In 1907, the British colonial authorities enacted the 1907 Village Tract Act, which empowered the authorities to requisition local services, such as for porters, in law enforcement activities.[1] While it was technically not conscription, the Burmese military nonetheless continued to invoke the Act to press-gang civilians as porters for counter-insurgency operations.[1]
The Tatmadaw – the name traditionally given to the military of Myanmar which has ruled the country intermittently since independence – has long used "forced recruitment" of citizens without formal conscription laws.[2] A 1955 "National Service Bill" was taken to parliament, but due to legal complexities, it is unclear whether it actually entered into force. The main bulk of the military continued to be recruited "almost entirely from volunteers", with the bill's provisions used only for recruitment of "technical specialists, such as doctors and engineers".[3] In 1959, the military caretaker government under then General Ne Win promulgated 1959 Military Service Law.[1]
However, after the 8888 Uprising in 1988, the Burmese military began utilizing "forced recruitment and deceptive tactics" to quietly enlist young men, including minors, into its forces. This did not occur in accordance with the 1955 bill, and "did not occur pursuant to any compulsory military service laws but was essentially arbitrary", according to a 1988 report by the International Labour Organization of the United Nations. Despite continued manpower shortages, the military did not enact formal mandatory conscription for decades.[3]
On November 4, 2010, the State Peace and Development Council military regime enacted a formalized conscription law, which elicited extremely negative reactions from the public. The military regime soon lost power after the subsequent elections, and the "quasi-civilian governments" that replaced it opted to leave the law unenforced.[3] Ethnic armed organisations like the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP)have also forcibly conscripted civilians.[1]
In 2021, the Tatmadaw staged a coup d'etat, and established a new military junta known as the State Administration Council (SAC), leading to an escalation of Myanmar's long-running internal conflicts into a civil war. Over the following few years, the Tatmadaw suffered numerous military setbacks at the hands of anti-junta insurgent forces, losing control over vast areas of the country. On 10 February 2024, the junta announced that two years of military service would be mandatory for all men between the ages of 18 and 35 and all women between the ages of 18 and 27. Tatmadaw spokesman Zaw Min Tun said that around a fourth of Myanmar's population would be eligible under the law, which was planned to come into effect after the Burmese New Year in mid-April 2024.[2] It also announced a monthly quota of 5,000 new conscripts.[1]
The announcement has led to a wave of young people to flee country to evade conscription or join anti-regime resistance groups.[1][2][4] The SAC’s enforcement of military conscription has fueled widespread bureaucratic corruption.[5] Recruitment became a money-making opportunity for government officials, with families paying bribes — starting from MMK500,000 (US$238) and reaching up to MMK100 million (US$47,600) in affluent areas — to avoid conscription.[5]
On 23 January 2025, Myanmar’s military junta (SAC) formalized the by-law for the National Service Law, reinforcing compulsory conscription and barring eligible youths from leaving the country without permission.[6] The law also enables prosecution of relatives of draft evaders abroad, alarming diaspora communities and intensifying the youth exodus that began after the 2021 coup.[6]
The conscription policy, paired with economic decline and political repression, has triggered severe labour shortages across key sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and services.[6] Garment factories, once a cornerstone of exports, have scaled back, while child labour has re-emerged in teashops and restaurants.[6] Foreign investment and company registrations have plummeted.[6]
