Kayah State
Myanmar's smallest state where Karenni forces expelled military from most territory following 2021 coup.
Kayah State is Myanmar's smallest—a landlocked territory where the Karenni (Kayah) people maintain armed resistance through the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP). Following the 2021 coup, Karenni forces expelled the military from most of the state.
The economy historically combined subsistence agriculture with timber and hydropower. Logging operations extracted teak and other valuable species. Dam projects on the Salween River generated electricity for export to Thailand. Both industries faced disruption following the coup.
Karenni resistance achieved notable military success. By 2025, ethnic armed organizations and allied PDF units controlled most territory outside the capital Loikaw. The military junta maintains precarious presence in urban centers while resistance controls the countryside.
The biological pattern is small-territory effectiveness: Kayah's compact size enabled coordinated resistance that larger, more fragmented states could not achieve, demonstrating how scale affects insurgent capability.