Administrative divisions of Myanmar

System of administration

The administrative structure of the states, regions and self-administering bodies is outlined in the new constitution adopted in 2008.

Regions, States and Union Territories

Executive authority is held in each state or region by a Regional or State Government consisting of a Chief Minister, other ministers and an Advocate General. The President appoints the Chief Minister from a list of qualified candidates in the regional or state legislature; the legislature must approve this choice unless it is proven that the candidate does not meet constitutional qualifications. Since 4 March 2026, the Region or State minister responsible for development affairs is appointed as the mayor for the capital of the respective Region or State.

Legislative authority resides with the State Hluttaw or Region Hluttaw made up of elected civilian members and representatives of the Defence Services (Tatmadaw military). Both divisions are considered equivalent, the only distinction being that states have large ethnic minority populations and regions are mostly populated by the national majority Burmans / Bamar.

Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory

The constitution states that Nay Pyi Taw shall be a Union Territory under the direct administration of the President. Day-to-day functions would be carried out on the President's behalf by the Nay Pyi Taw Council led by a Chairperson. The Chairperson and members of the Nay Pyi Taw Council are appointed by the President, and membership includes civilians and representatives of the Defence Services (Tatmadaw military).

Self-Administered Division and Self-Administered Zones

Self-Administered Division and Self-Administered Zones are subdivisions of some of the states and regions. The self-administered division is above the district level while self-administered zones are equivalent to the administrative level of districts. Each of them is administered by a Leading Body consisting of at least ten members and includes State or Regional Hluttaw members elected from the Zones or Divisions and other members nominated by the Defence Services (Tatmadaw military). The Leading Body has both executive and legislative powers. A Chairperson is head of each Leading Body.

Special Regions

Special Regions refer to areas not under the direct control of the central government but co-administered by some (not all) of the ethnic armed organisations under ceasefire agreements. The status of Special Region was first given to the splinter groups emerged from the collapse of the Communist Party of Burma in 1989 and later given also to some other groups through the 1990s under the SLORC/SPDC military government.

• Kachin State
  • Kachin State Special Region 1 (New Democratic Army – Kachin, 1989-2024) covering Chipwi District
  • Kachin State Special Region 2 (Kachin Independence Organisation, 1994-2011)
• Shan State
  • Shan State Special Region 1 (Kokang, 1989–present, overlaps with Kokang SAZ)
  • Shan State Special Region 2 (Wa State, 1989–present, overlaps with Wa SAD)
  • Shan State Special Region 3 (Shan State Progress Party, 1989–present)
  • Shan State Special Region 4 (National Democratic Alliance Army, 1989–present)
  • Shan State Special Region 5 (Kachin Defense Army, 1991 - 2023)
  • Shan State Special Region 6 (Pa-O National Organisation, 1991–present, overlaps with Pa'O SAZ)
  • Shan State Special Region 7 (Palaung State Liberation Army), 1991 - 2009, overlaps with Palaung SAZ
• Kayah State
  • Kayah State Special Region 1 (Kayan National Guard, 1992–present)
  • Kayah State Special Region 2 (Karenni National People's Liberation Front, 1994–present)
  • Kayah State Special Region 3 (Kayan New Land Party, 1994–present)

The special regions in Shan State are often further distinguished by cardinal direction, such as Eastern Shan State Special Region 4 or Wa Special Region 2.

Districts and Townships

Districts are generally the second-order divisions of Myanmar and are often named after a population center within the district of the same name. Shan State has the highest numbers of normal districts; it also has plus Self-Administered Zones and the districts under the Self-Administered Division. Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory, Tanintharyi and Mon State have the least with just 4 districts. The District's role is more supervisory as the 330 townships are the basic administrative unit of local governance and are the only type of administrative division that covers the entirety of Myanmar. Historically, districts were abolished in 1972 and reestablished in 1992; townships were directly under states and divisions in 1972–1988 and township zones acted as districts in 1988–1992. A District is led by a District Administrator and a Township is administered by a Township Administrator. Both are appointed civil servants through the General Administration Department (GAD) of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA). The Minister of Home Affairs is to be appointed by the military according to the 2008 constitution. The 2008 Constitution of Myanmar defined 75 districts. In April 2022, 46 additional districts were formed by MOHA bringing the total up to 121 districts.

Most local governance services are offered at the Township level; few services are offered at the District level. The Township Administrator is the key focal point for most interactions with the government and the Township Administrator serves as a representative of the State or Region government and executes functions on behalf of the State or Region. All Township governments are staffed by 34 GAD civil servants regardless of population, although larger townships may have several Township committees that coordinate with the Township and report to the District. Townships historically were the second-order subdivisions during the period between the abolishment of districts and subdistricts in 1972 and the establishment of township zones in 1988.

In some cases, the rural portions of the township centred on a different town may be administered semi-independently as sub-townships. Subtownships exist for many but not all townships. They can be created for many reasons including, townships with large areas, townships with a large natural barrier or townships with a lopsided population distribution. These subtownships are not mentioned in the 2008 Constitution but has officially been existing in the General Administration Department's structure since 2011. Subtownships are useful to the Township administration and national ministries for data collection and administrative ease.

Cities and Development Committees

The definition of a city or a town is ambiguous with the Burmese term မြို့ ("myo") being translated as any urban area. The term မြို့တော် ("myodaw"; royal myo) is used for a city to distinguish from a mere town. The General Administration Department explicitly defines only the three cities of Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw. Municipal governance is the key exception to the general administrative structure of Myanmar with township development committees raising their own revenue and conducting their own services and economic initiatives. Still, the legislative and executive power is held by the State or Region over these development committees.

According to the development law of Yangon Region and development organizations laws of other states and regions, the municipality is functionally administered by the development committees at state/region level and by development organizations at township level, town level and countryside level, apart from the boundaries of the cities of Yangon and Mandalay which are exempted. In the City of Yangon and the City of Mandalay, township development committees act as subordinates of the city development committee according to the development laws of each city.

In Yangon, the administrative jurisdiction of the Yangon City Development Committee overlap across 34 townships. The boundaries of the City of Yangon was defined by law in 1922 but allowed to expand. The development laws handed the Yangon City Development Committee the authority to determine and expand the city's boundaries. By the development laws, the relationship is between township development committees and the city development committee. The city of Yangon overlapped with all four pre-2022 districts of Yangon.

The city of Mandalay is slightly more defined than Yangon. While acknowledging the existing boundaries, its development law handed its city development committee the authority to declare and change the city's boundaries, in a similar way as in Yangon. Prior to the expansion of districts in 2022, the city of Mandalay was functionally administered at the Mandalay District level with townships acting as subdivisions of a city.

Towns / Village Tracts and Wards / Villages

Other settlements colloquially called "cities" are considered towns in Myanmar. All towns are contained within one township like Pathein.

The lowest level of practical administration is the ward for urban areas and village for rural areas. Villages are grouped into and administered as village tracts. Village Tracts may contain up to 8 distinct villages.

Townships are made up of towns and village tracts as well as wards. If the township is entirely urban, it is directly made of wards and there is no town. Some townships include areas not part of any ward or village tract. Most townships contain at least one town or ward, and are usually named after the population center. As of reforms in 2012 and 2013, Ward and Village Tract administrators are now typically elected, but report to the appointed Township Administrator. Ward Administrators and Village Tract Administrators (also called just Village Administrators) are supported by 100-household-heads and 10-household-heads who are collectively called area leaders.

History

British colonisation

In 1900, Burma was a province of British India, and was divided into two subdivisions: Lower Burma, whose capital was Rangoon with four divisions (Arakan, Irrawaddy, Pegu, Tenasserim), and Upper Burma, whose capital was Mandalay with six divisions (Meiktila, Minbu, Sagaing, North Federated Shan States and South Federated Shan States).

On 10 October 1922, the Karenni States of Bawlake, Kantarawaddy, and Kyebogyi became a part of the Federated Shan States. In 1940, Minbu division's name was changed to Magwe, and Meiktila Divisions became part of Mandalay District.

Post-independence

Upon independence, on 4 January 1948, the Chin Hills area was split from Arakan Division to form Chin Special Division, and Kachin State was formed by carving out the Myitkyina and Bhamo districts of Mandalay Division. Kaw-thu-lay Special Region, which was intended to evolve into Karen State, was also created from Amherst, Thaton, and Toungoo Districts of Tenasserim Division. Mongpai State of the Federated Shan States was separated to form Karenni State, and Shan State was formed by merging the other Federated Shan States and the Wa States.

In 1952, Karenni State was renamed as Kayah State. Preparing since 1951, Karen State was officially founded in 1954.

In 1964, Rangoon Division was separated from Pegu Division, whose capital shifted to Pegu. In addition, Karen State was renamed as Kawthoolei.

In 1972, the Hanthawaddy and Hmawbi districts were moved under Rangoon Division's jurisdiction. Tenasserim Division was divided into two separate divisions: Moulmein District and Thaton District came under the Tenasserim Division (1) with Moulmein as the capital, and Myeik District and Tavoy District constituted the Tenasserim Division (2) with Tavoy becoming its capital. In the same year, districts, subdistricts and subtownships were abolished.

The present-day structure of seven states and seven divisions was adopted after the coming into force of the 1974 Constitution. Chin Special Division became Chin State, and its capital moved from Falam to Hakha. The name of Kawthoolei was reverted to Karen State. Tenasserim Division (1) gained statehood as Mon State, whereas Tenasserim Division (2) became the only Tenasserim Division. In addition, Arakan Division was granted statehood as Arakan State.

After the coup d'état by the State Law and Order Restoration Council military junta in 1988, the new level of township zones was introduced between the level of state and divisions and the township level. In 1989, the names of many divisions in Burma were altered in English to reflect Burmese pronunciations. The township zones were redefined as districts in 1992. In 1994, a new level of sub-states and sub-divisions were introduced between the level of states and divisions and the district level.

From 1989 onward, the military government granted the status of special regions to the territories controlled by some (not all) of the ethnic armed groups which entered into cease-fire agreement with the government. After 1995, in Kachin State Mohnyin District was created out of Myitkyina District as part of the peace agreement with the Kachin Independence Army.

2008 Constitution

The 2008 Constitution stipulates the renaming of the 7 "divisions" (တိုင်း in Burmese) as "regions" (တိုင်းဒေသကြီး in Burmese). It also stipulates the creation of Union territory which includes the capital Nay Pyi Taw with the same level as the states and regions, and the ethnic self-administered zones (ကိုယ်ပိုင်အုပ်ချုပ်ခွင့်ရဒေသ in Burmese) and self-administered divisions (ကိုယ်ပိုင်အုပ်ချုပ်ခွင့်ရတိုင်း in Burmese) which are the subdivisions of states and regions. These self-administered regions include the following:

• Danu Self-Administered Zone: consisting of Ywangan and Pindaya townships in Shan State
• Kokang Self-Administered Zone: consisting of Konkyan and Laukkai townships in Shan State
• Naga Self-Administered Zone: consisting of Leshi, Lahe, and Namyun townships in Sagaing Region
• Pa Laung Self-Administered Zone: consisting of Namhsan and Manton townships in Shan State
• Pa-O Self-Administered Zone: consisting of Hopong, Hsihseng, and Pinlaung townships in Shan State
• Wa Self-Administered Division: consisting of Hopang, Mongmao, Panwai, Nahpan, Metman, and Pangsang (Pankham) townships in Shan State

On 20 August 2010, the renaming of the 7 divisions and the naming of the 6 self-administered zones was announced by Burmese state media.

Evolution and changes in hierarchy

Changes

Historical evolution of states/regions

Below is a summary of how Myanmar's first-level administrative divisions have evolved since independence:

Historical changes in hierarchy