View source for Place:Yangon

{{Short description|Largest city  Myanmar(Burma)}}

{{EngvarB|date=September 2017}}

{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Yangon
| native_name        = ရန်ကုန်
| other_name         = Rangoon
| native_name_lang   = my
| official_name      = Yangon City
| settlement_type    = City
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
 |total_width        = 270px
 |perrow             = 1/2/2/1
 |border             = infobox
 |image1             = ShwedagonPagoda.jpg
 |alt1               = 
 |image2             = 2016 Rangun, Dawny budynek Sądu Najwyższego (13).jpg
 |alt2               = 
 |image3             = Yangon downtown at night.jpg
 |image4             = 2016_Rangun,_Ratusz_(18).jpg
 |alt4               = 
 |image5             = 2016 Rangun, Sąd rejonowy (02).jpg
 |alt5               = 
 |image6             = KandawgyiLake (cropped).jpg
 |alt6               = 
 }}
| imagesize          = 250px
| image_caption      = <small>Clockwise from top: Shwedagon Pagoda, aerial view of central Yangon, colonial-era buildings along Strand Road, the Karaweik at Kandawgyi Lake, Yangon City Hall, Yangon High Court</small>
| image_flag         = File:Flag of Yangon Region.svg
| pushpin_map        = Myanmar#Southeast Asia#Asia
| pushpin_label_position = left
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of Yangon, Myanmar
| coordinates        = {{Coord|16.795|N|96.160|E|format=dms|type:city_region:MM|display=inline,title}}
| geocode            = [[Place:Yangon|Yangon]]
| coor_pinpoint      = Asia/Yangon
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|Myanmar}}
| subdivision_type1  = Region
| subdivision_name1  = Yangon Region
| established_title  = Settled
| established_date   = {{circa|1028–1043}} CE
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = Bo Htay{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}
| unit_pref          = 'metric (imperial)'
| area_footnotes     = <ref name=uncrd/>
| area_urban_km2     = 598.75
| area_metro_km2     = 10170
| population_as_of   = 2014 Census
| population_density_urban_km2 = auto
| population_density_urban_sq_mi = auto
| population_urban   = 5,160,512
| population_rural   = 2,200,191
| population_density_metro_km2 = auto
| population_density_metro_sq_mi = auto
| population_metro   = 7,360,703 (Yangon Region)
| population_metro_footnotes = <ref name="census-2014">{{cite book |title=Census Report |publisher=Ministry of Immigration and Population |location=Naypyitaw |date=May 2015 |series=The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census |volume=2 |page=31 |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B067GBtstE5TeUlIVjRjSjVzWlk/view |access-date=22 September 2016 |archive-date=7 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507224807/https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B067GBtstE5TeUlIVjRjSjVzWlk/view |url-status=live}}</ref>
| population_blank1_title = Ethnicities
| population_blank1  = {{Collapsible list
 | titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;font-size:100%;
 | title = List of ethnicities
 |Bamar | Burmese Chinese | Burmese Indians | Chin | Rakhine | Mon | Karen | Shan | Kayah| Kachin}}
| population_blank2_title = Religions
| population_blank2  = {{Collapsible list
 |titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;font-size:100%;
 |title = List of religions
 |[[Religion:Buddhism|Buddhism]] 91% |[[Religion:Islam|Islam]] 4.7% |[[Religion:Christianity|Christianity]] 3.2% |[[Religion:Hinduism|Hinduism]] 1.0% |Others 0.1%}}
| population_demonym = Yangonthar
| area_code          = 01
| registration_plate = YGN
| translit_lang1_info1 = {{lang|my|ရန်ကုန်}}
| timezone1          = Asia/Yangon or Asia/Rangoon
| area_rank          = division
| iso_code           = [[ISO 3166-2:MM|MM06]]
| utc_offset1        = +06:30
| timezone2          = Myanmar Time
| utc_offset2        = +06:30
| utc_offset         = +6:30
| website            = {{URL|yangon.gov.mm/}}
}}

'''Yangon''' ({{lang-my|ရန်ကုန်}}; {{IPA-my|jàɰ̃.ɡòʊɰ̃|pron}}), formerly romanized as '''Rangoon'''<ref>"Yangon." ''Vocabulary.com Dictionary,'' Vocabulary.com, <nowiki>https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/Yangon</nowiki>. Accessed 30 Jan. 2024.</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Rangoon, n. |date=2023-03-02 |work=Oxford English Dictionary |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oed/1808019758 |access-date=2024-01-30 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the Capitals of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government relocated the administrative functions to the purpose-built capital city of [[Place:Naypyidaw|Naypyidaw]] in north central Myanmar.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4848408.stm |title=Burma's new capital stages parade |work=BBC News |date=27 March 2006 |access-date=3 August 2006 |archive-date=3 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203065423/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4848408.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> With over five million people, Yangon is Myanmar's most populous city and its most important commercial centre.

Yangon boasts the largest number of colonial-era buildings in Southeast Asia,<ref name="bygone">{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Steven |date=30 March 2004 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3578993.stm |title=Burma maintains bygone buildings |work=BBC News |access-date=22 May 2006 |archive-date=8 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408162817/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3578993.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> and has a unique colonial-era urban core that is remarkably intact.<ref>{{cite news |title=As Myanmar Modernizes, Architectural Gems Are Endangered |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/06/04/299058830/as-myanmar-modernizes-architectural-gems-are-endangered |access-date=8 April 2017 |publisher=NPR |date=4 June 2014 |archive-date=15 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615191503/https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/06/04/299058830/as-myanmar-modernizes-architectural-gems-are-endangered |url-status=live}}</ref> The colonial-era commercial core is centered around the Sule Pagoda, which is reputed to be over 2,000 years old.<ref>{{cite book |last1=De Thabrew |first1=W. Vivian |title=Buddhist Monuments And Temples of Myanmar And Thailand |date=11 March 2014 |publisher=AuthorHouse |isbn=9781491896228 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qGg6AwAAQBAJ&q=sule+pagoda&pg=PA12 |access-date=8 April 2017}}</ref> The city is also home to the gilded Shwedagon Pagoda – Myanmar's most sacred and famous Buddhist pagoda.

Yangon suffers from deeply inadequate [[Physics:Infrastructure|infrastructure]], especially compared to other major cities in [[Place:Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]], such as [[Place:Jakarta|Jakarta]], [[Place:Bangkok|Bangkok]] or [[Place:Hanoi|Hanoi]]. Though many historic residential and commercial buildings have been renovated throughout central Yangon, most satellite towns that ring the city continue to be profoundly impoverished and lack basic infrastructure.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rapid migration and lack of cheap housing fuels Yangon slum growth |url=http://www.myanmar-now.org/news/i/?id=15af2551-98ae-4b69-bc63-9091702da2fa |website=Myanmar Now |access-date=8 April 2017 |date=27 February 2016 |archive-date=13 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913180352/http://www.myanmar-now.org/news/i/?id=15af2551-98ae-4b69-bc63-9091702da2fa |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Etymology and pronunciation==
The name ''Yangon'' ({{my|ရန်ကုန်}}) is derived from the combination of the [[Social:Burmese language|Burmese]] words {{lang|my-Latn|yan}} ({{wikt-lang|my|ရန်}}) and {{lang|my-Latn|koun}} ({{wikt-lang|my|ကုန်}}), which mean 'enemies' and 'run out of', respectively. This word combination can be translated as 'End of Strife'.

The name is pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˌ|j|æ|ŋ|ˈ|ɡ|ɒ|n}} {{respell|yang|GON}} in British English and {{IPAc-en|ˌ|j|ɑː|n|ˈ|ɡ|oʊ|n}} {{respell|yahn|GOHN}} in American English.<ref>{{cite LPD|3}}</ref>

==History==
{{For timeline}}

===Early history===
Yangon was founded as ''Dagon'' in the early 11th century ({{circa|1028–1043}}) by the Mon people, who inhabited Lower Burma at that time.<ref>Founded during the reign of King Pontarika, per {{cite book |title=Legendary History of Burma and Arakan |url=https://archive.org/details/legendaryhistor00smitgoog |year=1882 |author=Charles James Forbes Smith-Forbes |publisher=The Government Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/legendaryhistor00smitgoog/page/n30 20]}}; the king's reign was 1028 to 1043 per {{cite book |last=Harvey |first=G. E. |title=History of Burma: From the Earliest Times to 10 March 1824 |publisher=Frank Cass & Co. Ltd |year=1925 |location=London |page=368}}</ref> Dagon became an important pilgrimage pagoda town, starting in the 14th century, during the [[History:Hanthawaddy Kingdom|Hanthawaddy Kingdom]]. Notable governors of Dagon included Princess Maha Dewi, who ruled the town from 1364 to 1392,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Razadarit Ayedawbon (in Burmese) (8th printing, 2005 ed.) |last=Pan Hla |first=Nai |publisher=Armanthit Sarpay |orig-year=1968 |year=2005 |location=Yangon |pages=54}}</ref> and her grandniece, Shin Saw Pu, who later became the only female [[Social:Queen regnant|queen regnant]] in Burmese history. Queen Saw Pu built a palace next to the Shwedagon Pagoda in the town in 1460 and spent her semi-retired life at that palace until her death in 1471.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/newuniversalgaze00morsrich |title=A new universal gazetteer, or geographical dictionary .. |last1=Morse |first1=Jedidiah |last2=Morse |first2=Richard C. (Richard Cary) |last3=Converse |first3=S. |date=1823 |publisher=New Haven, S. Converse |others=University of California Libraries}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.9463 |title=History of Burma: from the earliest times to March 1824 |last=Harvey |first=G. E. |date=1925}}</ref>

In 1755, King Alaungpaya, the founder of the Konbaung Dynasty captured Dagon, added settlements around it, and called the enlarged town "Yangon". In the 1790s, the East India Company opened a factory in Yangon. The estimated population of Yangon in 1823 was about 30,000.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/imperialgazettee21grea |title=Imperial gazetteer of India .. |last1=Great Britain. India Office |last2=Hunter |first2=William Wilson |last3=Cotton |first3=James Sutherland |last4=Burn |first4=Richard |last5=Meyer |first5=William Stevenson |date=1907 |publisher=Oxford : Clarendon Press |others=University of California Libraries}}</ref> The [[History:United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] captured Yangon during the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–26), but returned the city to Burmese rule after the war. The city was destroyed by a fire in 1841.<ref name="mcy">{{Cite book |title=Megacity yangon: transformation processes and modern developments |author=Kyaw Kyaw |isbn=978-3-8258-0042-0 |editor1=Frauke Krass |editor2=Hartmut Gaese |editor3=Mi Mi Kyi |pages=333–334 |publisher=Lit Verlag |location=Berlin |year=2006}}</ref>

=== Colonial Rangoon (1852–1948) ===
[[File:Yangon Rangoon and Environ map 1911.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Rangoon and environs map, 1911]]
[[File:Public Gardens, Rangoon.jpg|thumb|left|A view of the Cantonment Gardens (now Kandaw Minglar Garden) in 1868]]
[[File:RangoonStreetView.jpg|thumb|left|Damage of central Rangoon in the aftermath of World War II]]
The British captured Yangon and all of Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, and subsequently transformed Yangon into the commercial and political hub of British Burma. After the war, the British moved the capital of British Burma from Moulmein (present-day Mawlamyine) to Yangon.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3578993.stm |title=BBC NEWS {{!}} Asia-Pacific {{!}} Burma maintains bygone buildings |publisher=BBC |access-date=27 July 2017 |date=2004-03-30 |archive-date=8 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408162817/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3578993.stm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-in-school/moulmein-first-british-capital-of-myanmar-back-on-the-tourist-map/article5000457.ece |title=Moulmein, first British capital of Myanmar, back on the tourist map |work=The Hindu |access-date=27 July 2017 |archive-date=20 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020191612/http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-in-school/moulmein-first-british-capital-of-myanmar-back-on-the-tourist-map/article5000457.ece |url-status=live}}</ref> Based on the design by army engineer Lt. Alexander Fraser, the British constructed a new city on a grid plan on delta land, bounded to the east by the Pazundaung Creek and to the south and west by the Yangon River. Yangon became the capital of all British-ruled Burma after the British had captured Upper Burma in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of 1885. By the 1890s Yangon's increasing population and commerce gave birth to prosperous residential suburbs to the north of Royal Lake (Kandawgyi) and Inya Lake.<ref name="autogenerated4">{{cite web |url=http://www.bookrags.com/Yangon |title=Yangon Summary Review and Analysis |publisher=Bookrags.com |date=17 October 2005 |access-date=17 April 2010 |archive-date=28 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061128201939/http://www.bookrags.com/Yangon |url-status=dead}}</ref> The British also established hospitals including Rangoon General Hospital and colleges including Rangoon University.

