Since the Feb. 1, 2021 military coup in Myanmar, at least 4,474 civilians have been killed, more than 25,000 people have been arrested and over 78,000 civilian houses have been burned down across the country as a result of the military junta’s nationwide campaign of terror against the population.
Moreover, the country has sunk into deep social, political and economic turmoil. Below, The Irrawaddy looks at some key global indices that tell the story of the country’s three-year descent into chaos under the military regime.
Severe humanitarian crisis
Humanitarian needs in Myanmar have risen dramatically since the military coup three years ago. Some 18.6 million people, or one third of the total population, urgently need humanitarian assistance In Myanmar this year, compared to 1 million people before the military takeover in 2021, according to the UN.
Global ‘hunger hotspot’
The UN has described Myanmar as a global “hunger hotspot” along with Afghanistan and Pakistan, with a quarter of the population facing food insecurity. The World Food Program reported that food insecurity in Myanmar has risen sharply amid the worst humanitarian crisis in its recent history, affecting 12.9 million—or one in four—people.
Asia-Pacific danger zone
According to the Global Peace Index 2023, Myanmar under military rule is among the most dangerous countries in the Asia-Pacific, ranking 18th, with North Korea the only country in the region ranked lower.
Myanmar is indisputably the most dangerous country in Southeast Asia, being the only regional power in the “dangerous” category.
Biggest jailer
As of Jan. 31, there were a total of 19,993 political prisoners behind bars in Myanmar, including 3,780 women, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). Even under previous regimes, the figure never exceeded three or four thousand. The Myanmar regime may be the worst jailer in the world. Elected leaders, young students and members of various professions who have worked or fought for justice, freedom and rights are thrown into jail, while criminals in military uniforms who have committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide take government positions as prime minister and so on.
Second-worst jailer of journalists
The junta has crushed independent media and continuously targeted journalists in the three years since the coup, making the country the world’s second-worst jailer of journalists after China, with 43 media staff arrested last year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)’s 2023 prison census released in January.
China has 44 media employees behind bars, Myanmar has 43 and Belarus 28 with the CPJ recording 320 media staff globally in detention on Dec. 1.
However, the AAPP reported that 192 media staff have been arrested since the 2021 coup, of whom 61 are still behind bars. Junta suppression of the media saw Myanmar ranked 173rd out of 180 countries in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index compiled by France-based Reporters Without Borders.
‘Not free’ designation
Myanmar continued to be listed as “not free” by US-based NGO Freedom House in its latest annual report issued in March last year.
In the civil liberties category, Myanmar scored 9 points out of 60, while for political rights it scored zero out of 40 due to political oppression by the military since the coup.
Displacement at an all-time high
As of Thursday, there were at least 2.625 million internally displaced people (IDPs) nationwide, according to UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency. 2.3 million of them have been forcibly displaced within Myanmar since the Feb. 1, 2021 coup, UNHCR reported. In addition to the growing number of IDPs inside Myanmar, over 70,000 people are estimated to have sought safety in neighboring countries as refugees, it stated. Over 1 million Rohingya refugees also remain in Bangladesh following their expulsion by the Myanmar military.
Near bottom in environmental performance
Myanmar ranked 179th out of 180 countries in the 2022 Environmental Performance Index (EPI). The lowest score went to India with 18.9, with Myanmar scoring 19.4. The EPI ranks countries on climate change performance, environmental health and ecosystem vitality.
One of the world’s most corrupt countries
Myanmar ranked 162nd out of 180 countries on the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) compiled by Transparency International, challenging North Korea as among the worst countries in Asia-Pacific. The country ranked 157th out of 180 countries in 2022 and 137th in 2020, before the coup under the ousted NLD government.
Country of ‘particular concern’ for religious freedom
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)’s 2023 annual report lists Myanmar as a “country of particular concern” as religious freedom continued to decline significantly.
The country was redesignated by the US State Department on Dec. 29, 2023 for engaging in systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom, the department said. The list also includes China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Eritrea, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Regime troops’ campaign of arson against villages in central Myanmar has not spared Buddhist monasteries, despite junta boss Min Aung Hlaing’s duplicitous attempts to promote himself as protector of Buddhism, and his regime as legitimately representing the country’s Buddhist majority.
Junta soldiers could not have torched the dozens—if not hundreds—of Buddhist monasteries and churches that have been burned down in Chin and Kayah states as well as Magwe and Sagaing regions without approval from their chain of command headed by Min Aung Hlaing.
The USCIRF listed Myanmar as a country of particular concern in 2020 under the NLD government, citing the military’s crackdown on Rohingya Muslims.
