Census shows Myanmar's population is nine million fewer than estimated

Myanmar's first census in three decades shows the country has a population of 51 million people, some nine million fewer than an earlier estimate.

The former junta-ruled nation's last survey was held in 1983 and in more recent estimates the government had put the population at around 60 million.

The census, which triggered international concern after authorities refused to allow minority Muslims to register their ethnicity as Rohingya, was conducted in March and April.

"The provisional result of the population in Myanmar is 51,419,420. The female population is 1.7 million more than the male population," Immigration Minister Khin Yi said yesterday.

The full results, including breakdowns by religion and ethnicity, will be released in May.

About 1.2 million people were missed out of the census in parts of western Rakhine state and conflict-torn Kachin and Karen states, according to Khine Khine Soe, an immigration ministry director.

She said the 60 million population estimate was based on the 1983 census and an earlier population growth rate, adding that a declining birth rate may help explain the lower count from the census.