Yangon was the city where the British sent Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal emperor, to live in exile after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.<ref>{{cite web |title=Remembering the last Mughal emperor |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41884390 |website=BBC |access-date=11 June 2021 |date=8 November 2017 |archive-date=11 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611032521/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41884390 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Colonial Yangon, with its spacious parks and lakes and mix of modern buildings and traditional wooden architecture, was known as "the garden city of the East."<ref name="autogenerated4" /> By the early 20th century, Yangon had public services and infrastructure on par with London.<ref name="arc">{{Cite book |last=Falconer |first=John |year=2001 |title=Burmese Design & Architecture |isbn=978-962-593-882-0 |publisher=Periplus |location=Hong Kong |display-authors=0}}</ref>

Before [[Social:World War II|World War II]], about 55% of Yangon's population of 500,000 was Indian or South Asian, and only about a third was Bamar (Burman).<ref name=tmmt>{{Cite book |title=Indian Communities in south-east Asia – Some Aspects of Indians in Rangoon |last=Tin Maung Maung Than |publisher=Institute of south-east Asian Studies |year=1993 |pages=585–587 |isbn=9789812304186}}</ref> Karens, Chinese, Anglo-Burmese and others made up the rest.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

After [[Social:World War I|World War I]], Yangon became the center of the Burmese independence movement, with leftist Rangoon University students leading the way. Three nationwide strikes against British rule in 1920, 1936, and 1938 all began in Yangon. Yangon was under [[Place:Empire of Japan|Japanese]] occupation (1942–45), and incurred heavy damage during World War II. The city was retaken by the Allies in May 1945. Yangon became the capital of the Union of Burma on 4 January 1948 when the country gained independence from British rule.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grace |first=John D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M0YfDgAAQBAJ |title=Heads of State and Government |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |year=2017 |isbn=9781349657711 |pages=606}}</ref>
=== Contemporary Yangon (1948–present) ===
Soon after Burma's independence in 1948, many colonial-era names of streets and parks were changed to more nationalistic Burmese names. In 1989, the military junta changed the city's English name to "Yangon", along with many other changes in English transliteration of Burmese names. (The changes have not been accepted by many Burmese who consider the junta unfit to make such changes, nor by many publications and news bureaus, including, most notably, the BBC and foreign nations including the United Kingdom and the United States.)<ref>{{cite news |author=Who, What, Why? |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7013943.stm |title=Should it be Burma or Myanmar? |work=BBC News |date=26 September 2007 |access-date=17 April 2010 |archive-date=31 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131232458/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7013943.stm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35910.htm |title=Background Note: Burma |publisher=Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, US Department of State |access-date=1 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122194342/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35910.htm |archive-date=22 January 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Since independence, Yangon has expanded outwards. Successive governments have built satellite towns such as Thaketa, North Okkalapa and South Okkalapa in the 1950s to Hlaingthaya, Shwepyitha and South Dagon in the 1980s.<ref name=mcy/> Today, Greater Yangon encompasses an area covering nearly {{convert|600|km2}}.<ref name=uncrd/>

During Ne Win's isolationist rule (1962–88), Yangon's infrastructure deteriorated through poor maintenance and did not keep up with its increasing population. In the 1990s, the military government's more open market policies attracted domestic and foreign investment, bringing a modicum of modernity to the city's infrastructure. Some inner city residents were forcibly relocated to new satellite towns. Many colonial-period buildings were demolished to make way for high-rise hotels, office buildings, and shopping malls,<ref name="beyondrangoon">{{cite magazine |title=Beyond Rangoon |url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=5745&page=3 |date=1 May 2006 |author=Edward Blair |magazine=The Irrawaddy |access-date=30 August 2008 |archive-date=4 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101004130347/http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=5745&page=3 |url-status=dead}}</ref> leading the city government to place about 200 notable colonial-period buildings under the Yangon City Heritage List in 1996.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Special Report |url=http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/myanmartimes/no87/New/14.htm |date=4 November 2001 |access-date=30 August 2008 |archive-date=22 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070822213342/http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/myanmartimes/no87/New/14.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> Major building programs have resulted in six new bridges and five new highways linking the city to its industrial back country.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.myanmar.com/myanmartimes/MyanmarTimes17-333/b006.htm |title=Pioneering FMI City 'the best in Yangon' |author=Zaw Htet |work=The Myanmar Times |access-date=7 September 2008 |archive-date=14 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061114013535/http://www.myanmar.com/myanmartimes/MyanmarTimes17-333/b006.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/cemm/eng/zt/zmjjqd/jmgxgk/t198979.htm |title=Yangon-Thanlyin Bridge |access-date=7 September 2008}}{{Dead link|date=July 2009}}</ref><ref name="ngamoeyeik">{{Cite news |url=http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/Perspective/persp2001/2-2001/nga.htm |title=Ngamoeyeik Bridge |author=Kyi Kyi Hla |date=1 February 2001 |access-date=7 September 2008 |archive-date=19 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091119074811/http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/Perspective/persp2001/2-2001/nga.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> Still, much of Yangon remains without basic municipal services such as 24-hour electricity and regular garbage collection.

Yangon has become much more indigenous Burmese in its ethnic make-up since independence. After independence, many South Asians and Anglo-Burmese left. Many more South Asians were forced to leave during the 1960s by Ne Win's xenophobic government.<ref name=tmmt/> Nevertheless, sizeable South Asian and Chinese communities still exist in Yangon. The Anglo-Burmese have effectively disappeared, having left the country or intermarried with other Burmese groups.

Yangon was the centre of major anti-government protests in 1974, [[Social:8888 Uprising|1988]] and 2007. In particular, the [[Social:8888 Uprising|8888 Uprising]] resulted in the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of Burmese civilians, many of them in Yangoon where hundreds of thousands of people flooded into the streets of the former capital city. The Saffron Revolution saw mass shootings and the use of crematoria in Yangoon by the Burmese government to erase evidence of their crimes against monks, unarmed protesters, journalists and students.<ref>Burmese Human Rights Yearbook, 2007, http://www.burmalibrary.org/show.php?cat=1320&lo=d&sl=0 {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019065257/http://burmalibrary.org/show.php?cat=1320&lo=d&sl=0 |date=19 October 2012 }}</ref>

The city's streets saw bloodshed each time as protesters were gunned down by the government, most notably during the [[Social:8888 Uprising|1988]],<ref>{{cite web |title=How a Failed Democracy Uprising Set the Stage for Myanmar's Future |url=https://time.com/5360637/myanmar-8888-uprising-30-anniversary-democracy/ |access-date=11 June 2021 |date=8 August 2018 |archive-date=19 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919162950/https://time.com/5360637/myanmar-8888-uprising-30-anniversary-democracy/ |url-status=live}}</ref> 2007,<ref>{{cite web |title=Myanmar's Saffron Revoulution: 10 Years Later |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/saffron/ |access-date=11 June 2021 |date=22 April 2017 |archive-date=29 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529032745/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/special/saffron/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and the 2021 mass protests,<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-03-14 |title=Myanmar protests: Demonstrators killed in bloody Yangon crackdown |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56395085 |access-date=2023-08-22 |archive-date=14 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230914112724/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56395085 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last= |date=2021-03-27 |title=Myanmar: more than 90 reported killed on 'day of shame' for armed forces |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/27/myanmar-military-protesters-shot-armed-forces-day |access-date=2023-08-22 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=22 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822071408/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/27/myanmar-military-protesters-shot-armed-forces-day |url-status=live }}</ref> all of which were started in Yangon itself, signifying its importance as the cultural centre of Burma.

In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit Yangon. While the city had few human casualties, three-quarters of Yangon's industrial infrastructure was destroyed or damaged, with losses estimated at US$800&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/no427/b004.htm |title=Long road back for industrial recovery |date=14 July 2008 |author=Ye Lwin |work=The Myanmar Times |access-date=26 July 2008 |archive-date=30 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430045910/http://www.mmtimes.com/no427/b004.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In November 2005, the military government designated [[Place:Naypyidaw|Naypyidaw]], {{convert|320|km|mi|0}} north of Yangon, as the new administrative capital, and moved much of the government to the newly developed city. Yangon remains the largest city and the most important commercial, [[Finance:Economics|economic]] and cultural center of Myanmar. On 7 May 2005, a series of coordinated bombings occurred in the city of Yangon, Myanmar. Eleven people were killed in the attack, and one of the 162 people that were injured was a member of the LCMS mission team to Myanmar.<ref>{{cite web |website=Writing.com |url=http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1030057 |title=Bomb blast in Yangon, Myanmar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927100426/http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1030057 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |access-date=11 June 2021 |author1=LostWord |url-status=live |date=2005 }}</ref>
[[File:2021 Myanmar Protest in Hleden.jpg|thumb|A protest in Yangon in response to the 2021 coup d'état.]]
In the 2020s, life in Yangon was greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and 2021 coup d'état.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Myanmar locks down Yangon region after record jump in COVID cases |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/21/myanmar-locks-down-yangon-region-after-record-jump-in-covid-cases |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=Al Jazeera |date=21 Sep 2020 |language=en |archive-date=25 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525163655/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/21/myanmar-locks-down-yangon-region-after-record-jump-in-covid-cases |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="a-65105276">{{Cite web |title=Life in Myanmar's Yangon after COVID and a coup |date=March 24, 2023 |first1=Michael |last1=Kemp |url=https://www.dw.com/en/life-in-myanmars-yangon-after-covid-and-a-coup/a-65105276 |access-date=2023-08-22 |website= DW |language=en |archive-date=8 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408124325/https://www.dw.com/en/life-in-myanmars-yangon-after-covid-and-a-coup/a-65105276 |url-status=live }}</ref> The city was the location of mass protests in response to the coup.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Anti-coup mass protests take place in cities across Myanmar |url=https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/anti-coup-mass-protests-take-place-in-cities-across-myanmar/ |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=Myanmar Now |language=en-US |archive-date=22 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822113922/https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/anti-coup-mass-protests-take-place-in-cities-across-myanmar/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The pandemic and protests prompted authorities to enforce numerous [[Social:COVID-19 lockdowns|lockdowns]] and [[Social:Curfew|curfews]]. The city's economy subsequently slowed.<ref name="a-65105276"/>

