AusAID-Myanmar Partnership

One of the poorest countries in the world, Myanmar has among the lowest social development indicators in Southeast Asia. One-fourth of the country’s estimated 62 million people live in poverty — as much as 73 percent in some minority ethnic areas — and 10 percent of its citizens lack sufficient food.

As such, the country has one of the highest incidences of death from preventable illness and disease in the region, with roughly one in 10 children dying before the age of 5. Myanmar is not expected to meet key Millennium Development Goals, and ranks 149th of 186 countries in the United Nations’ 2013 Human Development Index.