This is especially the case for the Muslim Rohingya ethnic group who have been living for generations on the northwestern facade of Myanmar in Rakhine State. Today, Myanmar is the center of one of the largest refugee crises in the world. s\A0W+z=;;4{LqMQ(|> WebOfficially, 4% of the inhabitants of Myanmar are Muslim. [1] Francis Buchanan, A Comparative Vocabulary of Some of the Languages Spoken in the Burma Empire, Asiatic Researchers, Vol. - Few evangelicals, but significant number who identify as Christians. 0000009664 00000 n WebMyanmar is the most religious Buddhist country with regard to the percentage of the population living as monks and the amount of money spent on religion. Myanmar is predominantly a Buddhist country, with around 90% of the population following Theravada Buddhism. WebThe majority of Myanmars population is rural, with the density of settlement in each region related to agricultural production, particularly of rice. However, religions are powerful forces. The organized movement has enlisted monasteries across Myanmar to spread radical anti-Muslim messages through Sunday schools, and by handing out stickers and distributing pamphlets and DVDs.[11] As David Steinberg of Georgetown University highlights, the significance of Buddhist monks leading this campaign cannot be underestimated, as few, if any, in the Burman community can publicly dispute a monks announcement on an ostensibly religious issue.[12] Indeed, monks wield the highest level of moral authority in Myanmar and can thus pursue an ethno-nationalist agenda without hindrance. Myanmar Population 2023 (Live) - worldpopulationreview.com No religion is inherently violent or peaceful. [4] Moshe Yegar, Between Integration and Secession: The Muslim Communities of the Southern Philippines, Southern Thailand, and Western Burma/Myanmar (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2002), 103. Try our business solution for free. strict military rule, new found freedom of speech permits Buddhist monks, such as U [Ashin] Wirathu, to spread ideas of religious intolerance and fan the flames of Islamaphobia.[22] Indeed, while the 969 movement has been denied the official status of a religious organization, Buddhist monks are able to freely travel the country preaching the protection of their religion and race without government intervention. Looser censorship has also correlated with the increasing penetration of social media into Burmese society. The historical origins of Rohingya Muslims in Northern Rakhine State are as tangled and complex as the history of Myanmar itself. %%EOF While the recent inter-religious violence begun in mid-2012 with the rape and murder of a twenty-seven-year-old Buddhist seamstress Ma Thida Htwewhich sparked an eruption of Muslim-Buddhist tension and the displacement of 70,000 Rohingya[8]Buddhist-Muslim violence has since spread beyond Rakhine State to Central and Northern Myanmar in the cities of Meiktila and Lashio. 1 (January/ February 2014), 28. xb```f``9 @16)LV20U`&x(<>UY&Qs6.Aau^kC: CB,E(32`[kP9#Lv 384:0ac,f8` .lez "l]2gr0i-Zp, H#6^l? 9?(5S&G qa{uCiV;T(!DU4\d,mq9Hq!i Z+s)[/tnd\g:k[qPr HkxjQ!Orw],V +J1+WY#4OtF&:. Share of children in total population in Myanmar from 2013 to 2022. Use mouse wheel or +/- buttons to zoom the map. [5] Imtiaz Ahmed, The Plight of the Stateless Rohingyas (Bangladesh: The University Press Limited, 2010). 0000012125 00000 n On the official 969 website, Ashin Wirathu calls for Buddhists to prominently display 969 stickers, posters, flags and other items at their home and businesses prompting further religious divisions within Burmese society. Buddhism in Burma is attached to theTheravadabranch which is the oldest and more conservative branch of Buddhism, following the Buddhas teachings, without modification. Burmese Buddhists, as in all of South East Asia, believe in reincarnation and Karma, the natural law of causes and their consequences. The second narrative espoused in the growing Burman-Buddhist nationalist movement is that the Rohingya started it. That is, Rohingya throughout history have rarely followed Burmese national interests, instead several times having threatened Myanmars newfound sovereignty. In 2018, the labor force in Myanmar amounted to approximately 22.74 million people. 