==Geography==
[[File:Yangon_satellite_image_2022.jpg|thumb|Yangon metropolitan area]]
Yangon is located in Lower Burma (Myanmar) at the convergence of the Yangon and Bago Rivers about 30&nbsp;km (19&nbsp;mi) away from the Gulf of Martaban at 16°48' North, 96°09' East (16.8, 96.15). Its standard time zone is UTC/GMT +6:30 hours.
23 meters above sea level. Due to its location on the Irrawaddy Delta, intertidal flat ecosystems occur adjacent to the city.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Murray |first1=N.J. |last2=Clemens |first2=R.S. |last3=Phinn |first3=S.R. |last4=Possingham |first4=H.P. |last5=Fuller |first5=R.A. |title=Tracking the rapid loss of tidal wetlands in the Yellow Sea |journal=Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment |date=2014 |volume=12 |issue=5 |pages=267–272 |doi=10.1890/130260 |bibcode=2014FrEE...12..267M |url=https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/60169/1/130260.pdf |access-date=10 August 2021 |archive-date=7 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207073933/https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/60169/1/130260.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Climate===
<!-- {{climate chart
| Yangon
| 17.9 | 32.2 | 5
| 19.3 | 34.5 | 2
| 21.6 | 36.0 | 7
| 24.3 | 37.0 | 51
| 25.0 | 33.4 | 303
| 24.5 | 30.2 | 547
| 24.1 | 29.7 | 559
| 24.1 | 29.6 | 602
| 24.2 | 30.4 | 368
| 24.2 | 31.5 | 206
| 22.4 | 32.0 | 60
| 19.0 | 31.5 | 7
| float = left
| source = [http://www.worldweather.org/180/c00232.htm WMO]
| clear = none
}} -->

Yangon has a [[Earth:Tropical monsoon climate|tropical monsoon climate]] (Am) under the [[Earth:Köppen climate classification|Köppen climate classification]] system.<ref name=Peel>{{cite journal |author=Peel, M. C. and Finlayson, B. L. and McMahon, T. A. |year=2007 |title=Updated world map of the Köppen–Geiger climate classification |journal=Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. |volume=11 |issue=5 |pages=1633–1644 |doi=10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 |bibcode=2007HESS...11.1633P |url=http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.pdf |issn=1027-5606 |doi-access=free |access-date=23 February 2013 |archive-date=3 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203170339/http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> The city features a lengthy wet season from May through October where a substantial amount of rainfall is received; and a dry season from November through April, where little rainfall is seen. It is primarily due to the heavy rainfall received during the rainy season that makes Yangon fall under the tropical monsoon climate category. During the course of year 1961 to 1990s, average temperatures show little variance, with average highs ranging from {{cvt|29|to|36|C|F}} and average lows ranging from {{cvt|18|to|25|C|F}}.

Yangon is prone to tropical cyclones every time of the year. In 2008, Cyclone Nargis made landfall as a Category 4 cyclone, making it the worst cyclone on the country's record.
{{Weather box|location = Yangon (Kaba–Aye) 1991–2020
| single line = Y
| metric first = Y
| Jan record high C = 39.0
| Feb record high C = 39.8
| Mar record high C = 40.2
| Apr record high C = 42.2
| May record high C = 42.0
| Jun record high C = 40.0
| Jul record high C = 37.8
| Aug record high C = 37.2
| Sep record high C = 38.9
| Oct record high C = 38.0
| Nov record high C = 38.9
| Dec record high C = 35.6
| year record high C = 42.2
| Jan high C = 33.1
| Feb high C = 35.1
| Mar high C = 36.8
| Apr high C = 37.7
| May high C = 34.5
| Jun high C = 31.3
| Jul high C = 30.6
| Aug high C = 30.3
| Sep high C = 31.3
| Oct high C = 32.7
| Nov high C = 33.6
| Dec high C = 32.9
| year high C = 33.3
| Jan mean C = 24.9
| Feb mean C = 26.6
| Mar mean C = 28.9
| Apr mean C = 30.6
| May mean C = 29.2
| Jun mean C = 27.3
| Jul mean C = 26.7
| Aug mean C = 26.6
| Sep mean C = 27.0
| Oct mean C = 27.7
| Nov mean C = 27.4
| Dec mean C = 25.4
| year mean C = 27.4
| Jan low C = 16.6
| Feb low C = 18.1
| Mar low C = 20.9
| Apr low C = 23.5
| May low C = 24.0
| Jun low C = 23.2
| Jul low C = 22.8
| Aug low C = 22.8
| Sep low C = 22.8
| Oct low C = 22.7
| Nov low C = 21.1
| Dec low C = 17.9
| year low C = 21.4
| Jan record low C = 10.0
| Feb record low C = 12.8
| Mar record low C = 15.0
| Apr record low C = 16.0
| May record low C = 17.5
| Jun record low C = 18.4
| Jul record low C = 18.5
| Aug record low C = 16.0
| Sep record low C = 17.0
| Oct record low C = 13.5
| Nov record low C = 12.4
| Dec record low C = 9.2
| year record low C = 9.2
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 4.5
| Feb precipitation mm = 3.0
| Mar precipitation mm = 15.1
| Apr precipitation mm = 37.9
| May precipitation mm = 333.8
| Jun precipitation mm = 554.0
| Jul precipitation mm = 624.5
| Aug precipitation mm = 562.2
| Sep precipitation mm = 426.8
| Oct precipitation mm = 217.4
| Nov precipitation mm = 52.6
| Dec precipitation mm = 9.2
| year precipitation mm = 2841.0
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 0.4
| Feb precipitation days = 0.2
| Mar precipitation days = 0.8
| Apr precipitation days = 2.4
| May precipitation days = 14.5
| Jun precipitation days = 25.9
| Jul precipitation days = 26.7
| Aug precipitation days = 26.5
| Sep precipitation days = 21.4
| Oct precipitation days = 14.0
| Nov precipitation days = 3.4
| Dec precipitation days = 0.4
| year precipitation days = 136.6
| Jan humidity = 62
| Feb humidity = 66
| Mar humidity = 69
| Apr humidity = 66
| May humidity = 73
| Jun humidity = 85
| Jul humidity = 86
| Aug humidity = 87
| Sep humidity = 85
| Oct humidity = 78
| Nov humidity = 71
| Dec humidity = 65
| year humidity = 74
| Jan sun = 300
| Feb sun = 272
| Mar sun = 290
| Apr sun = 292
| May sun = 181
| Jun sun = 80
| Jul sun = 77
| Aug sun = 92
| Sep sun = 97
| Oct sun = 203
| Nov sun = 280
| Dec sun = 288
| year sun = 2452
| source 1 = [[Organization:World Meteorological Organization|World Meteorological Organization]],<ref name=WMOCLINO>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717013353/https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-2-WMO-Normals-9120/Myanmar/XLS/48097_Kaba_aye.xlsx |archive-date=17 July 2021 |url=https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-2-WMO-Normals-9120/Myanmar/XLS/48097_Kaba_aye.xlsx |title=World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020 |publisher=World Meteorological Organization |access-date=2 August 2023}} </ref> Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes)<ref name = DWD>{{cite web |url=https://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_480970_kt.pdf |title=Klimatafel von Yangon (Rangun) / Myanmar (Birma) |work=Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world |publisher=Deutscher Wetterdienst |language=de |access-date=26 April 2018 |archive-date=10 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310021101/https://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_480970_kt.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
| source 2 = Danish Meteorological Institute (sun and relative humidity 1931–1960),<ref name=DMI>{{cite web |last1=Cappelen |first1=John |last2=Jensen |first2=Jens |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130427173827/http://www.dmi.dk/dmi/tr01-17.pdf |archive-date=27 April 2013 |url=http://www.dmi.dk/dmi/tr01-17.pdf |work=Climate Data for Selected Stations (1931–1960) |title=Myanmar – Rangoon |page=189 |publisher=Danish Meteorological Institute |language=da |access-date=23 February 2013}}</ref> Myanmar Times (May record high and December record low)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cho |first1=Myo |url=http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/myanmartimes/no197/MyanmarTimes10-197/003.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927184155/http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/myanmartimes/no197/MyanmarTimes10-197/003.htm |archive-date=27 September 2007 |title=High of 40C, low of 13C in Yangon for 2003 |publisher=Government of Myanmar |access-date=23 October 2016}}</ref>
}}

==Cityscape==
[[File:Yangon map.svg|thumb|Map of Yangon]]
[[File:Yangon, Strand Road, Myanmar, Burma.jpg|thumb|Strand Road, Yangon]]
[[File: Cityhall Yangon Downtown.jpg |thumb|City square in downtown Yangon]]
[[File:Yangon at night.jpg|alt=|thumb|Yangon at night]]
[[File:Yangon cityscape Hledan.jpg|thumb|Yangon cityscape from Hledan]]
Until the mid-1990s, Yangon remained largely constrained to its traditional peninsula setting between the Bago, Yangon, and Hlaing Rivers. People moved in, but little of the city moved out. Maps from 1944 show little development north of Inya Lake and areas that are now layered in cement and stacked with houses were then virtual backwaters. Since the late 1980s, however, the city began a rapid spread north to where Yangon International Airport now stands. But the result is a stretching tail on the city, with the downtown area well removed from its geographic centre.<ref name="future-yangon">{{Cite journal |title=The Future of Yangon |url=http://www.myanmar.com/myanmartimes/MyanmarTimes17-325/b008.htm |date=16 July 2006 |author=May Thanda Win |journal=The Myanmar Times |access-date=5 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121094338/http://www.myanmar.com/myanmartimes/MyanmarTimes17-325/b008.htm |archive-date=21 November 2008 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The city's area has steadily increased from {{convert|72.52|km2|sqmi}} in 1901 to {{convert|86.2|km2|sqmi}} in 1940 to {{convert|208.51|km2|sqmi}} in 1974, to {{convert|346.13|km2|sqmi}} in 1985, and to {{convert|598.75|km2|sqmi}} in 2008.<ref name=uncrd>{{Cite web |url=http://www.uncrd.or.jp/env/3rd-regional-est-forum/doc/23_Myanmar.pdf |title=Third Regional EST Forum: Presentation of Myanmar |publisher=Ministry of Transport, Myanmar |location=Singapore |date=17–19 March 2008 |access-date=19 January 2009 |archive-date=26 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226114154/http://www.uncrd.or.jp/env/3rd-regional-est-forum/doc/23_Myanmar.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=mcy-znm>{{Cite book |title=Megacity yangon: transformation processes and modern developments |author=Zin Nwe Myint |isbn=978-3-8258-0042-0 |editor1=Frauke Krass |editor2=Hartmut Gaese |editor3=Mi Mi Kyi |page=264 |publisher=Lit Verlag |location=Berlin |year=2006}}</ref>

