Yangon Region


Yangon Region is an administrative region of Myanmar. Located in central Myanmar, the region is bordered by Bago Region to the north and east, the Gulf of Martaban to the south, and Ayeyarwady Region to the west. Yangon Region is dominated by its capital city of Yangon, the former national capital and the largest city in the country. Other important cities are Thanlyin and Twante. The division is the most developed region of the country and the main international gateway. The division measures.

History

The region was historically populated by the Mon. Politically, the area was controlled by Mon kingdoms prior to 1057, and after 1057, with few exceptions, by Burman kingdoms from the north. The control of the region reverted to Pegu-based Mon kingdoms in the 13th to 16th centuries and briefly in the 18th century. The Portuguese were in control of Thanlyin and the surrounding area from 1599 to 1613.
For centuries, Thanlyin was the most important port city in Lower Myanmar until the mid-18th century when King Alaungpaya chose to enlarge a small village across the river near the great Shwedagon Pagoda named Dagon.
The British first captured Yangon in the First Anglo-Burmese War but returned it to Burmese administration after the war. The British seized Yangon and all of Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, and subsequently transformed Yangon into the commercial and political hub of British Burma. Yangon was the capital of British Burma and Hanthawaddy Province, which covered today's Yangon and Bago divisions. The British brought in many Indians to serve as workers and civil servants. By the 1930s, the Indians made up half of Yangon city, and only one-third was Burmese.
Between World War I and World War II, Yangon was the center of the Burmese nationalist movement. Many future Burmese political figures such as Aung San, U Nu, U Thant and Ne Win were all one-time Rangoon University students. Yangon Region was under Japanese occupation between April 1942 and May 1945.
After Myanmar gained independence from the United Kingdom in January 1948, the Hanthawaddy Province was renamed Pegu Division, with Yangon as its capital. In 1964, Rangoon Division was split from Pegu Division. The capital of Pegu Division was changed from Rangoon to Pegu. In June 1974, Hanthawaddy and Hmawbi townships were transferred from Pegu Division to Rangoon Division.
Post-war Yangon grew tremendously. Successive Burmese governments built satellite towns near Yangon. Today, Yangon Region is essentially the Greater Yangon metropolitan area surrounded by a hollow rural hinterland.

Administrative divisions

There were only four districts in Yangon Region. On 30 April 2022, the provisional government expanded the number of districts to 14 districts. Of the 45 townships in the region, the city of Yangon now encompasses 33 townships.
DistrictTownships
Taikkyi District
Taikkyi Township
Hlegu District
Hlegu Township
Hmawbi District
Hmawbi TownshipHtantabin Township
Mingaladon District
Mingaladon TownshipShwepyitha Township
Insein District
Insein TownshipHlaingthaya Township Hlaingthaya Township
Thanlyin District
Thanlyin TownshipThongwa TownshipKyauktan TownshipKayan TownshipCocokyun Township
Twantay District
Twante TownshipKungyangon TownshipKawhmu TownshipSeikkyi Kanaungto TownshipDala Township
Kyauktada District
Kyauktada TownshipPabedan TownshipLanmadaw TownshipLatha TownshipDagon Township
Ahlon District
Ahlon TownshipKyeemyindaing TownshipSanchaung Township
Mayangon District
Mayangon TownshipHlaing TownshipNorth Okkalapa Township
Thingangyun District
Thingangyun TownshipSouth Okkalapa TownshipTamwe TownshipYankin Township
Botahtaung District
Botataung TownshipDawbon TownshipMingala Taungnyunt TownshipPazundaung TownshipThaketa Township
Dagon Myothit District
Dagon Seikkan TownshipSouth Dagon TownshipNorth Dagon TownshipEast Dagon Township
Kamayut District
Kamayut TownshipBahan Township

Government

Executive

The Yangon Region Government runs the regional government.

Legislative

The Yangon Region Hluttaw is the region's legislature.

Judiciary

The Yangon Region High Court is the region's highest-level court.

Demographics

According to 2014 census report, the population of Yangon region is 7.36 million. Burmese is the primary language used by Burmese of all ethnic backgrounds. English is the main second language among the urban elite of Yangon.

