Author: ISP Admin

The number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Myanmar due to armed conflict following the coup has reached at least 1,912,769 as of December 14, 2022. There were already at least 497,200 IDPs on the run before the coup, and the number of cross-border refugees before and since the coup has reached at least 1,019,190. These numbers indicate that almost 7 percent of the country’s total population are now fleeing from armed conflict. 

From the 2021 Coup until November 2022, Chin State experienced at least 592 violent clashes across all its nine townships. These clashes were predominantly between the State Administration Council (SAC) forces and the People Defense Forces (PDFs), or between the SAC forces and EthnicRevolutionary Organizations (EROs). Of all the townships, Mindat township had the highest total of clashes – over 125. The total number of airstrikes conducted in the whole Chin State was at least 33; Paletwa township, where the Arakan Army is active, suffered the highest number of airstrikes – at least 27. 

China, Thailand and Singapore remain Myanmar’s top trading partners of the past four fiscal years. Comparing Myanmar’s trading partners of the past four fiscal years from the 2018-19 fiscal year to 2021-22 mini-budget period, Malaysia rose to fourth while Japan declined to seventh. The 2020-21 fiscal year experienced an export volume of over USD 15.3 billion and an import volume of over USD 14.6 billion. This total trade volume declined by nearly USD 7 billion compared with the 2019-20 fiscal year.

The conflict map of Myanmar has become broader and larger as a result of armed conflicts following the coup. Among more than 7,800 clashes nationwide, at least 300 took place in areas where China’s major projects are located or near China’s potential project areas.

From the start of the military coup to November 15 this year, at least 7,855 clashes have erupted across the country. Of these, at least 4,548 clashes broke out between the State Administration Council (SAC) forces and Ethnic Revolutionary Organizations (EROs). Around 2,267 clashes erupted between the SAC forces and the People Defense Forces (PDFs) including LDF, CDF, CNDF, and KNDF, while there were at least 925 clashes between the SAC forces and combined forces of EROs and PDFs. 

A new maritime trade route, Guangxi – Yangon which will directly connect Qinzhou port in Beibu gulf port in China’s Guangxi to Yangon port in Myanmar, was opened on October 28, 2022. The new trade route will connect the ports in member states of the China-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Data Matters No. 36 As of October 31, 2022, at least 38,568 houses and buildings (including religious buildings) have been torched and destroyed during armed conflicts since the coup. The number of torched buildings increased this year and it accounts for over 94 percent of the total. Sagaing Region has the highest total so far […]

A sector-by-sector analysis of foreign direct investment from the coup up to 30 September 2022, shows that the energy sector received the largest share with more than US$3.8 billion. However neither the mining sector nor the oil and gas sector received any foreign investment. On a monthly basis, May 2021 recorded the highest amount of investment with more than US$1.2 billion. No foreign investment was recorded in either February or April 2021. 

Data up to October 19, 2022 shows the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) and refugees in Myanmar caused by armed conflict following the military coup has reached 1,650,611. There were also more than 497,200 IDPs who were already on the run due to armed conflict occurring before the coup. The combined number of cross-border refugees before and after the coup is at least 1,009,190.

A total of 7,703 clashes broke out in the country between February 1, 2021, and October 12, 2022 following the coup. There were more than 7,000 battles during the period, of which at least 4,520 were between SAC forces and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), and at least 2,168 were between SAC forces and local armed resistance groups (PDF, LDF, CNDF, KNDF, etc.). At least 906 clashes were launched by ethnic armed organizations and local armed resistance groups against SAC forces.

Conflicts that followed the military coup in Myanmar led to the deaths of at least 7,158 civilians through September 20. At least 2,299 of these civilians were shot while protesting or died after being arrested by the State Administration Council (SAC). Another 1,317 civilians were killed during armed conflicts. Some 3,542 others were killed after being accused of being military informants, according to a list released by the SAC. No verification of the authenticity of the list has yet been made by any independent organizations.

Cross-border trade volume with neighboring countries in the first quarter of the 2022-23 financial year amended by the SAC following the coup, was approximately USD 2 billion. This resulted in a decrease of approximately USD 290 million in exports and more than USD 340 million in imports compared with the previous financial year (2021-22). During these three months, Myanmar traded over USD 1.3 billion with Thailand, an increase of more than USD 161 million from the same period in the 2021-22 fiscal year. Meanwhile, Myanmar’s trade volume with China plunged by more than USD 600 million, followed by a decline of more than USD 158 million with Bangladesh and a decline of around USD 30 million with India.

At least 36,209 homes and buildings (including religious buildings) were torched or destroyed by artillery fire between February 1, 2021, and September 15, 2022. At least 8,313 homes and buildings were destroyed in May 2022 alone, representing the highest monthly total so far since the military coup. 

The year 2022 recorded the lowest level of foreign direct investment (FDI) in four years, measured over the first seven months of the fiscal year. Compared to 2021, the year of the coup, FDI has fallen by more than half. More than US$ 1.6 billion in foreign investment was recorded between January and July 2022, the second largest inflow under the State Administration Council’s control. In June, only US$ 6.59 million entered, but in July, it increased to nearly US$ 1.2 billion. Compared to June, foreign investment increased 180 times in one month.

In Myanmar, the number of internally displacedpeople (IDPs) due to conflict and cross-border refugees from 1989 to August 20, 2022 has reached 2,930,201. Of these, 1,413,811 represent the increased number of refugees and IDPs since the 2021 coup, accounting for 48 percent of the total. There were also more than 497,200 internally displaced persons who were already on the run due to armed conflicts which had occurred before the coup. The combined number of cross-border refugees before and after the coup is at least 1,019,190.