Census shows proportion of Myanmar Muslims unchanged

Minister of Labor, Immigration and Population Thein Swe said at a news conference that members of the Rohingya ethnic minority— who are Muslim — were not officially counted because they refused to identify themselves by the official category of Bengali, which implies they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Yoriko Yasukawa, the Asia-Pacfic regional director of the U.N. Population Fund, in a press release "expressed hope that the census data will help all communities to work together to build an inclusive society that respects and values the rights and aspirations of all people in Myanmar — without exception."