Myanmar, also known as Burma, was long considered a pariah state while under the rule of an oppressive military junta from 1962 to 2011.
The generals who ran the country suppressed almost all dissent - symbolised by the house arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi - and stood accused of gross human rights abuses, prompting international condemnation and sanctions.
Since opposition-boycotted elections in 2010 - the first in 20 years - a gradual liberalisation process has been under way, leading to the handover to a nominally civilian government in 2011, as well as a partial thaw in ties with the outside world.
The dominance of the largest ethnic group, the Burman or Bamar people, over the country's many minorities has fuelling a series of long-running rebellions, although a gradual peace process yielded a draft ceasefire deal in 2015.