Myanmar, also known as Burma, is a Southeast Asian country officially called the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. It shares borders with India and Bangladesh to the west, Thailand and Laos to the east, and China to the north and northeast. To the south, the country has an uninterrupted coastline of 1,930 km (1,200 mi) along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, which comprises about one third of Myanmar's total perimeter of 5,876 km (3,651 mi). According to the 2014 census, the country has a population of 51 million people, which has increased to about 54 million as of 2017. The country covers an area of 676,578 square kilometres (261,228 square miles), with Naypyidaw as its capital city, and Yangon (Rangoon) as its largest city and former capital. Myanmar has been a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 1997, and is rich in jade and gems, oil, natural gas, and other mineral resources.