===Architecture===

Downtown Yangon is known for its leafy avenues and fin-de-siècle architecture.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123266507433707833 |title=Asia's Lost Treasure Trove |author=Tom Wright |date=23 January 2009 |work=WSJ Weekend Journal |access-date=8 August 2017 |archive-date=16 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816005200/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123266507433707833 |url-status=live}}</ref> The former British colonial capital has the highest number of colonial period buildings in south-east Asia.<ref name="bygone"/> Downtown Yangon is still mainly made up of decaying colonial buildings. The former High Court, the former Secretariat buildings, the former St. Paul's English High School and the Strand Hotel are excellent examples of the bygone era. Most downtown buildings from this era are four-story mix-use (residential and commercial) buildings with {{convert|14|ft|m|adj=on}} ceilings, allowing for the construction of mezzanines. Despite their less-than-perfect conditions, the buildings remain highly sought after and most expensive in the city's property market.<ref name=oldies>{{Cite journal |title=Demand for downtown's golden oldies still strong |url=http://mmtimes.com/no449/b007.html |date=15 December 2008 |journal=The Myanmar Times |author=Htar Htar Khin |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214145346/http://mmtimes.com/no449/b007.html |archive-date=14 February 2012}}</ref>

In 1996, the Yangon City Development Committee created a Yangon City Heritage List of old buildings and structures in the city that cannot be modified or torn down without approval.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/colonial-past-could-be-the-saving-of-rangoon-2219991.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/colonial-past-could-be-the-saving-of-rangoon-2219991.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Colonial past could be the saving of Rangoon |last=Kennedy |first=Phoebe |date=20 February 2011 |work=The Independent |access-date=10 March 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 2012, the city of Yangon imposed a 50-year moratorium on demolition of buildings older than 50 years.<ref name="rob">{{cite news |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/366b4332-69b5-11e1-8996-00144feabdc0.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/366b4332-69b5-11e1-8996-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |title=Myanmar pushes to save colonial buildings |last=Robinson |first=Gwen |date=9 March 2012 |work=Financial Times |access-date=10 March 2012}}</ref> The Yangon Heritage Trust, an NGO started by Thant Myint-U, aims to create heritage areas in Downtown, and attract investors to renovate buildings for commercial use.<ref name="rob"/>

A latter-day hallmark of Yangon is the eight-story apartment building. (In Yangon parlance, a building with no [[Engineering:Elevator|elevator]]s (lifts) is called an apartment building and one with elevators is called a condominium.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=City living: condos vs apartments |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/Construction/con13.htm |date=1 September 2007 |journal=The Myanmar Times |access-date=12 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720094137/http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/Construction/con13.htm |archive-date=20 July 2008 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Condos which have to invest in a local power generator to ensure 24-hour electricity for the elevators are beyond the reach of most Yangonites.) Found throughout the city, eight-story apartment buildings provide inexpensive housing for many Yangonites. The apartments are usually eight stories high (including the ground floor) mainly because city regulations, until February 2008, required that all buildings higher than {{convert|75|ft|m}} or eight stories to install lifts.<ref name=lift>{{Cite news |title=Lift regulation changed |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/no409/n013.htm |date=10 March 2008 |author=Yi Yi Htwe |work=The Myanmar Times |access-date=1 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216085020/http://mmtimes.com/no409/n013.htm |archive-date=16 December 2010 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The code calls for elevators in buildings higher than {{convert|62|ft|m}} or six stories, likely ushering in the era of the six-story apartment building. Although most apartment buildings were built only within the last 20 years, they look much older and rundown due to shoddy construction and lack of proper maintenance.

Unlike other major Asian cities, Yangon does not have any skyscrapers. This is due to rule that no building should be more than 75% the height above sea level of Shwedagon Pagoda, which rises about {{convert|160|m}}. For instance, in 2015, a luxury housing project was cancelled due to its proximity to Shwedagon Pagoda. Critics of the project claimed that the project could cause structural damage to the pagoda.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tha |first=Kyaw Phyo |date=2016-02-08 |title=Once-Cancelled Dagon City 1 Project Relocated to New Site |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/once-cancelled-dagon-city-1-project-relocated-to-new-site.html |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=The Irrawaddy |language=en-US |archive-date=22 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822092110/https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/once-cancelled-dagon-city-1-project-relocated-to-new-site.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Aside from a few high-rise hotels and office towers, most high-rise buildings (usually 10 stories and up) are "condos" scattered across prosperous neighborhoods north of downtown such as Bahan, Dagon, Kamayut and Mayangon.

Older satellite towns such as Thaketa, North Okkalapa, and South Okkalapa are lined mostly with one to two-story detached houses with access to the city's electricity grid. Newer satellite towns such as North Dagon and South Dagon are in a grid layout. The satellite towns—old or new—receive little or no municipal services.

===Road layout===
[[File:Ministers' Office Building Yangon 4.jpg|thumb|Yangon Secretariat Office]]
Downtown Yangon's road layout follows a grid pattern, based on four types of roads:
* Broad 49-m wide roads running west to east
* Broad 30-m wide roads running south to north
* Two narrow 9.1-m wide streets running south to north
* Mid-size 15-m wide streets running south to north

The east–west grid of central was laid out by British military engineers Fraser and Montgomerie after the Second Anglo-Burmese War.<ref name="arc"/> The city was later developed by the Public Works Department and Bengal Corps of Engineers. The pattern of south to north roads is as follows: one broad {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=on}} wide broad road, two narrow streets, one mid-size street, two more narrow streets, and then another {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=on}} wide broad road. This order is repeated from west to east. The narrow streets are numbered; the medium and broad roads are named.

For example, the {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=on}} Lanmadaw Road is followed by {{convert|30|ft|m|adj=on}}-wide 17th and 18th streets then the medium {{convert|50|ft|m|adj=on}} Sint-Oh-Dan Road, the 30-foot 19th and 20th streets, followed by another {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=on}} wide Latha Road, followed again by the two numbered small roads 21st and 22nd streets, and so on.

The roads running parallel west to east were the Strand Road, Merchant Road, Maha Bandula (née Dalhousie) Road, Anawrahta (Fraser) Road, and Bogyoke Aung San (Montgomerie) Road.
[[File:Yangon Kandawgyi Lake.jpeg|thumb|Kandawgyi Lake, a popular park near downtown Yangon]]

===Parks and gardens===
The largest and best maintained parks in Yangon are located around Shwedagon Pagoda. To the south-east of the gilded stupa is the most popular recreational area in the city – Kandawgyi Lake. The 150-acre (61-ha) lake is surrounded by the 110-acre (45-ha) Kandawgyi Nature Park,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.myanmars.net/myanmar-travel/myanmar-yangon/kandawgyi-garden.htm |title=Kandawgyi Garden |access-date=21 December 2006 |archive-date=23 September 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923195453/http://www.myanmars.net/myanmar-travel/myanmar-yangon/kandawgyi-garden.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> and the 69.25-acre (28-ha) Yangon Zoological Gardens, which consists of a zoo, an aquarium and an amusement park.<ref name="yz">{{cite web |url=http://www.yangonzoo.com/profile.html |title=History of Zoological Gardens (Yangon) |access-date=27 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080802013535/http://www.yangonzoo.com/profile.html |archive-date=2 August 2008 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> West of the pagoda towards the former Hluttaw (Parliament) complex is the 130-acre (53-ha) People's Square and Park, the former parading ground on important national days when Yangon was the capital.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://myanmargeneva.org/basicfacts/cap.htm |title=Nation's Capital Yangon |access-date=9 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714132014/http://www.myanmargeneva.org/basicfacts/cap.htm |archive-date=14 July 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> A few miles north of the pagoda lies the 37-acre (15-ha) Inya Lake Park – a favourite hangout place of Yangon University students, and a well-known place of romance in Burmese popular culture.

Hlawga National Park and Allied War Memorial at the outskirts of the city are popular day-trip destinations with tourists.

==Administration==
Yangon is administered by the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC). YCDC also coordinates [[Engineering:Urban planning|urban planning]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chijihon.metro.tokyo.jp/asianet/participating_cities/yangon.htm |title=Yangon |access-date=13 August 2006 |publisher=Asian Network of Major Cities 21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060620010837/http://www.chijihon.metro.tokyo.jp/asianet/participating_cities/yangon.htm |archive-date=20 June 2006}}</ref> The city is made up of 33 townships and is part of Yangon Region. Yangon Region is divided into four districts, which overlap with the city's jurisdiction.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.themimu.info/sites/themimu.info/files/documents/Region_Map_District_Yangon_MIMU764v03_23Oct2017_MMR_A4.pdf |title=Districts in Yangon Region |access-date=13 October 2019 |publisher=Myanmar Information Management Unit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190303184623/http://themimu.info/sites/themimu.info/files/documents/Region_Map_District_Yangon_MIMU764v03_23Oct2017_MMR_A4.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The current mayor of Yangon is Maung Maung Soe. Each township is administered by a Township Development Committee,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ycdc.gov.mm/content.php?law=ycdclaw2018 |access-date=13 October 2010 |title=Yangon City Development Committee 2018 Law |publisher=Yangon City Development Committee |archive-date=15 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615225638/https://www.ycdc.gov.mm/content.php?law=ycdclaw2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> alongside local leaders who make decisions regarding city beautification and infrastructure. ''Myo-thit'' (lit. "New Towns", or satellite towns) are not within such jurisdictions.

'''List of Yangon City Townships by District:'''
{|
|-
! style="width:200px;"|Western District
! style="width:200px;"|Eastern District
! style="width:200px;"|Southern District
! style="width:200px;"|Northern District
|-
|
* Ahlon
* Bahan
* Dagon
* Hlaing
* Kamayut
* Kyauktada
* Kyimyindaing
* Lanmadaw
* Latha
* Mayangon
* Pabedan
* Sanchaung
|
* Botataung
* Dagon Seikkan
* Dawbon
* Mingala Taungnyunt
* New Dagon East
* New Dagon North
* New Dagon South
* North Okkalapa
* Pazundaung
* South Okkalapa
* Tamwe
* Thaketa
* Thingangyun
* Yankin
|
* Dala
* Seikkyi Kanaungto

|
* Insein
* Hlaingthaya
* Mingaladon
* Shwepyitha
|}

Yangon is a member of the Asian Network of Major Cities 21.

==Transport==
Yangon is Burma's main domestic and international hub for air, rail, and ground transportation.

===Air===

[[File:Ygnbusyairport.jpg|thumb |Inside T2, Yangon International Airport]]
Yangon International Airport, located 12&nbsp;miles (19&nbsp;km) from the center, is the country's main gateway for domestic and international air travel. The airport has three terminals, known as T1, T2 and T3 which is also known as Domestic. It has direct flights to major cities in Asia, such as [[Place:Tokyo|Tokyo]], [[Place:Shanghai|Shanghai]], [[Place:Seoul|Seoul]], [[Place:Singapore|Singapore]], [[Place:Hong Kong|Hong Kong]], [[Place:Kuala Lumpur|Kuala Lumpur]], [[Place:Kolkata|Kolkata]], and Dubai. Although domestic airlines offer service to about forty domestic locations, most flights are to tourist destinations such as Bagan, Mandalay, Heho and Ngapali, and to the capital [[Place:Naypyidaw|Naypyidaw]].

===Railways===
[[File:Myanmar-Yangon-Main train station.jpg|thumb|Yangon Central Railway Station]]
Yangon Central Railway Station is the main terminus of Myanmar Railways' {{convert|5403|km|mi|0|adj=on}} rail network<ref name=nlm-rail>{{cite news |title=MR to link Mandalay and Bhamo |date=22 February 2010 |newspaper=New Light of Myanmar}}</ref> whose reach covers Upper Myanmar ([[Place:Naypyidaw|Naypyidaw]], Mandalay, Shwebo), upcountry (Myitkyina), Shan hills (Taunggyi, Lashio) and the Taninthayi coast (Mawlamyine, Dawei).

