Shan State
Myanmar's largest state with ethnic armed groups controlling territory in the Golden Triangle amid intensified post-coup conflict.
Shan State is Myanmar's largest administrative division—a mountainous region bordering China, Laos, and Thailand where multiple ethnic armed organizations control territory outside central government reach. The Shan people, Myanmar's largest minority, share the state with numerous other ethnic groups.
The economy combines licit agriculture (rice, soybeans, tea) with illicit drug production that made the Golden Triangle notorious. Opium cultivation and methamphetamine manufacturing generate revenue for armed groups. Cross-border trade with China and Thailand provides legitimate commerce. Jade and ruby mining adds extractive industry.
Civil conflict intensified following the 2021 coup. The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and other armed groups launched offensives in Northern Shan, seizing territory from the military junta. By 2025, resistance forces control significant portions of the state.
The biological pattern is fragmented sovereignty: Shan State hosts multiple competing authorities with overlapping territorial claims, creating patchwork governance that combines armed conflict with continued economic activity across informal boundaries.