South-eastern Asia · MMR

Myanmar

The story · 10 chapters

How it was drawn

The Irrawaddy valley, united by Pagan, Toungoo and Konbaung kings who fought the Mongols, Siam and China, conquered by Britain in three wars, and independent but torn by civil war since 1948.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Myanmar fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Nanzhao832
Nanzhao, a kingdom based in Yunnan, raids the Irrawaddy valley in the early ninth century. Chinese records say it sacks a Pyu city in 832 and carries off thousands of captives, hastening the end of the Pyu.
Mongol Empire1277 to 1301
Kublai Khan's armies defeat Pagan at Ngasaunggyan in 1277 and march into the valley in 1287 as the kingdom collapses. A Mongol siege of Myinsaing fails in 1301, and they withdraw to Yunnan.
Hanthawaddy Kingdom1385 to 1539
Ava and the Mon kingdom of Hanthawaddy fight the Forty Years' War from 1385 to 1424 for the Irrawaddy valley. Neither wins. Hanthawaddy falls to the rising Toungoo kings in the 1530s, who make its capital, Pegu, their own.
Kingdom of Mrauk U (Arakan)1546 to 1785
The coastal kingdom of Arakan beats back a Toungoo invasion in 1547 and stays independent for more than two centuries. In 1784 to 1785 King Bodawpaya conquers it and carries the revered Mahamuni Buddha image off to his capital.
Ayutthaya Kingdom (Siam)1547 to 1767
Burmese kings invade Siam again and again. Bayinnaung takes Ayutthaya in 1564 and 1569, Naresuan wins Siam's freedom back from 1584, and in 1767 a Konbaung army destroys Ayutthaya for good.
Kingdom of Manipur1758 to 1826
Konbaung kings raid Manipur from 1758 and occupy it from 1819. That occupation and Burmese moves into Assam help trigger war with Britain, and the Treaty of Yandabo ends Burmese rule there in 1826.
Qing China1765 to 1769
Four Qing armies invade Burma between 1765 and 1769 over the Shan border states. All are defeated, and the war ends with the Kaungton agreement of 1769, though the two courts argue over its terms for years.
Siam (Bangkok)1785 to 1812
Bodawpaya sends nine armies against the new Siamese capital, Bangkok, in 1785, and fails. Smaller Burmese attacks on Siam go on until about 1812, after which the two old rivals stop going to war.
British Empire1824 to 1885
Three Anglo-Burmese wars, in 1824 to 1826, 1852 and 1885, cost Burma first Arakan, Tenasserim and Assam, then Lower Burma, and finally its independence, when King Thibaw is exiled to India.
Empire of Japan1942 to 1945
Japan conquers Burma in 1942 and rules through a client state from 1943. Aung San's army turns against it in March 1945, as British and Indian forces retake the country in some of the hardest fighting of the war.
Karen National UnionSince 1949Still open
The Karen National Union takes up arms in January 1949 for Karen self rule, one of the longest running insurgencies in the world. Since the 2021 coup it fights the junta alongside many other armed groups.

Today

Myanmar now

Burma is home to ethnic Burmans and scores of other ethnic and religious minority groups that have resisted external efforts to consolidate control of the country throughout its history. Britain conquered Burma over a period extending from the 1820s to the 1880s and administered it as a province of India until 1937, when Burma became a self-governing colony. Burma gained full independence in 1948. In 1962, General NE WIN seized power and ruled the country until 1988 when a new military regime took control.

Capital: Naypyidaw
Government: military regime
Head of government: Min Aung Hlaing
Head of state: Myint Swe
Languages: Burmese
Area: 676,578 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population54.1 million2023 · 17.7 million in 1950
Life expectancy66.9 years2023 · 35.7 years in 1950
GDP per person$5,1772022 · $631 in 1950
Living in cities31%2025 · 15% in 1950
Literacy94%2020 · 58% in 1950
Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending6.6% of GDP2024
War deaths4.2 per 100,0002025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

China
Russian Federation

Tensions

United States
Australia

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Myanmar fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Nanzhao832

Nanzhao, a kingdom based in Yunnan, raids the Irrawaddy valley in the early ninth century. Chinese records say it sacks a Pyu city in 832 and carries off thousands of captives, hastening the end of the Pyu.

Mongol Empire1277 to 1301

Kublai Khan's armies defeat Pagan at Ngasaunggyan in 1277 and march into the valley in 1287 as the kingdom collapses. A Mongol siege of Myinsaing fails in 1301, and they withdraw to Yunnan.

Hanthawaddy Kingdom1385 to 1539

Ava and the Mon kingdom of Hanthawaddy fight the Forty Years' War from 1385 to 1424 for the Irrawaddy valley. Neither wins. Hanthawaddy falls to the rising Toungoo kings in the 1530s, who make its capital, Pegu, their own.

Kingdom of Mrauk U (Arakan)1546 to 1785

The coastal kingdom of Arakan beats back a Toungoo invasion in 1547 and stays independent for more than two centuries. In 1784 to 1785 King Bodawpaya conquers it and carries the revered Mahamuni Buddha image off to his capital.

Ayutthaya Kingdom (Siam)1547 to 1767

Burmese kings invade Siam again and again. Bayinnaung takes Ayutthaya in 1564 and 1569, Naresuan wins Siam's freedom back from 1584, and in 1767 a Konbaung army destroys Ayutthaya for good.

Kingdom of Manipur1758 to 1826

Konbaung kings raid Manipur from 1758 and occupy it from 1819. That occupation and Burmese moves into Assam help trigger war with Britain, and the Treaty of Yandabo ends Burmese rule there in 1826.

Qing China1765 to 1769

Four Qing armies invade Burma between 1765 and 1769 over the Shan border states. All are defeated, and the war ends with the Kaungton agreement of 1769, though the two courts argue over its terms for years.

Siam (Bangkok)1785 to 1812

Bodawpaya sends nine armies against the new Siamese capital, Bangkok, in 1785, and fails. Smaller Burmese attacks on Siam go on until about 1812, after which the two old rivals stop going to war.

British Empire1824 to 1885

Three Anglo-Burmese wars, in 1824 to 1826, 1852 and 1885, cost Burma first Arakan, Tenasserim and Assam, then Lower Burma, and finally its independence, when King Thibaw is exiled to India.

Empire of Japan1942 to 1945

Japan conquers Burma in 1942 and rules through a client state from 1943. Aung San's army turns against it in March 1945, as British and Indian forces retake the country in some of the hardest fighting of the war.

Karen National UnionSince 1949Still open

The Karen National Union takes up arms in January 1949 for Karen self rule, one of the longest running insurgencies in the world. Since the 2021 coup it fights the junta alongside many other armed groups.

Myanmar now

Capital

Naypyidaw

Government

military regime

Head of government

Min Aung Hlaing

Head of state

Myint Swe

Languages

Burmese

Area

676,578 km²

Then and now

Population54.1 million2023 · 17.7 million in 1950

Life expectancy66.9 years2023 · 35.7 years in 1950

GDP per person$5,1772022 · $631 in 1950

Living in cities31%2025 · 15% in 1950

Literacy94%2020 · 58% in 1950

Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending6.6% of GDP2024

War deaths4.2 per 100,0002025