Sagaing Region စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်းဒေသကြီး | |
|---|---|
| Myanma transcription(s) | |
| • Burmese | cac kuing: tuing: desa. kri: |
 | |
.svg) Flag  Seal | |
 Location of Sagaing Region in Myanmar | |
| Coordinates:21°30′N95°37′E / 21.500°N 95.617°E /21.500; 95.617 | |
| Country | Myanmar |
| Region | Upper |
| Capital | Monywa |
| Government | |
| • Chief Minister | Myat Kyaw |
| • Cabinet | Sagaing Region Government |
| • Legislature | Sagaing Region Hluttaw |
| • Judiciary | Sagaing Region High Court |
| Area | |
• Total | 93,704.5 km2 (36,179.5 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 2nd |
| Highest elevation | 3,841 m (12,602 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 5,325,347 |
| • Rank | 5th |
| • Density | 57/km2 (150/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Sagainggese |
| Demographics | |
| • Ethnicities | |
| • Religions | Buddhism 92.2% Christianity 6.5% Islam 1.1% Hinduism 0.1% Animism 0.1%[2] |
| Time zone | UTC+06:30 (MST) |
| ISO 3166 code | MM-01 |
| HDI (2017) | 0.547[3] low ·9th |
| Website | sagaingregion |
Sagaing Region (Burmese:စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်းဒေသကြီး,pronounced[zəɡáɪ̯ɰ̃táɪ̯ɰ̃dèθa̰dʑí]; formerlySagaing Division) is anadministrative region ofMyanmar, located in the north-western part of the country between latitude 21° 30' north and longitude 94° 97' east. It is bordered by India'sNagaland,Manipur, andArunachal Pradesh states to the north,Kachin State,Shan State, andMandalay Region to the east, Mandalay Region andMagway Region to the south, with theAyeyarwady River forming a greater part of its eastern and also southern boundary, andChin State and India to the west. The region has an area of 93,527 square kilometres (36,111 sq mi). In 1996, it had a population of over 5,300,000, while its population in 2012 was 6,600,000. The urban population 2012 was 1,230,000, and the rural population was 5,360,000.[4] The namesake of Sagaing Region isSagaing and the administrative capital and largest city beingMonywa.[5][6][7]
ThePyu were the first in recorded history to populate the area of Sagaing Region by the first century CE. TheBurmans first migrated intoUpper Myanmar by the ninth century CE. The area came under thePagan Kingdom certainly by the middle of the 11th century when the KingAnawrahta (r. 1044–1077) founded the Pagan Empire, which encompasses the modern day Myanmar.[citation needed]
.png)
After the fall of Pagan in 1287, the northwestern parts of Upper Myanmar came under theSagaing Kingdom (1315–1364) ruled by BurmanizedShan kings. The area was ruled by the kings ofAva from 1364 to 1555 and the kings ofTaungoo from 1555 to 1752.Konbaung Dynasty (1752–1885), founded by kingAlaungpaya inShwebo, became the last Burmese dynasty before theBritish conquest of Upper Burma in 1885. The area became Sagaing Division after the Burmese independence in January 1948.[citation needed]
In the aftermath of the2021 Myanmar coup d'état, Sagaing Region, which is part of theBamar homeland, emerged as a stronghold of resistance against military rule.Myanmar Armed Forces has engaged in significant military offensives throughout the region to quell resistance and intimidate local villagers. Sagaing Region has since become the site of several high-profile massacres by military forces, including the 2022Let Yet Kone massacre and the 2023Tar Taing massacre.[8][9]
On March 2025, a 7.7-magnitudeearthquake struck close to the capital city of Sagaing. Significant damage was recorded within the city and throughout the entire region.
As of 2022, Sagaing Region consists of 13 districts and 1 Self-Administered Zone, divided into 34 townships[10] with 198 wards and villages. The major cities areSagaing,Shwebo,Monywa,Ye U,Katha,Kale,Tamu,Mawlaik andHkamti.Mingun with its famous bell is located near Sagaing but can be reached across the Ayeyarwady fromMandalay.
