Myanmar units of measurement

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The traditional Burmese units of measurement were a system of measurement used in Myanmar.[citation needed]

Myanmar was one of three countries that had not adopted the International System of Units (SI) metric system as their official system of weights and measures according to the 2010 CIA Factbook.[1] However, in June 2011, U Kyaw Htoo from the Myanmar government's Ministry of Commerce began discussing proposals to reform the measurement system in Burma and adopt the kilogram for domestic trade, reasoning that this would simplify foreign trade which it conducts exclusively in metric;[2] and in October 2013, Pwint San, Deputy Minister for Commerce, announced that the country was preparing to adopt the metric system.[3]

As of 2006, Myanmar government web pages in English used imperial and metric units inconsistently. For instance, the Ministry of Construction used miles to describe the length of roads[4] and square feet for the size of houses,[5] but square kilometres for the total land area of new town developments in Yangon City.[5] As of 2010 the Ministry of Agriculture used acres for land areas.[6] As of 2009 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs used kilometres (with mile equivalents in parentheses) to describe the dimensions of the country.[7]

  1. ^ "The World Factbook, Appendix G: Weights and Measures". Web Pages. Central Intelligence Agency. 2010. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  2. ^ Gyi, Ko Ko (18–24 July 2011). "Ditch the viss, govt urges traders". Business and Property. The Myanmar Times. Translated by Thit Lwin. Myanmar. Archived from the original on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Myanmar to adopt metric system". www.elevenmyanmar.com. Eleven Media Group. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Public Works, Fields Of Activities". Web Page. Ministry Of Construction. 2006. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Housing Development". web page. Ministry Of Construction. 2006. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  6. ^ "Ministry of Agriculture and Information". Web Page. Myanmar Agriculture. 2009–2010. Archived from the original on 13 June 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
  7. ^ "About Myanmar : Geography". web page. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Myanmar. 2009. Archived from the original on 5 August 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2010.