SINGAPORE – Bank branches in Myanmar have been closed and government employees are boycotting work. Factory workers have fled to their rural homes and foreign companies have flown their overseas workers away. The internet is largely shut down.
More than two months since the military seized power in a coup d’état and unleashed a deadly campaign to quell protests, the economy has collapsed, with the World Bank and others expecting a double-digit contraction over the course of this year. The turmoil reverses the great gains the country has made in poverty alleviation and is driving away foreign companies and tourists who have done much to dissolve Myanmar over the past decade.
It is already one of the poorest countries in Asia. Six million people live on less than $ 3.20 a day, a poverty line for lower-middle-income countries such as Myanmar. A quarter of the country’s children are far too small for their age due to insufficient nutrition.
There is a reason for this: For half a century, Myanmar was ruled by military generals who pursued disastrous policies. The picture began to change steadily over the past decade as a democratic opening brought a partial civilian government to power and more international investment poured in. According to World Bank data, poverty decreased to 24.8% in 2017 from 42.2% in 2010..
The progress of the past decade is now being reversed. Following the coup that overthrew an elected government, the World Bank says the number of people living on less than $ 3.20 is expected to increase by 30% by 2021. That’s 1.8 million extra poor in a year time.