Page updated:
Population: 2025 estimate / Country facts: MOFA, October 2026
Land, people and daily life.
The essentials to begin with.
From the capital and languages to population, currency and the time difference with Japan: an introduction to Myanmar in one place.
Statistics show their reference year. Population uses the World Bank’s latest published estimate, for 2025. [1]
Myanmar at a glance.
About 54.85 million
54.85M
World Bank: 54,850,648 people
Latest year available from the World Bank. [1]About 680,000 km²
680K km²
About 1.8 times the area of Japan
Rounded figure reported by Japan’s MOFA. [2]Understand the people behind the market.
A demographic starting point for education, retail and care services.
Children
24.1%
About 13.21 million13,207,288 people
Working-age population
68.4%
About 37.52 million37,517,374 people
Older people
7.5%
About 4.13 million4,125,987 people
World Bank / UN Population Division, 2025. Shares rounded to one decimal place; headcounts are rounded estimates. Working-age population is an age category, not the number of employed people. Published age-group counts sum to one person more than the total due to rounding. [5]
What it means for your business
Education & training
Children indicate the potential learner base. For vocational or language training, also examine young adults within the working-age group.
Beauty & retail
The working-age group helps frame the scale of the labour and consumer markets. Narrow the target by age, income and location.
Care & health
The older population is a starting point for assessing potential need. Examine care needs, household support and ability to pay separately.
These are demographic indicators, not measures of purchasing power or demand. Business planning also requires income, location and access-to-service data.
Myanmar in Asia
Country profile
- Official name
- Republic of the Union of Myanmar
- Official language
- Myanmar languageShan, Karen and other languages are also spoken.
- Ethnic groups
- Bamar and many ethnic minorities
- Religions
- Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and others
- Independence Day
- 4 JanuaryIndependence in 1948.
- Main industries
- Agriculture, natural gas and manufacturing
Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Myanmar country data, 1 October 2026. [2]
The practical side of life and work.
Kyat, MMK & lakh
MMK = Kyat
Kyat is the currency’s name; MMK is its currency code. They refer to the same currency. [6]
- 10 lakh
- 1,000,000 MMK
- 30 lakh
- 3,000,000 MMK
Write the full MMK amount alongside lakh in quotations. Confirm the transaction date and applicable exchange rate.
2 hours 30 minutes behind Japan
Illustrative times, not a live clock. No daylight saving time. [3]
Plan around the holidays.
Check the remaining holidays before scheduling visits, deliveries and payroll. Confirm each partner’s closure dates. [7]
Save to your calendar
Download all 15 holiday entries together for 2026 and import them into your calendar.
Download all 2026 holidays (.ics)Apple Calendar / iCalendar: open the downloaded file and import it. Google Calendar: on a computer, select Settings → Import & export and choose the .ics file. Google import guide ↗
All-day events. No automatic updates. Import each holiday once to avoid duplicates.
Thadingyut
25–27 October · Sun–Tue
Tazaungdaing
23–24 November · Mon–Tue
National Day
4 December · Fri
Christmas
25 December · Fri
View the 2026 holiday calendar
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| 1/1 | New Year |
| 1/4 | Independence Day |
| 2/12–13 | Union Day |
| 2/16–17 | Chinese New Year |
| 3/2 | Peasants’ Day / Tabaung |
| 3/27 | Armed Forces Day |
| 4/11–19 | Thingyan |
| 4/30 | Full Moon of Kason |
| 5/1 | Labour Day |
| 7/19 | Martyrs’ Day |
| 7/29 | Full Moon of Waso |
| 10/25–27 | Thadingyut |
| 11/23–24 | Tazaungdaing |
| 12/4 | National Day |
| 12/25 | Christmas |
Check subsequent announcements for additional or confirmed religious holidays, and verify office and bank closures directly.
Driving days and refuelling days.
Published information checked: 13 October 2026
Odd/even driving rule lifted
The licence-plate-based driving restriction was lifted on 9 September 2026. [8]
Refuelling days and quotas remain
Odd-numbered plates refuel on odd dates; even-numbered plates on even dates. Barcode/QR purchase controls continue. [8]
Weekly passenger-car limits
- ≤ 2,000 cc
- 35 L
- 2,001–3,000 cc
- 40 L
- > 3,000 cc
- 45 L
Refuelling in two visits per week. JETRO, 11 September; commercial vehicles have separate categories. [8]
Before setting off
- Vehicle-tax barcode, purchase allowance and remaining fuel.
- Eligible date, station stock and opening hours.
- Route conditions and time to allow for queues.
These are the rules verified as of the date above, not live station stock or queue reports. Check with your chosen station before refuelling.
Check the IMEI before buying a phone.
CEIR registers a device’s identifier (IMEI). A new phone does not automatically incur an extra tax after purchase: check its registration and tax status. [9]
From first connection to the local mobile network, under rules effective 1 April 2026. Required taxes and penalties must be paid within this period for continued use. [9]
Before purchase: check status
Find the IMEI in device settings and check the official CEIR site. Ask the seller whether tax is paid and included in the price.
At activation: keep records
Record the first local-network connection and keep the receipt. If unapproved, check the amount due and procedure on the official site.
Multiple SIMs: check each IMEI
For a device whitelisted through use by the end of March, if only one IMEI shows unpaid, use CEIR’s Check Status correction process before paying again. [10]
Existing devices had an enrolment provision tied to local-SIM use by 31 March 2026. Confirm current liability and the amount due with CEIR. [9]
03 / SOURCES & DATESSources and reference periods.
Sources and reference periods.
Page update dates and statistical reference years are shown separately. Population estimates vary by source, method and period; this page consistently uses the World Bank series.
- [1]WORLD BANK · POPULATION 2025
Population, total — Myanmar ↗
2025 estimate: 54,850,648 people. Latest year available when checked.
- [2]MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS · 01 OCT 2026
MOFA: Myanmar country data (Japanese) ↗
Country name, area, capital, languages, ethnic groups, religions, Independence Day, main industries and currency.
- [3]TIME ZONE DATABASE
IANA tz database: Asia/Yangon & Asia/Tokyo ↗
Myanmar is UTC+6:30 and Japan is UTC+9, a difference of 2 hours 30 minutes.
- [4]NATURAL EARTH · PUBLIC DOMAIN
Country boundaries and coastline data ↗
Created from country boundaries at 1:110 million scale. Not a detailed boundary or administrative map.
- [5]WORLD BANK · AGE STRUCTURE 2025
Population by age — Myanmar
World Development Indicators, based on UN World Population Prospects. Retrieved 13 October 2026. Latest year available: 2025.
0–14 years (%) · Headcount
15–64 years (%) · Headcount
65+ years (%) · HeadcountIf a country link does not load, open the World Bank indicator page, select Myanmar, then use the related age indicators.
- [6]CURRENCY NOTATION
Currency code and lakh notation ↗
Myanmar Central Statistical Organization: MMK notation.
- [7]JETRO · 2026 CALENDAR
Public holidays in 2026 ↗
2026 calendar, updated 27 November 2025. Confirm closures with each organisation.
- [8]JETRO · 11 SEP 2026
Driving restrictions lifted; fuel limits continue ↗
Driving change effective 9 September; refuelling days and weekly limits.
- [9]CEIR · 06 MAR 2026
Official notice on device registration and tax ↗
Temporary use of unapproved devices from 1 April; IMEI checks and payment channels.
- [10]CEIR · 02 APR 2026
Guidance on multiple IMEI records ↗
Status checks and correction requests when only one IMEI shows unpaid.