Yangon Circular Railway operates a {{convert|45.9|km|mi|adj=on}} 39-station commuter rail network that connects Yangon's satellite towns. The system is heavily used by the local populace, selling about 150,000 tickets daily.<ref name="railway bazzar">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/multimedia.php?art_id=10074 |title=The Railway Bazaar |date=30 January 2008 |author=Yeni |magazine=The Irrawaddy |access-date=23 February 2008 |archive-date=8 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208202549/http://www.irrawaddy.org/multimedia.php?art_id=10074 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The popularity of the commuter line has jumped since the government reduced petrol subsidies in August 2007.<ref name="railway bazzar"/>

In 2017 the government of Japan provided more than US$200&nbsp;million in finance to assist with a range of works including developing and maintaining the Yangon circular railway line, purchasing new carriages and upgrading signalling.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mmtimes.com/business/21362-myanma-railways-to-upgrade-yangon-circle-line-with-japanese-loan.html |title=Myanma Railways to upgrade circle line with Japanese loan |date=2016-07-13 |website=The Myanmar Times |language=en |access-date=2019-10-26 |archive-date=26 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026063242/https://www.mmtimes.com/business/21362-myanma-railways-to-upgrade-yangon-circle-line-with-japanese-loan.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.moi.gov.mm/moi:eng/?q=news/13/11/2018/id-5139 |title=Ministry of Information (Myanmar) |access-date=26 October 2019 |archive-date=15 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615232746/https://www.moi.gov.mm/moi:eng/?q=news/13/11/2018/id-5139 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Rapid transit===
The Yangon Urban Mass Rapid Transit is a proposed rapid transit system, due to begin construction in 2022 and be complete by 2027.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mmtimes.com/news/mayangone-residents-oppose-transit-project.html |title=Mayangone residents oppose transit project |website=Myanmar Times |date=14 January 2020 |access-date=14 January 2020 |archive-date=14 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114154221/https://www.mmtimes.com/news/mayangone-residents-oppose-transit-project.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Buses and cars===
[[File:Anawrahta road traffic.jpg|thumb|Traffic at Anawrahta Road, presumably during peak hours]]
Yangon has a {{convert|4456|km|mi|adj=on}} road network of all types (tar, concrete and dirt) in March 2011. Many of the roads are in poor condition and not wide enough to accommodate an increasing number of cars.<ref name=w11-30yr-plan/> The vast majority of Yangon residents cannot afford a car and rely on an extensive network of buses to get around. Over 300 public and private bus lines operate about 6,300 crowded buses around the city, carrying over 4.4&nbsp;million passengers a day.<ref name=uncrd/><ref name="bus">{{Cite journal |url=http://www.myanmar.com/myanmartimes/MyanmarTimes18-341/n008.htm |title=First private bus line in Yangon launched |author=Yan Naing Hein |journal=The Myanmar Times |access-date=15 October 2008 |archive-date=6 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106212917/http://www.myanmar.com/myanmartimes/MyanmarTimes18-341/n008.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> All buses and 80% of the taxis in Yangon run on [[Chemistry:Compressed natural gas|compressed natural gas]] (CNG), following the 2005 government decree to save money on imported petroleum.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=14444 |title=Rangoon Commuters Afraid of Gas Explosions |date=14 October 2008 |author=Wai Moe |magazine=The Irrawaddy |access-date=15 October 2008 |archive-date=1 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501123123/http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=14444 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Highway buses to other cities depart from Dagon Ayeyar Highway Bus Terminal for Irrawaddy delta region and Aung Mingala Highway Bus Terminal for other parts of the country.<ref name="mm-net">{{cite web |url=http://www.myanmars.net/myanmar-travel/myanmar-yangon/yangon.htm#Getting_Around |title=Getting Around Yangon |access-date=14 October 2008 |publisher=Myanmar's Net |archive-date=21 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921211746/http://www.myanmars.net/myanmar-travel/myanmar-yangon/yangon.htm#Getting_Around |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Motor transportation in Yangon is highly expensive for most of its citizens. As the government allows only a few thousand cars to be imported each year in a country with over 50 million people,<ref name="nyt">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/world/asia/29aid.html?scp=18&sq=myanmar&st=nyt |title=Burmese Economy Is an Obstacle to Aid |date=29 May 2008 |work=The New York Times |access-date=23 February 2017 |archive-date=18 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018222041/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/world/asia/29aid.html?scp=18&sq=myanmar&st=nyt |url-status=live}}</ref> car prices in Yangon (and in Burma) are among the highest in the world.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}} In July 2008, the two most popular cars in Yangon, 1986/87 Nissan Sunny Super Saloon and 1988 Toyota Corolla SE Limited, cost the equivalent of about US$20,000 and US$29,000 respectively.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/care2008/care05.htm |title=Clash of the titans on streets of Yangon |date=2 June 2008 |author=Thomas Kean |work=The Myanmar Times |access-date=2 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104080833/http://mmtimes.com/feature/care2008/care05.htm |archive-date=4 January 2010 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> A sports utility vehicle, imported for the equivalent of around US$50,000, goes for US$250,000.<ref name="nyt" /> Illegally imported unregistered cars are cheaper – typically about half the price of registered cars. Nonetheless, car usage in Yangon is on the rise, a sign of rising incomes for some, and already causes much traffic congestion in highway-less Yangon's streets. In 2011, Yangon had about 300,000 registered motor vehicles in addition to an unknown number of unregistered ones.<ref name="w11-30yr-plan" />

Within Yangon city limits, it is illegal to drive trishaws, bicycles, and motorcycles. Since February 2010, pick-up truck bus lines have been forbidden to run in six townships of central Yangon, namely Latha, Lanmadaw, Pabedan, Kyauktada, Botahtaung and Pazundaung Townships.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/2010/news/511/n51106.html |title=Authorities ban light truck buses in downtown areas |author=Nay Nwe Moe Aung |work=Myanmar Times |date=24 February 2010 |access-date=18 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716143017/http://mmtimes.com/2010/news/511/n51106.html |archive-date=16 July 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> In May 2003, a ban on using car horns was implemented in six townships of Downtown Yangon to reduce [[Physics:Noise pollution|noise pollution]].<ref name="symo">{{cite news |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/no396/n008.htm |title=Vehicle horn penalties increased |author=Shwe Yinn Mar Oo |date=10 December 2007 |work=Myanmar Times |access-date=18 August 2011 |archive-date=23 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123011522/http://www.mmtimes.com/no396/n008.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> In April 2004, the car horn ban was expanded to cover the entire city.<ref name="symo"/>

On 16 January 2017, as part of public transport reforms, city bus network system Yangon Bus Service (YBS) was created by the Yangon Region Transport Authority.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/24560-new-day-dawns-for-yangon-bus-system.html |title=New day dawns for Yangon bus system |last=Aye Nyein Win |date=16 January 2017 |work=Myanmar Times |access-date=16 January 2017 |archive-date=17 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170117152819/http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/24560-new-day-dawns-for-yangon-bus-system.html |url-status=live}}</ref> On 20 May 2021, YRTA was reorganized as Yangon Region Transport Committee (YRTC).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mizzimaburmese.com/article/80436 |title=YRTA အား YRTC အဖြစ် စစ်ကောင်စီက ပြောင်းလဲ ဖွဲ့စည်း |website=Mizzima Myanmar News and Insight |access-date=1 March 2023 |archive-date=21 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521230818/http://www.mizzimaburmese.com/article/80436 |url-status=live}}</ref> YBS is claimed to be a disabled-friendly bus service and have a card payment system.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mmtimes.com/news/yangon-offers-bus-services-disabled.html |title=Yangon offers bus services for the disabled |date=2019-09-24 |website=The Myanmar Times |language=en |access-date=2019-10-02 |archive-date=25 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925065658/https://www.mmtimes.com/news/yangon-offers-bus-services-disabled.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-01/17/c_137750840.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190117075936/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-01/17/c_137750840.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 January 2019 |title=Myanmar to introduce card payment system with buses operating in Yangon – Xinhua {{!}} English.news.cn |website=www.xinhuanet.com |access-date=2019-10-02}}</ref> Since January 2019, passengers can either pay with cash or smart cards through the machines installed near the driver seat on the bus. As of January 2022, it is claimed that card machines are installed on more than 1900 buses.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gnlm.com.mm/over-1900-buses-installed-ybs-card-payment-system/ |title=Over 1,900 Buses Installed YBS Card Payment System |first=Global New Light of |last=Myanmar |date=17 January 2022 |access-date=1 March 2023 |archive-date=9 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309040557/https://www.gnlm.com.mm/over-1900-buses-installed-ybs-card-payment-system/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Ride hailing services operated by private corporations such as [[Company:Uber|Uber]] and [[Company:Grab|Grab]] are also available in Yangon today.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.techinasia.com/talk/discuss-grab-uber-myanmar |title=Tech in Asia – Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem |website=www.techinasia.com |language=en-US |access-date=2019-10-02 |archive-date=2 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002081949/https://www.techinasia.com/talk/discuss-grab-uber-myanmar |url-status=live}}</ref>

===River===

[[File:Yangon Water Bus (28165468177).jpg|thumb|Yangon Water Bus plies the Yangon (Hlaing) River between Botahtaung and Insein every hour throughout the day]]
Yangon's four main passenger jetties, all located on or near downtown waterfront, mainly serve local ferries across the river to Dala and Thanlyin, and regional ferries to the Irrawaddy delta.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/myanmar-burma/yangon-rangoon/transport/getting-there-away |title=Yangon – Getting there and around |access-date=26 July 2009 |publisher=Lonely Planet |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100120115352/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/myanmar-burma/yangon-rangoon/transport/getting-there-away |archive-date=20 January 2010 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The 22-mile (35&nbsp;km) Twante Canal was the quickest route from Yangon to the Irrawaddy delta until the 1990s when roads between Yangon and the Irrawaddy Division became usable year-round. While passenger ferries to the delta are still used, those to Upper Burma via the Irrawaddy river are now limited mostly to tourist river cruises. In October 2017, a New Yangon Water Bus was launched.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/yangon-launches-water-bus-service.html |title=Yangon Launches Water Bus Service |date=6 October 2017 |access-date=1 March 2023 |archive-date=1 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230301112741/https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/yangon-launches-water-bus-service.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations|type=Burma
| 1824|10000
| 1856|46000
| 1872|100000
| 1881|165000
| 1891|181000
| 1901|248000
| 1911|295000
| 1921|340000
| 1931|400000
| 1941|500000
| 1950|1302000
| 1960|1592000
| 1970|1946000
| 1980|2378000
| 1990|2907000
| 2000|3553000
| 2010|5348000
| footnote = Sources: 1846,<ref name=mcy/> 1872–1941,<ref name=tmmt/> 1950–2025<ref name=un>{{cite web |url=http://esa.un.org/unup/index.asp?panel=2 |title=United Nations World Urbanization Prospects, 2007 revision |publisher=United Nations |access-date=27 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091223005931/http://esa.un.org/unup/index.asp?panel=2 |archive-date=23 December 2009}}</ref>
}}

Yangon is the most populous city by far in Myanmar. According to the 2014 census, the city had a population of 5.16&nbsp;million.<ref name=census-2014-18>{{cite book |title=Census Report |publisher=Ministry of Immigration and Population |location=Naypyitaw |date=May 2015 |series=The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census |volume=2 |page=18 |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B067GBtstE5TeUlIVjRjSjVzWlk/view |access-date=22 September 2016 |archive-date=7 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507224807/https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B067GBtstE5TeUlIVjRjSjVzWlk/view |url-status=live}}</ref> The city's population grew sharply after 1948 as many people (mainly, the indigenous Burmese) from other parts of the country moved into the newly built satellite towns of North Okkalapa, South Okkalapa, and Thaketa in the 1950s and East Dagon, North Dagon and South Dagon in the 1990s.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} Immigrants have founded their regional associations (such as Mandalay Association, Mawlamyaing Association, etc.) in Yangon for networking purposes. The government's decision to move the nation's administrative capital to Naypyidaw has drained an unknown number of civil servants away from Yangon.