188 (28 November, 2012), 2. Sometimes known as Burma, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar - which is often shortened to Myanmar, is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia. H\0>E? B-x`u Thus, despite clear evidence that Islamophobic monastic rhetoric has increased violence, by denying that violence was their intention, many of these monks claim their karmic conscience is clear. Web Myanmar Inflation Rate - values historical data and charts - was last updated on April of 2023. endstream endobj startxref Myanmar It's believed there are at least 300,000 refugees from Burma located along the Thai-Burma border, with many camps established in the 1980's. Others claim that their statements against Muslims never explicitly call for violenceeven if it causes itand thus any violence that occurs is not their responsibility. Click any point for a popup with further people group details. How has the cultural context of Burmese Buddhism impacted the ways in which Buddhism is practiced in the region? Web Nearly 88 of Myanmars population identify themselves as Buddhist with other religious denominations such as Christians Muslims and Hindus making up the. 0000000016 00000 n However, the BBC reports that not all countries give legitimacy to the change due to the fact that the change was brought by the unelected military regime. Web52 (34.9%) Progress Level Total Population 54,101,000 Population in Unreached 45,121,000 (83.4%) Largest Religion Buddhism ( 78.0% ) % Christian Adherent 8.16% % Evangelical 4.86% Evangelical Annual Growth Rate 2.5% (Global Rate = 2.6%) + Leaflet | Powered by Esri | USGS, NOAA People Groups States Progress Religions Languages Photos Births attended by skilled health personnel, per cent, 2004-2020 Population aged 0-14, percent: Proportion of the population between age 0 and age 14. 0 endstream endobj 40 0 obj <> endobj 41 0 obj <>stream w+|R6r5pRCyzh+xm6f{.xmpf2YZ|_pT~9dbb?f4 0vev4l,{w}?_3~`9'L;v:5mpZGjneS?J5TjyNCJ;]%S9tA]@%Pv/_zjJ Over the last decade, hundreds of Muslims have been murdered, mosques have been destroyed, and hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homes. 2023 by selected countries in. In general, Christian ethnic minorities are have faced discrimination in Myanmar and treatment as second-class citizens. Ethnic minorities in the country prefer to be called ethnic nationalities to fight against the proliferation of the dominant Bamar people. WebPew Forum on Religion & Public Life / Mapping the Global Muslim Population www.pewforum.org 39 Estimated Percentage Range of Shia by Country Afghanistan 10 Myanmar has 676,578 square kilometers of surface area available within its boundaries. In other words, they believe that they have only done wrong if the result of their action is what they explicitly intended. We recommend against using %Christian Adherent and %Evangelical to calculate absolute numbers. Web Estimated Population of Myanmar in 2023. Myanmars population is growing at a rate of about 0.67% per year. Approximately 2% of Burmese people are Hindu. 0 Burmese Hindus are a mix of Bengalis, Tamils, Telegus, and Uttar Pradeshis who arrived in Burma under British colonialism. Labor force in Myanmar 2010-2018. WebReligion in Myanmar is spread across Buddhist with 87.9%, Christian 6.2%, Muslim 4.3%, Animist 0.8%, Hindu 0.5%, other 0.2%, and none at 0.1% of the population. (6%CbmYIw<>g0Y@8 e8%A@%`aZ+#t 1$BITDDB%:dQD|_uj2ANWTX$0dCcsrWWTT?8|FpC8Mm7!3t=4Zm6]'^eo:_=@iq"y6PaLq"DsgMnW |1,W&F"q34Eu1UMln2k4rQ-rErX6?\=e5eYk"G`mQyjfB1bR3"AzCW mA/Dafe R^26osQF%87q+{"ke??<7W92'PiA?0NExZ.b`V.E_CqD|mf0$SK|$9jv}|8v}x+w$\c(d; Wd"T:2snU(8 ;'GG'gxr`Q}pfOzkd Uz{6\VzdtmDG._5hE3.gpD#YfWA}0y@o2#MRw))cDcD((ET-nY#d5=`GQUgp>KS/)"gm/u%qA..ybr}}1eF?G=rBVyXz3Jw{03)-%/|kr[GEbs[|)2 Q 0000029681 00000 n Indeed, the Inquiry Commission found that the authorities have been inconsistent in applying and following the rule of law.[27]. 0000002503 00000 n The short form, which was asked of 80 percent of the total population, includes only seven basic questions: name, relationship to the head of the household, sex, age, marital status, race and religion. 