The largest nation in mainland Southeast Asia, Myanmar - also known as Burma - is home to more than 100 ethnic groups. A quarter of the population live below the poverty line. The country is ruled by a military junta which is accused of gross human rights abuse against its ethnic minorities and for reaping the benefits of illicit trade in timber, primarily teak, and opium poppy cultivation. Most of the population live in the Irawaddy basin, one of the world's greatest rice-growing regions. Sugar, cotton, palm oil and pulses are other major agricultural commodities. 10/06/09