Yangon is the most ethnically diverse city in the country. While Indians formed the slight majority prior to World War II,<ref name=tmmt/> today, the majority of the population is of indigenous Bamar (Burman) descent. Large communities of Indians/South Asian Burmese and the Chinese Burmese exist, especially in the traditional downtown neighborhoods. A large number of Rakhine and Karen also live in the city.

[[Social:Burmese language|Burmese]] is the principal language of the city. English is by far the preferred second language of the educated class. In recent years, however, the prospect of overseas job opportunities has enticed some to study other languages: [[Social:Standard Chinese|Mandarin Chinese]] is most popular, followed by Japanese, and French.<ref name=lang>{{Cite news |title=Language training centres open doors to new worlds |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/edu/edu002.htm |date=14 May 2007 |author1=Kyaw Soe Linn |author2=Phyo Wai Kyaw |name-list-style=amp |work=The Myanmar Times |access-date=1 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720094651/http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/edu/edu002.htm |archive-date=20 July 2008 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Religions===
The primary religions practised in Yangon are [[Religion:Buddhism|Buddhism]], [[Religion:Christianity|Christianity]], [[Religion:Islam|Islam]], and [[Religion:Hinduism|Hinduism]]. Shwedagon Pagoda is a famous religious landmark in the city.

===Media===

Yangon is the country's hub for the movie, music, advertising, newspaper, and book publishing industries, and is the country's cultural center. All media is heavily regulated by the military government. Television broadcasting is off-limits to the private sector. All media content must first be approved by the government's media censor board, Press Scrutiny and Registration Division.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=10648 |title=Burma: The Censored Land |date=1 March 2008 |author=Yeni |magazine=The Irrawaddy |access-date=20 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080311223612/http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=10648 |archive-date=11 March 2008 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Most television channels in the country are broadcast from Yangon. MRTV and Myawaddy TV are the two main channels, providing Burmese-language news and entertainment programs. Other special interest channels are MWD-1 and MWD-2, MITV, the English-language channel that targets overseas audiences via satellite and via internet, MRTV-4 and Channel 7 (Yangon) are with a focus on non-formal education programs and movies, and Movie 5, a pay-TV channel specializing in broadcasting foreign movies.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Digital television take-up slower than expected |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/no429/b004.htm |date=3 August 2008 |author=Kyaw Hsu Mon |work=The Myanmar Times |access-date=8 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430045926/http://www.mmtimes.com/no429/b004.htm |archive-date=30 April 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Yangon has three radio stations. Myanmar Radio is the national radio service and broadcasts mostly in Burmese and in English during specific times. Pop culture-oriented Yangon City FM and Mandalay City FM radio stations specialize in Burmese and English pop music, entertainment programs, live celebrity interviews, etc. New radio channels such as Shwe FM and Pyinsawaddy FM can also be tuned with the city area.

Nearly all print media and industries are based out of Yangon. All three national newspapers – two Burmese language dailies ''Myanma Alin'' ({{my|မြန်မာ့အလင်း}}) and ''Kyemon'' ({{my|ကြေးမုံ}}), and the English language ''The New Light of Myanmar'' – are published by the government. Semi-governmental ''The Myanmar Times'' weekly, published in Burmese and in English, is mainly geared for Yangon's expatriate community. There are over 20 special interest journals and magazines covering sports, fashion, finance, crime, and literature (but never politics).

Access to foreign media is extremely difficult. Satellite television in Yangon, and in Burma, is very expensive as the government imposes an annual registration fee of Ks.10,00,000/-, equivalent to around U$600/year.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> Certain foreign newspapers and periodicals such as the ''Straits Times'' can be found only in a few (mostly downtown) bookstores. Internet access in Yangon, which has the best telecommunication infrastructure in the country, is slow and erratic at best, and the Burmese government implements one of the world's most restrictive regimes of internet control.<ref name="oni">{{cite web |url=http://opennet.net/studies/burma |title=Internet Filtering in Burma in 2005: A Country Study |date=1 October 2005 |access-date=29 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905203458/http://www.opennet.net/studies/burma/ |archive-date=5 September 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> International text messaging and voice messaging was permitted only in August 2008.<ref name="sms">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=13962 |title=International Text Messaging Approved in Burma |author=Min Lwin |date=21 August 2008 |magazine=The Irrawaddy |access-date=30 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811233000/http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=13962 |archive-date=11 August 2010 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>


===Communication===
Common facilities taken for granted elsewhere are luxury prized items in Yangon and Burma. The price of a GSM mobile phone was about K1.1&nbsp;million in August 2008.<ref name="sms"/> In 2007, the country of 55 million had only 775,000 phone lines (including 275,000 mobile phones),<ref name="ict">{{Cite news |title=ICT Statistics Collection and Analysis |url=http://www.unescap.org/icstd/events/Info-Society-Stats-Workshop-2007/Myanmar.pdf |publisher=The Government of the Union of Myanmar Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development |author=Central Statistical Organization |date=6 November 2007}}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/03/content_7913706.htm |title=Mobile phones in Myanmar increase to over 200,000 in 2007 |date=3 April 2008 |access-date=1 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703022656/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/03/content_7913706.htm |archive-date=3 July 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> and 400,000 computers.<ref name="ict"/> Even in Yangon, which has the best infrastructure, the estimated telephone penetration rate was only 6% at the end of 2004, and the official waiting time for a telephone line was 3.6 years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Myanmar (Burma) – Telecoms, Mobile & Internet |url=http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/9fc71c/myanmar_burma |publisher=Research and Markets |date=19 July 2010 |location=Dublin |access-date=24 July 2010 |archive-date=8 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308123146/http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/9fc71c/myanmar_burma |url-status=live}}</ref> Most people cannot afford a computer and have to use the city's numerous Internet cafes to access a heavily restricted internet, and a heavily censored local intranet.<ref name="oni"/> According to official statistics, in July 2010, the country had over 400,000 internet users, with the vast majority hailing from just two cities, Yangon and Mandalay. Although internet access was available in 42 cities across the country, the number of users outside the two main cities was just over 10,000.<ref name=bw-Internet>{{Cite journal |title=State of Internet Usage in Myanmar |journal=Bi-Weekly Eleven |language=my |date=30 July 2010 |volume=3 |issue=18 |author1=Wai-Yan Phyo Oo |author2=Saw Pyayzon |name-list-style=amp}}</ref>

===Lifestyle===
[[File:Karaweik at night.jpg|thumb|The Karaweik at night time, at Kandawgyi Lake, which is one of a few major recreational parks in Yangon]]
Yangon's property market is the most expensive in the country and beyond the reach of most Yangonites. Most rent outside the centre and few can afford to rent such apartments. (In 2008, rents for a typical {{convert|650|to|750|sqft|m2|adj=on}} apartments in the centre and vicinity range between K70,000 and K150,000 and those for high end condos between K200,000 and K500,000.)<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/no427/b006.htm |title=Rentals brisk in lead up to Waso |date=14 July 2008 |author=Aye Sabae Phyu |work=The Myanmar Times |access-date=6 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430045857/http://www.mmtimes.com/no427/b006.htm |archive-date=30 April 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

[[File:Hindu temple procession cart, Yangon.jpg|left|thumb|Hindu temple procession cart]]
Yangon is home to pagoda festivals (''paya pwe''), held during dry-season months (November – March). The most famous of all, the Shwedagon Pagoda Festival in March, attracts thousands of pilgrims from around the country.

Yangon's museums are the domain of tourists and rarely visited by the locals.

Most of Yangon's larger hotels offer nightlife entertainment, geared towards tourists and the well-to-do Burmese. Some hotels offer traditional Burmese performing arts shows complete with a traditional Burmese orchestra. The pub scene in larger hotels is more or less the same as elsewhere in Asia. Other options include karaoke bars and pub restaurants in Yangon Chinatown.

==Sports==
[[File:Home of Asian Lions.jpg|thumb|Thuwunna Stadium]]
As the city has the best sporting facilities in the country, most national-level annual sporting tournaments such as track and field, football, volleyball, tennis and swimming are held in Yangon. The 40,000-seat Aung San Stadium and the 32,000-seat Thuwunna Stadium are the main venues for the popular annual State and Division football tournament. Until April 2009, the now-defunct Myanmar Premier League, consisted of 16 Yangon-based clubs,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Myanmar edges towards pro football |url=http://www.myanmar.com/myanmartimes/MyanmarTimes14-277/sport.htm |date=1 August 2005 |work=The Myanmar Times |author=Zaw Htet |access-date=27 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514035649/http://www.myanmar.com/myanmartimes/MyanmarTimes14-277/sport.htm |archive-date=14 May 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> played all its matches in Yangon stadiums, and attracted little interest from the general public or commercial success despite the enormous popularity of football in Burma. Most Yangonites prefer watching European football on satellite TV. Teams such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City are among the favorite European teams among the Yangonites. It remains to be seen whether the Myanmar National League, the country's first professional football league, and its Yangon-based club Yangon United FC will attract a sufficient following in the country's most important media market.

Yangon is also home to annual the Myanmar Open golf tournament, and the Myanmar Open tennis tournament. The city hosted the 1961 and 1969 South East Asian Games. During colonial times, cricket was played mostly by British officials in the city. First-class cricket was played in the city in January 1927 when the touring Marylebone Cricket Club played Burma and the Rangoon Gymkhana. Two grounds were used to host these matches, the BAA Ground and the Gymkhana Ground.<ref>{{citation |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/44/250.html |title=BAA Ground |publisher=CricketArchive.com |access-date=2 November 2017 |archive-date=15 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215014127/https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/44/250.html |url-status=live}} Retrieved on 8 October 2011</ref><ref>{{citation |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/44/251.html |title=Gymkhana Ground |publisher=CricketArchive.com |access-date=2 November 2017 |archive-date=15 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215053501/https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/44/251.html |url-status=live}} Retrieved on 8 October 2011</ref> These matches mark the only time Burma and Rangoon Gymkhana have appeared in first-class cricket, and the only time first-class cricket has been played in Burma. After independence cricket all but died out in the country.

