iMAP Myanmar 2023 Internet Censorship Report | Page 10 Background Myanmar is the second largest country in Southeast Asia, and it has an ethnically diverse population. Burman (Bamar) is the dominant ethnic group in Myanmar. The country is divided into seven states and seven regions, one union territory, one self-administered division, and five self-administered zones. States are generally divided by ethnic groups, such as Kachin, Shan, Mon, Kayan, Kayin, Chin, Rakhine, and Shan. Most of the population lives in rural areas, which is largely dominated by ethnic minorities. The seven regions can be described as ethnically predominantly Burman. Myanmar has struggled with military rule, civil war, poor governance, widespread poverty, and rights’ violations since independence. Due to the military or Tatmadaw ruling that has been in place for the past two years, the country has again found itself in the throes of economic collapse, political crisis, and widespread human rights violations. 54.38 million Burman (Bamar) (68%), Shan (9%), Karen (7%), Rakhine (3%), Indian (2%), Mon (2%), and others (5%). ation (% of population using the internet) 44.0% ptions (per 100 inhabitants) 126 (2021 World Bank) e connections 64.60 million r 15 million e Net ranking (2022) 12/100; Not free tion Buddhist (88%), Christian (6%), Muslim (4%), animist (0.8%) and others (0.2%). 89.5% No Table 1: The latest Myanmar profile (Sources: CFR, World Bank, and Data Reportal) Social, Political, and Economic Landscapes Social Landscape According to the CIA Factbook and UNDP's HDI profile: o Main languages: Burmese (official). This language is spoken by two thirds of the population. The minority languages — most of which are using the Burmese script — are Shan, Karen, Kachin, Thamizh, Chin and Mon languages and dialects. o Urbanisation rate: 31.8% (2022) o Literacy rate: 89.1% of population of 15 years and above (2019) o Health and education indicators: The number of physicians per 10,000 people is 6.8, while the number of hospital beds is 10. The pupil-teacher ratio in primary schools is 24:1.