Myanmar, also known as Burma, is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia bordered by Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand. The country covers 676,578 square kilometres (261,228 sq mi) and has a population of over 53 million people. Myanmar is the largest of the mainland Southeast Asian states.The Myanmar Kyat is the currency of Myanmar (Burma). It was originally subdivided into 100 pyas but this subdivision was abandoned in 1989 due to inflation. The kyat replaced the rupee at par in 1952 and circulated until 1964 when it was replaced by notes issued specifically for Burma by the Reserve Bank of India until 1967 when local issue banknotes were reintroduced under new designs replacing all denominations with "kyats". In 1989 another redenomination took place at a rate of 1 kyat = 5 previously used units but no coins have been issued since 1983 so all transactions are made using banknotes only.