0000038918 00000 n WebApproximately 6 percent are Christians, primarily Baptists, Roman Catholics, and Anglicans, along with several small Protestant denominations. 0000020137 00000 n The root causes of the recent waves of inter-religious violence involving Rohingya Muslims of Rakhine State are deep, complex and date back many centuries. New media, such as Facebook, have facilitated the rapid spread of accusations, often inflaming already volatile situations. hb```f``fix>w7S;?}U:dqBeChTFAA%% H$ b`b9,iRf] :b `k4#w> @ b4 . Be respectful of the different cultures and keep an open mind as you explore this beautiful country! Rising Burman-Buddhist ethno-nationalism, represented by Buddhist monks, has played a key role in the recent waves of inter-religious violence. Religious As always, when thinking about religion and conflict, maintain a focus on how religion is internally diverse, always evolving and changing, and always embedded in specific cultures. Very small groups reported, but outside the Joshua Project Small Group Policy. Click the image in the popup window for a people group profile. Indeed, the perception that foreigners ran much of Burmas finance and commerce was seen as unacceptable. Anti-Indian and anti-Muslim attitudes were compounded during both the Japanese occupation of Burma (19421945)when Muslims in British Burma, going against the leanings of the Burmese Independence Movement, sided with the colonial British[5]and the subsequent Rohingya Mujahideen Rebellion (19481961), in which the Rohingya waged an unsuccessful secessionist campaign to create a separate Islamic State that would eventually join East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).[6]. MEI welcomes financial donations, but retains sole editorial control over its work and its publications reflect only the authors views. (States / Districts only available for South Asia). startxref Myanmar Religion Percentage 2023 April 15, 2023 Web As of 2019 the Yangon region was the most populous region in Myanmar with a population of over eight million. Members of the majority Buddhist Burmese population have forcibly displaced many of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group mainly centered in the southwest of the country. Detailed maps are often found on specific people profiles. The rate of growth today is just under 1%, but that will likely decrease to near 0 by 2050. 0000008816 00000 n Prayer cards are formatted eight to a page. Subscribe and receive our travel ideas and tips twice a month, Shanti Travel14 rue de Tolbiac75013 Paris. How does the situation in Myanmar make simplistic statements like these problematic? 0000003605 00000 n When referring to the World Happiness Report, we see a ranking of 130, with an overall rating of 4.3 out of 10. 54, No. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100. H\n0. Myanmar Religion Percentage Rising Buddhist-Burman ethno-nationalism, fanned by the 969 movement led by Buddhist monks, has resulted in the rapid dissemination of hate speech and reignited lingering resentment between communities. Sectarian Violence Involving Rohingya in Myanmar: Historical There are people over age 18 in Myanmar. The analysis draws on the Centers wider body of research on global restrictions related to religion. Church planting agencies in Myanmar (Burma), Joshua Project data is drawn from many sources and of varying accuracy depending on source and editorial decisions. 0000002975 00000 n Web Burmas population consists of Buddhists 879 percent Christians 62 percent Muslims 43 percent Animists 08 percent and Hindus 05 percent. Just over 80% of the country has access to clean drinking water with only 77% having access to improved sanitation facilities. [14] Unforgiving History, The Economist (November 3, 2012), http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21565638-why-buddhists-and-muslims-r. Estimated Percentage Range of Shia by Country - Pew Mandalay comes in second, with 1,208,099; and is also known as the economic center of the country. The tacit approval by the government of discriminatory policies toward Rohingyaand the widespread impunity for most perpetrators of violence, including the authoritiesremain a key concern in Myanmars transformation from a military dictatorship into a democracy.