Myanmar is a Southeast Asian nation of more than 100 ethnic groups with the population of 54.4 million (2020) bordering India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand. From 1962 to 2011, Myanmar was under the military rule. During this period, the Myanmar military regime was known as one of the world’s most repressive and abusive regimes with gross human rights violations and abuses. Following the dissolution of the military junta in March 2011, democratic reforms were gradually instituted in the country.
One of the most significant reforms was the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest. Her political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), was allowed to contest in the by-elections in 2011. The military junta was dissolved following a general election in 2015 and a civilian government has been installed where Aung San Suu Kyi assumed the newly created role of State Counselor. But the military retains considerable amount of power in government and parliament.