Yangon has a growing population of skateboarders, as documented in the films Altered Focus: Burma and Youth of Yangon. German non-profit organization Make Life Skate Life has received permission from the Yangon City Development Committee to construct a concrete skatepark at Thakin Mya park in downtown. The park was completed in 2015 and is available free of charge to anyone in the city.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.makelifeskatelife.org/myanmar |title=Myanmar |access-date=14 May 2021 |archive-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514004640/https://www.makelifeskatelife.org/myanmar |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:01-rio-yangon-d03.jpg|thumb|Cargo ships on the shores of Yangon River, just offshore of Downtown Yangon]]
[[File:Yangon-Markt-04-Marktfrauen-1976-gje.jpg|thumb|A street market in 1976]]

Yangon is the country's main center for trade, industry, real estate, media, entertainment and tourism. The city represents about one fifth of the [[Finance:Gross domestic product|national economy]]. According to official statistics for [[Physics:Fiscal year|FY]] 2010–2011, the size of the economy of Yangon Region was 8.93&nbsp;trillion kyats, or 23% of the national GDP.<ref name=mt->{{cite news |title=Yangon Region govt facing K22b budget black hole |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/2011/news/600/news60002.html |author1=Kyaw Hsu Mon |author2=Yadana Htun |name-list-style=amp |date=7 November 2011 |work=The Myanmar Times |access-date=9 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617115438/http://www.mmtimes.com/2011/news/600/news60002.html |archive-date=17 June 2013 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
[[File:Yangon Pansodan overpass.jpg|thumb|Traffic congestion in Yangon]]

The city is Lower Burma's main trading hub for all kinds of merchandise – from basic foodstuffs to used cars although commerce continues to be hampered by the city's severely underdeveloped banking industry and communication infrastructure. Bayinnaung Market is the largest wholesale center in the country for rice, beans and pulses, and other agricultural commodities.<ref name=bm>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.myanmar.com/myanmartimes/MyanmarTimes17-332/b007.htm |title=Market reforms lead to Bayintnaung boom |author1=Zaw Htet |author2=May Thanda Win |name-list-style=amp |date=4 September 2006 |journal=The Myanmar Times |access-date=27 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090129150553/http://myanmar.com/myanmartimes/MyanmarTimes17-332/b007.htm |archive-date=29 January 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Much of the country's legal imports and exports go through Thilawa Port, the largest and busiest port in Burma. There is also a great deal of informal trade, especially in street markets that exist alongside street platforms of Downtown Yangon's townships. However, on 17 June 2011, the YCDC announced that street vendors, who had previously been allowed to legally open shop at 3&nbsp; pm, would be prohibited from selling on the streets, and permitted to sell only in their townships of residence.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://mmtimes.com/2011/news/580/news58002.html |title=Vendors belong in markets, says YCDC |author=Nay Nwe Moe Aung |author2=Moh Moh Thaw |date=20 June 2011 |work=Myanmar Times |access-date=18 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002061657/http://mmtimes.com/2011/news/580/news58002.html |archive-date=2 October 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Since 1 December 2009, [[Chemistry:High-density polyethylene|high-density polyethylene]] [[Engineering:Plastic bag|plastic bag]]s have been banned by city authorities.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/no496/n010.htm |title=Mayor reiterates bag ban |author=Myo Myo |date=9 November 2009 |work=Myanmar Times |access-date=18 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612212418/http://www.mmtimes.com/no496/n010.htm |archive-date=12 June 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Manufacturing accounts for a sizeable share of employment. At least 14 light industrial zones ring Yangon,<ref name=iz>{{cite web |url=http://www.industry2.gov.mm/zone.htm |title=Industrial Zones |access-date=25 December 2008 |publisher=Ministry of Industry 2, Myanmar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908023819/http://www.industry2.gov.mm/zone.htm |archive-date=8 September 2008 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> directly employing over 150,000 workers in 4,300 factories in early 2010.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Yangon Division Industrial Zones |url=http://biweeklyeleven.com/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=category&id=3:biweekly-eleven-journal&download=53:biweekly-eleven-news-journal-vol-2-no-48&Itemid=152 |work=Bi-Weekly Eleven |volume=2 |issue=48 |date=19 February 2010 |language=my |author=Wai-Yan Phyo Oo |access-date=27 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911002116/http://biweeklyeleven.com/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=category&id=3:biweekly-eleven-journal&download=53:biweekly-eleven-news-journal-vol-2-no-48&Itemid=152 |archive-date=11 September 2014 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The city is the centre of country's garment industry which exported US$292&nbsp;million in 2008/9 fiscal year. More than 80 percent of factory workers in Yangon work on a day-to-day basis. Most are young women between 15 and 27 years of age who come from the countryside in search of a better life.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17781 |author=Ba Kaung |date=10 February 2010 |magazine=The Irrawaddy |title=Rangoon Workers End Strike |access-date=27 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506015000/http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17781 |archive-date=6 May 2010 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The manufacturing sector suffers from both structural problems (e.g. chronic power shortages) and political problems (e.g. economic sanctions). In 2008, Yangon's 2500 factories alone needed about 120 MW of power;<ref name="HTIZ">{{Cite news |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/no420/b005.htm |title=Hlaing Tharyar IZ rebuilding underway |date=26 May 2008 |author=Ye Lwin |work=The Myanmar Times |access-date=2 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430045932/http://www.mmtimes.com/no420/b005.htm |archive-date=30 April 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> yet, the entire city received only about 250 MW of the 530 MW needed.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Myanmar needs more gas to generate electricity for Yangon |url=http://english.eviewweek.com/Myanmar-needs-more-gas-to-generate-electricity-for-Yangon.shtml |date=3 July 2008}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Chronic power shortages limit the factories' operating hours between 8&nbsp;am and 6&nbsp;pm.<ref name="iz night">{{Cite journal |title=Industrial zones to run at night |date=26 March 2007 |author=Ye Lwin |journal=The Myanmar Times}}</ref>

Construction is a major source of employment. The construction industry has been negatively affected by the move of state apparatus and civil servants to Naypyidaw,<ref name="property">{{Cite news |title=Property market continues to recover |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/Construction/con01.htm |date=3 September 2007 |author=Zaw Htet |work=The Myanmar Times |access-date=23 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828084522/http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/Construction/con01.htm |archive-date=28 August 2008 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> new regulations introduced in August 2009 requiring builders to provide at least 12 parking spaces in every new high-rise building, and the general poor business climate. As of January 2010, the number of new high-rise building starts approved in 2009–2010 was only 334, compared to 582 in 2008–2009.<ref name=mt-bldg-slowdown>{{Cite journal |title=High-rise building slowing down |author=Htar Htar Khin |journal=The Myanmar Times |date=February 2010 |volume=26 |issue=9}}</ref>

Tourism represents a major source of foreign currency for the city although by south-east Asian standards the number of foreign visitors to Yangon has always been quite low—about 250,000 before the Saffron Revolution in September 2007. The number of visitors dipped even further following the Saffron Revolution and Cyclone Nargis.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://burmadigest.info/2008/11/27/tourism-decline-in-burma-in-2008/ |title=Tourism decline in Burma in 2008 |date=27 November 2008 |work=Weekly Eleven Journal |publisher=Burma Digest |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100509094945/http://burmadigest.info/2008/11/27/tourism-decline-in-burma-in-2008/ |archive-date=9 May 2010}}</ref> The recent improvement in the country's political climate has attracted an increasing number of businessmen and tourists. Between 300,000 and 400,000 visitors that went through Yangon International in 2011. However, after years of underinvestment, Yangon's modest hotel infrastructure—only 3000 of the total 8000 hotel rooms in Yangon are "suitable for tourists"—is already bursting at seams, and will need to be expanded to handle additional visitors.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Colin Hinshelwood |title=Rangoon Hotels Struggle to Meet Tourist Demand |date=9 February 2012 |url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=23002 |magazine=The Irrawaddy |access-date=10 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209111849/http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=23002 |archive-date=9 February 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> As part of an urban development strategy, a hotel zone has been planned in Yangon's outskirts, encompassing government- and military-owned land in Mingaladon, Hlegu and Htaukkyant Townships.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://elevenmyanmar.com/tourism/956-new-hotel-zones-planned-near-yangon |title=New hotel zones planned near Yangon |date=14 October 2012 |work=Weekly Eleven |access-date=22 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122010551/http://www.elevenmyanmar.com/tourism/956-new-hotel-zones-planned-near-yangon |archive-date=22 November 2012}}</ref>

==Education==
[[File:Main building of the University of Medicine 1, Yangon, 2009.jpg|thumb|University of Medicine 1]]
Yangon educational facilities has a very high number of qualified teachers but the state spending on education is among the lowest of the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=HRDU Yearbook 2006 Chapter 9: Rights to Education and Health |url=http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/HRDU2006-CD/education.html |publisher=Human Rights Documentation Unit |access-date=14 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922093012/http://burmalibrary.org/docs4/HRDU2006-CD/education.html |archive-date=22 September 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Around 2007 estimate by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies puts the spending for education at 0.5% of the national budget.<ref name=dumber>{{Cite news |title=Are 'Smart' Sanctions Making Burmese Dumber? |work=The Irrawaddy |date=16 July 2010 |url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/opinion_story.php?art_id=18987 |access-date=3 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100721221744/http://www.irrawaddy.org/opinion_story.php?art_id=18987 |archive-date=21 July 2010 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The disparity in educational opportunities and achievement between rich and poor schools is quite stark even within the city. With little or no state support forthcoming, schools have to rely on forced "donations" and fees from parents for nearly everything – school maintenance to teachers' salaries,<ref name="dvb-edu">{{Cite news |title=Educationalists concerned by Burmese literacy rate |url=http://english.dvb.no/news.php?id=1732 |date=10 September 2008 |author=Yee May Aung |publisher=DVB |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914132228/http://english.dvb.no/news.php?id=1732 |archive-date=14 September 2008}}</ref> forcing many poor students to drop out.

