Myanmar

Analysis

Myanmar is a minor power in Asia.

The country’s overall score declined by 1.3 points compared to 2020, following a military coup in February 2021. Political turmoil, civil unrest and the pandemic have combined to exact a significant toll on the country’s national resources and international influence.

The country fell two places for cultural influence, future resources and economic capability and five places for diplomatic influence, where it finishes close to last in the region in 2021. The contested legitimacy of the military leadership has undermined the ability of the country to engage through normal diplomatic channels or in multilateral forums.

A severe economic crisis will also have long-running implications for the country’s future prospects, leading to a downward adjustment by 40 per cent of the country’s predicted GDP by 2030.

Myanmar performs best in the military capability and economic relationships measures, where it places 17th for both. The latter as a result of the country’s continued membership of ASEAN and associated regional trade architecture. Myanmar’s lowest ranking is in the defence networks measure, coming in at 25th place.

Myanmar exerts less influence in the region than expected given its available resources, as indicated by the country’s negative power gap score.

Read more analysis in the Key Findings report . Explore further results in the Scores section.