8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Asia / South-Eastern Asia

Born in Myanmar

About 1 in 146 people born in 2023 started life in Myanmar. A boy can expect to live 64 years and a girl 70, up from 34 and 37 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 86% have basic drinking water.

1 in 146
odds of being born here
903,800 births · Ranked 35th of 230
64 / 70
years of life, boys / girls
Was 34 / 37 in 1950
$2,179
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 165th of 203 · extrapolated
30%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 31 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 353 in every 1,000 births to 39.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300400195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth63.8 years for boys, 70.2 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 539.3 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year495,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.8World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles73%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.9%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year482 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year18 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 5.9 children on average in 1950. Now it is 2.1.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman2.12UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth28.8 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 40 and the poorest fifth 9.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2017
9%Poorest fifth
13%Second
17%Middle
22%Fourth
40%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $2,179 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth40% / 9% (2017)World Bank PIP
Unemployment3.0% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises8.8% a year (2019)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person0.3% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming45% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed65% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment77% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Yangon, with 4.5 million people.

30%
live in cities
77%
have electricity at home
86%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Yangon4.5 million
Mandalay1.2 million
Nay Pyi Taw925,000
Hlaingthaya687,867
Mawlamyine438,861
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Burmese64%
Shan6%
Kachin2%
Rohingya2%
Burmese is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Yangon7.0 million
Mandalay Region2.3 million
Shan State1.6 million
Nay Pyi Taw1.1 million
Mon975,786
Ayeyarwady971,040
Sagaing Region943,187
Bago Region910,845
Rakhine889,247
Magway731,660

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

All 15 regions
  • Yangon7.0 million
  • Mandalay Region2.3 million
  • Shan State1.6 million
  • Nay Pyi Taw1.1 million
  • Mon975,786
  • Ayeyarwady971,040
  • Sagaing Region943,187
  • Bago Region910,845
  • Rakhine889,247
  • Magway731,660
  • Kachin State463,509
  • Tanintharyi Region368,030
  • Kayin State170,779
  • Chin State24,926
  • Kayah State17,293

People on the move

About 7.9% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Thailand, Bangladesh, China.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Thailand1,708,695
Bangladesh1,246,705
China367,052
Residents born abroad0.1% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 7.9% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostThailand (1.7 million), Bangladesh (1.2 million), China (367,052)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $2.6 billion a year (2019)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

1% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

1%
of older people receive a pension (2016)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2020)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 202419,494Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 195012; the deadliest, in 2011, killed about 104 people (magnitude 6.8)NOAA NCEI
Hurricane-strength storms since 19809NOAA IBTrACS
Deaths in organized violence31,560 between 1989 and 2024UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Myanmar, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Myanmar

Elsewhere in Asia

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences