Kayah State

Kayah State ကယားပြည်နယ်
State
Myanma transcription(s)
• Burmese	ka. ya: prany nai
Htee Zai Kha waterfall, border of Shan and Kayah State
Flag Seal
Location of Kayah State in Myanmar
Coordinates: 19°15′N 97°20′E / 19.250°N 97.333°E / 19.250; 97.333
Country	Myanmar
Region	Southeast
Founded	15 January 1952[1]
Capital	Loikaw
Government
• Chief Minister	TBD[2]
• Cabinet	Kayah State Government
• Legislature	Kayah State Hluttaw
• Judiciary	Kayah State High Court
Area
• Total	11,731.5 km2 (4,529.6 sq mi)
• Rank	13th
Highest elevation (Nattaung)	2,623 m (8,606 ft)
Population  (2018)[3]
• Total	400,000
• Rank	15th
• Density	34/km2 (88/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Kayah, Karenni
Demographics
• Ethnicities	Kayah, Kayin, Padaung, Bamar, Shan, Pa-O
• Religions	Buddhism 49.9% Christianity 45.8% Animism 1.9% Islam 1.1% Hinduism 0.1% Other Religion 1.2%
Time zone	UTC+06:30 (MST)
HDI (2017)	0.585[4] medium · 3rd
Website	www.kayahstate.gov.mm

Kayah State (Burmese: ကယားပြည်နယ်, pronounced [kəjá pjìnɛ̀]), or Karenni State, is a state of Myanmar. Situated in eastern Myanmar, it is bounded on the north by Shan State, on the east by Thailand's Mae Hong Son Province, and on the south and west by Kayin State. It lies approximately between 18° 30′ and 19° 55′ north latitude and between 96° 50′ and 97° 50′ east longitude. The area is 11,670 km² (4,510 sq mi). Its capital is Loikaw (also spelt Loi-kaw). The estimated population in the 2014 Myanmar Census was 286,738, the smallest among Myanmar's seven states. It is inhabited primarily by the Karenni ethnic group, also known as Red Karen^[5] or Kayah, a Sino-Tibetan people.