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People
Myanmar has an extremely ethnically diverse population of over 48
million people as a result of three major migrations since the early
beginning. Today, there are 135 nationalities who call Myanmar home,
with over 67 ethnic groups which stem from four main distinctive
ethnological groups, the Tibeto-Burman, Mon-Khmer, Austro-Thai and
Karennic.
Although each group have its own traditional clothes, language,
culture and way of life, they all share a number of cultural characteristics
known as bamah-san chin or Burmese-ness, a code of behaviour or
social ideal that traverses all ethnic barriers.
Language
The official language is Myanmar (Burmese), with its own alphabet
and script. There are over 100 distinct languages and dialects spoken
in Myanmar. English is spoken in business circles.
Religion
Over 85% of the population of Myanmar are Theravada Buddhist, although
it is not the official state religion. The rest are Christians and
Muslims. There are also a minority who practices Hinduism and Animism.
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