tatmadaw): Army (Tatmadaw Kyi), Navy (Tatmadaw Yay), Air Force (Tatmadaw Lay); People’s Militia; Ministry of Home Affairs: People's Police Force; Border Guard Forces/Police (2022)

note: under the 2008 constitution, the Tatmadaw controls appointments of senior officials to lead the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Border Affairs, and the Ministry of Home Affairs; in March 2022, a new law gave the commander-in-chief of the Tatmadaw the authority to appoint or remove the head of the police force

Military expenditures

3.4% of GDP (2021 est.)

3% of GDP (2020 est.)

4.1% of GDP (2019 est.) (approximately $7.7 billion)

4.4% of GDP (2018 est.) (approximately $8.1 billion)

4.7% of GDP (2017 est.) (approximately $7.8 billion)

Military and security service personnel strengths

estimates vary widely, from approximately 300,000 to as many as 400,000 active duty personnel (2022)

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 have been the leading suppliers of military hardware; Burma has a limited defense industry, including a growing shipbuilding capability (2022)

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 (2021)

Military - note

since the country's founding, the armed forces have been heavily involved in domestic politics, running the country for five decades following a military coup in 1962; prior to the 2021 coup, the military already controlled three key security ministries (Defense, Border, and Home Affairs), one of two vice presidential appointments, 25% of the parliamentary seats, and had a proxy political party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)

as of 2022, the military owned and operated two business conglomerates that had over 100 subsidiaries and close ties to other companies; the business activities of these conglomerates included 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 supplied goods and services to the military, such as food, clothing, insurance, and cellphone service; the military also managed a film industry, publishing houses, and television stations

as of 2022, the military's primary operational focus was internal security, particularly attempts to quell a growing armed insurgency against the 2021 coup and operations against ethnic-based separatist groups; these operations have resulted in numerous civilian casualties, human rights abuses, and internal displacement--ethnic-based armed groups have been fighting for self-rule against the Burmese Government since the country’s 1948 independence; as of 2022, there were approximately 20 such groups operating in Burma with strengths of a few hundred up to more than 20,000 estimated fighters; some were organized along military lines with "brigades" and "divisions" and armed with heavy weaponry, including artillery; they reportedly controlled an estimated one-third of the country’s territory, primarily in the border regions; key groups included the United Wa State Army, Karen National Union, Kachin Independence Army, Arakan Army, Ta’ang National Liberation Army, and the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army

as of 2022, Burma also had a large number of other armed militias which took many different forms and varied in allegiances and size; most were pro-military junta and associated with the Burmese military (Tatmadaw); some were integrated within the Tatmadaw’s command structure as Border Guard Forces (BGF); the BGF were organized as 325-man battalions, which included a mix of militia forces, ethnic armed groups, and government soldiers; they were armed, supplied, and paid by the Tatmadaw; other pro-military government militias were not integrated within the Tatmadaw command structure but received direction from the military and were recognized as government militias; the amount of support they received from the Tatmadaw varied depending on local security conditions; the third type of pro-government militias were small community-based units that were armed, coordinated, and trained by local Tatmadaw forces and activated as needed; as of 2022, the military junta government was raising new militia units to help combat the popular uprising

in mid-2022, the rebel National Unity Government claimed its armed wing, the People's Defense Force (PDF), had more than 60,000 fighters organized into battalions; in addition, several armed ethnic groups have added their support to anti-junta resistance groups or joined forces with local units of the PDF (2022)

NOTE: The information regarding Burma on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Burma 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Burma 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.