While many students in poor districts fail to reach high school, a handful of Yangon high schools in wealthier districts such as Dagon 1, Sanchaung 2, Kamayut 2, Bahan 2, Latha 2, and TTC provide the majority of students admitted to the most selective universities in the country, highlighting the extreme shallowness of talent pool in the country.<ref>{{Cite journal |journal=Bi-Weekly Eleven News |language=my |title=Yangon Division Produces More Distinction Winners |date=28 June 2010 |url=http://www.news-eleven.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3593:2010-06-28-06-14-40&catid=43:2009-11-10-07-39-09&Itemid=111 |access-date=28 June 2010 |archive-date=2 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100702184353/http://www.news-eleven.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3593:2010-06-28-06-14-40&catid=43:2009-11-10-07-39-09&Itemid=111 |url-status=live}}</ref> The wealthy bypass the state education system altogether, sending their children to private English language instruction schools such as YIEC or more widely known as ISM, or abroad (typically Singapore or Australia) for university education.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/edu08/e013.htm |title=Myanmar students choosing Australian and Singapore unis |date=28 March 2008 |author=Aye Thawda Thit |work=The Myanmar Times |access-date=23 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720094401/http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/edu08/e013.htm |archive-date=20 July 2008 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> In 2014, international schools in Yangon cost at least US$8,000 a year.<ref name=st>{{Cite news |url=http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20081011-93043.html |title=I see no future for my two sons in Myanmar. |date=13 October 2008 |author=Sandra Davie |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |access-date=24 December 2008 |archive-date=13 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213143838/http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20081011-93043.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

There are over 20 universities and colleges in the city. While Yangon University remains the best known (its main campus is a part of popular Burmese culture e.g. literature, music, film, etc.), the nation's oldest university is now mostly a graduate school, deprived of undergraduate studies. Following the 1988 nationwide uprising, the military government has repeatedly closed universities, and has dispersed most of the undergraduate student population to new universities in the suburbs such as Dagon University, the University of East Yangon and the University of West Yangon. Nonetheless, many of the country's most selective universities are still in Yangon. Students from around the country still have to come to study in Yangon as some subjects are offered only at its universities. The University of Medicine 1, University of Medicine 2, Yangon Technological University, University of Computer Studies and Myanmar Maritime University are the most selective in the country.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/edu08/e001.htm |title=HR key to development |date=28 March 2008 |author=Minh Zaw |work=The Myanmar Times |access-date=23 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720031121/http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/edu08/e001.htm |archive-date=20 July 2008 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Schools for foreign expatriates include:
* International School of Myanmar
* International School Yangon
* Myanmar International School
* Yangon International School
* Lycée français international de Rangoun - Joseph-Kessel<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aefe.fr/reseau-scolaire-mondial/rechercher-un-etablissement/birmanie-myanmar-rangoun-yangon-lycee-francais |title=Lycée français international de Rangoun – Joseph-Kessel |publisher=AEFE |access-date=2022-10-30 |archive-date=30 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221030232230/https://www.aefe.fr/reseau-scolaire-mondial/rechercher-un-etablissement/birmanie-myanmar-rangoun-yangon-lycee-francais |url-status=live}}</ref>
* Yangon Japanese School

==Health care==
[[File:General Hospital, Yangon.jpg|thumb|Yangon General Hospital]]
The general state of health care in Yangon is poor. According to a 2007 estimate, the military government spends 0.4% of the national budget on health care, and 40% to 60% on defence.<ref name=dumber/> By the government's own figures, it spends 849 kyats (US$0.85) per person.<ref name=malpractice>{{cite magazine |title=Another Medical Malpractice Death in Rangoon |url=http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17547 |author=Arkar Moe |magazine=The Irrawaddy |date=8 January 2010 |access-date=18 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100112075354/http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17547 |archive-date=12 January 2010 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Although health care is nominally free, in reality, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even in public clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals including the flagship Yangon General Hospital lack many of the basic facilities and equipment.

Wealthier Yangonites still have access to country's best medical facilities and internationally qualified doctors. Only Yangon and Mandalay have any sizeable number of doctors left as many Burmese doctors have emigrated. The well-to-do go to private clinics or hospitals like Pun Hlaing International Hospital and Bahosi Medical Clinic.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pun Hlaing International Hospital Ltd. - Healthcare Company in Yangon - InvestMyanmar.biz |url=http://www.investmyanmar.biz/infoCompany.php?id=7460 |website=www.investmyanmar.biz |access-date=26 January 2020 |archive-date=15 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615194728/http://www.investmyanmar.biz/infoCompany.php?id=7460 |url-status=live}}</ref> Medical malpractice is widespread, even in private clinics and hospitals that serve the well-to-do. In 2009 and 2010, a spate of high-profile deaths<ref name=malpractice/> brought out the severity of the problem, even for the relatively well off Yangonites. The wealthy do not rely on domestic hospitals and travel abroad, usually [[Place:Bangkok|Bangkok]] or Singapore, for treatment.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/health/h012.htm |title=Medical tourism gives patients options |author=Thein Win Nyo |work=The Myanmar Times |date=11 June 2007 |access-date=1 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720093301/https://www.mmtimes.com/feature/health/h012.htm |archive-date=20 July 2008 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The following are healthcare facilities in Yangon in 2010–2011.<ref name=w11-30yr-plan>{{cite journal |url=http://weeklyeleven.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11524:2011-12-18-04-46-45&catid=43:2009-11-10-07-39-09&Itemid=111 |title=Discussion on a 30-Year Development Plan for Yangon |language=my |journal=Weekly Eleven |date=18 December 2011 |access-date=18 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406172943/http://weeklyeleven.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11524:2011-12-18-04-46-45&catid=43:2009-11-10-07-39-09&Itemid=111 |archive-date=6 April 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:100px;"|FY 2010–2011
! style="width:100px;"|Number of public hospitals
! style="width:100px;"|Number of private hospitals
! style="width:100px;"|Physician-patient ratio
|-
| Eastern District
| 16
| 10
| 1:3638
|-
| Western District
| 10
| 21
| 1:1400
|-
| Southern District
| 23
| 1
| 1:18,176
|-
| Northern District
| 25
| 5
| 1:13,647
|}

==Notable sites==
[[File:Shwedagon Zedi Daw Yangon 5.jpg|alt=|thumb|Shwedagon Pagoda]]
[[File:Sule Pagoda, Golden stupas, Yangon, Myanmar.jpg |thumb|Sule Pagoda]]
[[File:Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda 1.JPG|thumb|Chauk Htat Gyi Pagoda]]
[[File:2016 Rangun, Katedra Najświętszej Maryi Panny (07).jpg|thumb|St Mary's Cathedral at the corner of Bo Aung Kyaw Road]]

===Pagodas===
* Shwedagon Pagoda
* Sule Pagoda
* Botataung Pagoda
* Chaukhtatgyi Buddha Temple
* Kyauktawgyi Buddha Temple
* Kaba Aye Pagoda
* Kyaikkhauk Pagoda
* Maha Wizaya Pagoda
* Ye Le Pagoda
* [[c:File:ရွှေဘုန်းပွင့် ဆုတောင်းပြည့်ဘုရား.jpg|Shwe Pone Pwint Pagoda]]

===Recreation===
* Allied War Memorial
* Bogyoke Market (Scott's Market)
* Hlawga National Park
* Inya Lake (formerly Lake Victoria)
* Kandawgyi Lake (formerly Royal Lake)
* Kandawmin Garden Mausolea
* Maha Bandula Park
* Martyrs' Mausoleum
* People's Square and Park
* St Mary's Cathedral
* Sain Lan So Pyae Garden
* Yangon University
* Yangon Zoological Gardens (Yangon Zoo)

===Museums and art galleries===
* [[Organization:National Museum of Myanmar|National Museum of Myanmar]]
* Myanmar Gems Museum
* Bogyoke Aung San Museum
* Yangon Drugs Elimination Museum
* Yangon Planetarium
* Yangon City Hall

===Concert halls and theatres===
* Yangon National Theatre
* Myanmar Convention Centre

==Notable people==
{{see|Category:People from Yangon}}
<!---♦♦♦ Only add a person to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦--->
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦--->
*Nick Drake, English singer-songwriter
*Honey Nway Oo, prominent revolutionary in Myanmar
*Giorgi Pirtskhalava (born 1965), retired Georgian professional football player
*Zainulabedin Gulamhusain Rangoonwala (1913–1994), Indian banker
*Sein Tun (1939–2011), physicist, university professor and author
*Vijay Rupani (born 1956), Former Chief Minister, Gujarat, India

==International relations==
Yangon is a member of the Asian Network of Major Cities 21.

===Twin towns – sister cities===
Yangon is twinned with:
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|KOR}} Busan, South Korea<ref>{{cite web |title=List of Sister Cities |url=https://english.busan.go.kr/SisterCities |website=english.busan.go.kr |publisher=Busan Metropolitan City |access-date=2021-05-07 |archive-date=26 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226042626/http://english.busan.go.kr/SisterCities |url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|CHN}} Haikou, China<ref>{{cite web |title=友好城市 |url=http://www.haikou.gov.cn/sq/jrhk/yhcs/index_3.html |website=haikou.gov.cn |publisher=Haikou |language=zh |access-date=2021-05-07 |archive-date=22 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922202634/http://www.haikou.gov.cn/sq/jrhk/yhcs/index_3.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|VIE}} Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2012)<ref>{{cite web |title=Danh sách địa phương nước ngoài kết nghĩa với TpHCM |url=http://www.mofahcm.gov.vn/vi/hoptac_qt/nr041014110554/ns150417132533 |website=mofahcm.gov.vn |publisher=Ho Chi Minh City |language=vi |access-date=2021-05-07 |archive-date=7 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607074850/http://www.mofahcm.gov.vn/vi/hoptac_qt/nr041014110554/ns150417132533 |url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|NPL}} [[Place:Kathmandu|Kathmandu]], Nepal<ref name=kathmandu>{{cite web |title=KMC International Relationship With Sister Cities |url=https://old.kathmandu.gov.np/en/content/kmc-international-relationship-sister-cities |website=kathmandu.gov.np |publisher=Kathmandu Metropolitan City |access-date=2021-05-07 |archive-date=7 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507134040/https://old.kathmandu.gov.np/en/content/kmc-international-relationship-sister-cities |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|CHN}} Kunming, China (2008)<ref>{{cite web |title=Sister Cities |url=https://kunming.cn/en/sister_cities/index.shtml |website=kunming.cn |publisher=Kunming |access-date=2021-05-07 |archive-date=28 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328080610/https://kunming.cn/en/sister_cities/index.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|CHN}} Nanning, China (2009)<ref>{{cite web |title=南宁市国际友城名单及分布图 |url=http://wqb.nanning.gov.cn/xxgk/sjfb/t1454179.html |website=nanning.gov.cn |publisher=Nanning |language=zh |access-date=2021-01-07 |archive-date=11 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711235905/http://wqb.nanning.gov.cn/xxgk/sjfb/t1454179.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|PHL}} [[Place:Quezon City|Quezon City]], Philippines (2017)<ref>{{cite web |title=Quezon City and Yangon Region Ink Sister City Agreement |url=https://dfa.gov.ph/dfa-news/news-from-our-foreign-service-postsupdate/11660-quezon-city-and-yangon-region-ink-sister-city-agreement |website=dfa.gov.ph |publisher=Department of Foreign Affairs |date=2017-02-06 |access-date=2021-05-07 |archive-date=27 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727112748/https://dfa.gov.ph/dfa-news/news-from-our-foreign-service-postsupdate/11660-quezon-city-and-yangon-region-ink-sister-city-agreement |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|CHN}} Yangzhou, China (1997)<ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/myanmartimes/no268/MyanmarTimes14-268/n006.htm |title=Yunnan keen to boost economic, trade ties |date=30 May 2005 |author1=Nwe Nwe Aye |author2=Wai Phyo Myint |name-list-style=amp |journal=The Myanmar Times}} </ref>
{{div col end}}

==See also==

* Rangoon Development Trust


==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Yangon}}
* [https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=16.813545,96.170197&spn=0.166014,0.234180&t=k&hl=en Satellite picture] by [[Software:Google Maps|Google Maps]]

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{{s-hou}}
{{s-bef
| before = Mawlamyaing, Sittwe, Yangon
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{{s-ttl
| title = Capital of British Burma
| years = 31 January 1862 – 7 March 1942<br />3 May 1945 – 4 January 1948
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{{s-aft
| after = End of British rule
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{{s-bef
| before = Yangon
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{{s-ttl
| title = Capital of Japanese Burma
| years = 7 March 1942 – 3 May 1945
}}
{{s-aft
| after = End of Japanese rule
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{{s-bef
| before = [[Place:Yangon|Yangon]]
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{{s-ttl
| title = Capital of Myanmar
| years = 4 January 1948 – 6 November 2005
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Place:Naypyidaw|Naypyidaw]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Navboxes
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[[Category:Former national capitals]]

{{Sourceattribution|Yangon}}