Shan State

Shan State မိူင်းတႆး (Shan) ရှမ်းပြည်နယ် (Burmese)
State
Flag
Location of Shan State in Myanmar
Coordinates: 21°30′N 98°0′E / 21.500°N 98.000°E / 21.500; 98.000
Country	Myanmar
State	East central
Before becoming State	Federated Shan States
Establishment	4 January 1948
Direct rule by the Government	1 October 1959
Capital	Taunggyi
Government
• Chief Minister	Kyaw Kyaw Tun
• Cabinet	Shan State Government
• Legislature	Shan State Hluttaw
• Judiciary	Shan State High Court
Area [1]
• Total	155,801.3 km2 (60,155.2 sq mi)
• Rank	1st
Highest elevation (Mong Ling Shan)	2,641 m (8,665 ft)
Population  (2014)[2]
• Total	5,824,432
• Rank	4th
• Density	37/km2 (97/sq mi)
	The last official census in Myanmar was in 2014.
Demonym	Shan
Demographics
• Ethnicities	Shan Bamar Han-Chinese Kachin Wa Lisu Danu Intha Akha Lahu Ta'ang Pa-O Taungyo Indians Gurkha
• Religions	Buddhism 81.7% Christianity 9.8% Animism 6.6% Islam 1.0% Hinduism 0.01% No religion 1.4% Others 0.5%
Time zone	UTC+06:30 (MMT)
HDI (2019)	0.509[3] low · 14th
Website	www.shanstate.gov.mm

Shan State (Shan: မိူင်းတႆး, Möng Tai; Burmese: ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, pronounced [ʃáɰ̃ pjìnɛ̀]) is a state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China (Yunnan) to the north, Laos (Louang Namtha and Bokeo Provinces) to the east, and Thailand (Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son Provinces) to the south, and five administrative divisions of Myanmar in the west. The largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km², almost a quarter of the total area of Myanmar. The state gets its name from the Burmese name for the Tai peoples: "Shan people". The Tai (Shan) constitute the majority among several ethnic groups that inhabit the area. Shanland is largely rural, with only three cities of significant size: Lashio, Kengtung, and the capital, Taunggyi.^[4] Taunggyi is 150.7 km northeast of the nation's capital Naypyitaw.

The Shan state, with many ethnic groups, is home to several armed ethnic groups. While the military government has signed ceasefire agreements with most groups, vast areas of the state, especially those east of the Salween River, remain outside the central government's control, and in recent years have come under heavy ethnic-Han Chinese economic and political influence. Other areas are under the control of military groups such as the Shan State Army.

According to data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Shan State is the region that produces the most opium in Myanmar, though production has declined in recent years.^[5]