In August 2010,[11] three former townships ofHkamti District were transferred, in accordance with the 2008 constitution,[12] to a new administrative unit, theNaga Self-Administered Zone.[11]
It is currently under the control of a military junta known as the State Administration Council (SAC), led by General Min Aung Hlaing. This regime seized power following a coup on February 1, 2021, overthrowing the elected civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy (NLD). Since then, the country has been under an extended state of emergency and faces an ongoing civil war between the junta, pro-democracy forces, and various ethnic armed groups. Grock
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This section is empty. You can help byadding to it.(July 2019) |
| This section is empty. You can help byadding to it.(July 2019) |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 3,119,054 | — |
| 1983 | 3,862,172 | +23.8% |
| 2014 | 5,325,347 | +37.9% |
| Source: 2014 Myanmar Census[1] | ||
TheBamar (Burmans) are the majorityethnic group in the dry regions and along the Mandalay-Myitkyina Railroad.Shan live in the upperChindwin River valley.Kuki people which includes theThadou people live in the south and along the Indo-Myanmar Border from Homalin to Tamu-Namphalong axis. Smaller ethnic groups native to the Region include theKadu andGanang, who live in the upperMu River valley and Meza River valley. There are also an unknown number ofCatholicBayingyi people (at least 3,000), the descendants of 16th and 17th century Portuguese adventurers and mercenaries, who live in their ancestral villages on the expansive plains of theMu River valley.
According to the2014 Myanmar Census,Buddhists, who make up 92.2% of Sagaing Region's population, form the largest religious community there.[14] Minority religious communities includeChristians (6.6%),Muslims (1.1%), andHindus (0.1%) who collectively comprise the remainder of Sagaing Region's population.[14] 0.1% of the population listed no religion, other religions, or were otherwise not enumerated.[14]
According to theState Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee’s 2016 statistics, 55,041 Buddhist monks were registered in Sagaing Region, comprising 10.3% of Myanmar's totalSangha membership, which includes both novicesamanera and fully-ordained bhikkhu.[15] The majority of monks belong to theThudhamma Nikaya (83.8%), followed byShwegyin Nikaya (16.1%), with the remainder of monks belonging to other smallmonastic orders.[15] 9,915thilashin were registered in Sagaing Region, comprising 16.4% of Myanmar's total thilashin community.[15]
There are a number of protected areas in Sagaing Region, among them areAlaungdaw Kathapa National Park,Chatthin Wildlife Sanctuary,[16]Mahamyaing Wildlife Sanctuary,[17][18] andHtamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary inHomalin Township.[19]
Hemmed in by two great rivers of Myanmar, theIrrawaddy and theChindwin, river transport is a common way to move people and cargo. Much of the inland Sagaing Region relies on roads and rail in poor condition.
Agriculture is the chief occupation. The leading crop isrice, which occupies most of the arable ground. Other crops includewheat,sesame,peanut,pulses,cotton, andtobacco. The region being next to India, depends on the export import business from India. It is the gateway to India for Myanmar. Sagaing is Myanmar's leading producer of wheat, contributing more than 80% of the country's total production. Important minerals includegold,coal,salt and small amounts ofpetroleum. Industry includestextiles,copper refining,gold smelting, and adiesel engine plant. The Region has many rice mills,edible oil mills, saw mills, cotton mills, and mechanizedweaving factories. Local industry includes earthenpots,silverware,bronze-wares,iron-wares andlacquerware.
Forestry is important in the wetter upper regions along theChindwin River, withteak and other hardwoods extracted. As in other parts of the country,reforestation is not effective enough to maintainsustainable forestry. Since the2021 Myanmar coup d'état,illegal logging of teak and tamalan trees has surged in Sagaing Region, predominantly in key contested battlegrounds, includingKani,Yinmabin,Kantbalu,Indaw andBanmauk townships.[20] Both the Burmese military and resistance groups have profited from the illegal logging trade.[20] Smugglers transport the wood to India in order to circumventeconomic sanctions, and use theMyanma Timber Enterprise to license the wood as being sourced from permitted areas.[20][21]
Educational opportunities in Myanmar are extremely limited outside the main cities ofYangon andMandalay. According to official statistics, less than 10% of primary school students in Sagaing Region reach high school.[22]
| AY 2002–2003 | Primary | Middle | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schools | 3854 | 190 | 84 |
| Teachers | 16,100 | 5000 | 1600 |
| Students | 550,000 | 140,000 | 49,000 |
Sagaing Region has three national "professional" universities in theMonywa University of Economics,Sagaing University of Education and theSagaing Institute of Education.Monywa University is the mainliberal arts university in the region.Sagaing Institute of Education also knownSagaing University of Education is the one of two senior universities of education inMyanmar.
The general state of healthcare 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.[23][24] Although healthcare 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. Moreover, the healthcare infrastructure outside ofYangon andMandalay is extremely poor. In 2003, Sagaing Region had less than a quarter of the number of hospital beds counted inYangon Region, with a similar size of population.[25]
| 2002–2003 | # Hospitals | # Beds |
|---|---|---|
| Specialist hospitals | 0 | 0 |
| General hospitals with specialist services | 2 | 400 |
| General hospitals | 38 | 1168 |
| Health clinics | 48 | 768 |
| Total | 88 | 2336 |
Places adjacent to Sagaing Region | |
|---|---|