Ethnicity

The Bamar make up the majority of the region's population. The region is also home to a large number of South Asians and Burmese Chinese, in addition to Karen and Rakhine communities..
After the 2014 Census in Myanmar, the Burmese government indefinitely withheld release of detailed ethnicity data, citing concerns around political and social concerns surrounding the issue of ethnicity in Myanmar. In 2022, researchers published an analysis of the General Administration Department's nationwide 2018-2019 township reports to tabulate the ethnic makeup of the region.

Religion

According to the 2014 Myanmar Census, Buddhists make up 91% of Yangon Region's population, forming the largest religious community there. Minority religious communities include Christians, Muslims, and Hindus who collectively comprise the remainder of Yangon Region's population. 0.1% of the population listed no religion, other religions, or were otherwise not enumerated.
According to the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee’s 2016 statistics, 88,442 Buddhist monks were registered in Yangon Region, comprising 16.5% of Myanmar's total Sangha membership, which includes both novice samanera and fully-ordained bhikkhu. The majority of monks belong to the Thudhamma Nikaya, followed by Shwegyin Nikaya, with the remainder of monks belonging to other small monastic orders. 16,960 thilashin were registered in Yangon Region, comprising 28.1% of Myanmar's total thilashin community, the largest in Myanmar.

Economy

Yangon Region is the most developed region in the country. According to the government's official statistics for FY 2010–2011, the size of the economy of Yangon Region was 8.93 trillion kyat, or 23% of the national GDP. Greater Yangon is Lower Myanmar's main trading hub for all kinds of merchandise – from basic food stuffs to used cars. Bayinnaung Market is the largest wholesale center in the country for rice, beans and pulses, and other agricultural commodities. Much of the country's legal imports and exports go through Thanlyin's Thilawa port, the largest and busiest port in Myanmar. At least 14 light industrial zones ring Yangon, employing thousands of workers. Outside Greater Yangon, rice farming remains predominant. Other important crops include jute, pulses, rubber, sugarcane, and groundnut.

Transport

Yangon Region has the best transportation infrastructure in the country. All transport to and from the rest of the country goes through Yangon. Five "highways" link Yangon to the rest of the country. Yangon International Airport is the main international gateway of the country. Yangon Central Railway Station is a major hub of the Myanmar Railways system. Twante Canal, which links Yangon to Ayeyarwady Region, is also widely used for both transport and commerce.
As motor transportation is highly expensive for most people, buses are the main mode of transportation within the division or regions nearby. In January 2008, Yangon Region had nearly 182,000 motor vehicles, 17.7% of the country's total.

Education

Although the city of Yangon has the best education facilities in the country, the educational facilities and opportunities available in the rest of Yangon Region are extremely poor. Many students in rural and poor districts do not finish middle school. According to official statistics, only about 23% of primary school students make it to high school. Most students are enrolled in the public school system. Private schools, which cost at least $8,000 a year in tuition per student, are strictly the preserve of the elite.
AY 2002-2003PrimaryMiddleHigh
Schools2,245240158
Teachers15,60010,1003600
Students540,000302,000123,000

Nearly all of the division's universities are in Greater Yangon. Dagon University in North Dagon and the University of East Yangon in Thanlyin are among the largest undergraduate universities in the country. Yangon's University of Medicine 1, Yangon, University of Medicine 2, Yangon, Yangon Technological University, University of Computer Studies, Yangon and Thanlyin's Myanmar Maritime University are among the most selective universities in Myanmar.
The University of West Yangon in Htantabin and the Officers Training School in Hmawbi are two major institutions of higher education outside Greater Yangon.

Health care

The general state of health care in Myanmar is poor. The military government spends anywhere from 0.5% to 3% of the country's GDP on health care, consistently ranking among the lowest in the world. Although health care is nominally free, in reality, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even in public clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals lack many of the basic facilities and equipment. Still, Yangon Region has the best medical facilities and personnel available in the country. The following is a summary of the public health system in the division, in the fiscal year 2002-2003.
2002–2003# Hospitals# Beds
Specialist hospitals93,800
General hospitals with specialist services83,220
General hospitals261,055
Health clinics24384
Total678,459