Myanmar's road network consists of five types of roads:^[1]

• Expressways (အမြန်လမ်းမကြီးများ)
• National Highways (ပြည်ထောင်စုလမ်းမကြီးများ), also known as Union Highways
• Main Arterials (အဓိကလမ်းမကြီးများ)
• Sub Arterials (လမ်းခွဲငယ်များ)
• Asian (ASEAN) Highways

Myanmar's expressway network is undergoing gradual modernization, with theYangon-Mandalay Expressway (E 1) serving as its backbone. Completed in 2010, the E 1 is a 590-kilometer, four-lane highway linking the country's largest city Yangon with the central hub Mandalay via Naypyidaw, the capital. Beyond the E 1, Myanmar has outlined plans for five additional expressways.^[2]

In 2021, the Ministry of Construction published a list of 50 national highways.^[3] This numbering system is designed as a grid, with numbers increasing from south to north. There is no clear system within this grid, but the numbers are somewhat zoned. However, certain numbers do not run east-west or north-south. Some routes do not actually exist as drivable road connections.

National Highways in Myanmar

In the past, there was a different system where single-digit roads formed the main routes, with the 1 and 2 between Yangon and Mandalay, with other single-digit roads branching off from them, and the two-digit roads branching off from the single-digit roads. This created a zoned system with three-digit numbers as well.

The main highways are as follows:

• 1 – Runs fromYangon toMandalay, passing throughBago,Taungoo,Pyinmana andMeiktila.
• 2 – Runs fromYangon toMandalay, passing throughPyay,Magwe,Kyaukpadaung andMyingyan.
• 3 – Runs fromMandalay toMuse, on the border with China, passing throughLashio.
• 4 – Runs fromMeiktila toTachileik, on the border withThailand, passing throughTaunggyi andKengtung.
• 5 – Runs fromTaungoo toHopong, passing throughLoikaw.
• 6 – Runs fromYangon toPathein.
• 7 – Runs fromMandalay toMoreh, on the border with India, passing throughShwebo andKale.
• 8 – Runs fromPayagyi toMyeik, passing throughMoulmein,Ye andDawei.
• 17– Runs fromTada-U toMyingyan, passing through Gway Kone, and Myo Thar.
• 31 – Runs fromMandalay toMyitkyina, passing throughMogok andBhamo.

Main arterials are designated with one to two digits numbers. The numbering of arterials are numbered according to their direction: north-south roads are assigned odd numbers, increasing from west to east; east-west roads are assigned even numbers, increasing from south to north.^[4]

Sub arterials road numbers consist of two parts: the first part is the region/state code and the second part is the road code. The road number are numbered according to their direction: north-south roads are assigned odd numbers, increasing from west to east; east-west roads are assigned even numbers, increasing from south to north. Roads numbered 1 to 99 are within the same region/state, and roads numbered 201 to 299 are connecting two regions/states.^[5]

There are sevenAsian Highway routes within Myanmar, three of which are also ASEAN highways.^[6]

Myanmar faces severe rural accessibility challenges, with around two-thirds of its rural population physically isolated for part or all of the year. The country has about 64,000 villages but only 75,000 km of all-season roads—roughly one kilometer per village, far below what is needed for universal access. An estimated 20 million people, or 40% of the population, live in villages without all-season road access. Of these, 9.2 million people in 25,000 villages lack any road connection at all, while another 11.3 million in 20,000 villages are linked only by roads that become impassable during the rainy season.

Using theRural Access Index (RAI), which measures the share of the rural population living within 2 km of an all-season road, Myanmar scores only 36%, the second lowest inAsia afterAfghanistan. This means 64% of rural residents—about 24 million people—must travel more than 2 km to reach an all-season road. Access varies widely across regions:Mon State has relatively high access (73%), whileChin State (11%),Kachin State,Kayin State, andRakhine State (15–18%) face extremely poor connectivity, comparable only to some of the least connected countries inAfrica.^[7]

• Transport in Myanmar

Media related toRoads in Myanmar at Wikimedia Commons

• Roads in Myanmar

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