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{{Short description|State of Myanmar}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Kachin State
| native_name = {{nobold|{{native name|my|ကချင်ပြည်နယ်|italics=no}}}} {{native name|kac|Jinghpaw Mungdaw}}
| settlement_type = [[Administrative divisions of Myanmar|State]]
| translit_lang1 = 
| translit_lang1_type = 
| translit_lang1_info = 
| image_skyline = "Hukaung Valley".jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Hukaung valley, Kachin state
| image_flag = Flag of Kachin State.svg
| flag_alt =
| image_blank_emblem = Seal of Kachin State Government.gif
| blank_emblem_size = 100px
| blank_emblem_type = Seal
| nickname =
| motto =
| image_map = Kachin State in Myanmar.svg
| mapsize = 200px
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Location of Kachin State in Myanmar
| pushpin_map = 
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption =
| coordinates = {{coord|26|0|N|97|30|E|region:MM_type:adm1st|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint =
| coordinates_footnotes =
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|Myanmar}}
| subdivision_type1 = Region
| subdivision_name1 = Northern
| established_title =
| established_date =
| seat_type = Capital
| seat = [[Myitkyina]]
| government_footnotes =
| leader_party =
| leader_title = [[Chief Ministers of States and Regions of Myanmar|Chief Minister]]
| leader_name = Khet Htein Nan
| leader_title1 = Cabinet
| leader_name1 = [[Kachin State Government]]
| leader_title3 = Judiciary
| leader_name3 = Kachin State High Court
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =
| area_total_km2 = 89041.2
| area_rank = 3rd
| area_note =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_max_ft = 19295
| elevation_max_point = [[Hkakabo Razi]]
| population_total = 1,689,441
| population_as_of = 2014
| population_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|pages=17|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B067GBtstE5TeUlIVjRjSjVzWlk/view}}</ref>
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_rank = 10th
| population_demonym = Kachin
| population_note =
| demographics_type1 = Demographics
| demographics1_footnotes = 
| demographics1_title1 = Ethnicities
| blank_name_sec2 = [[Human Development Index|HDI]] (2015)
| blank_info_sec2 = 0.596<ref name="GlobalDataLab">{{Cite web|url=https://hdi.globaldatalab.org/areadata/shdi/|title=Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab|website=hdi.globaldatalab.org|language=en|access-date=13 September 2018}}</ref> {{color|#FFA500|medium}} · [[List of administrative divisions of Myanmar by Human Development Index|2nd]]
| timezone1 = [[Myanmar Standard Time|MMT]]
| utc_offset1 = +06:30
| unemployment_rate =
| leader_title2 = Legislature
| leader_name2 = [[Kachin State Hluttaw]]
| demographics1_info1 = [[Kachin people|Kachin]], [[Lisu people|Lisu]], [[Burmese Chinese|Han-Chinese]], [[Shan people|Shan]], [[Kuki people]], [[Bamar]], [[Nu people|Nu]], [[Tibetan people|Tibetan]], [[Burmese Gurkha]]
| demographics1_title2 = Religions
| demographics1_info2 = {{ublist|[[Buddhism]] 64.0%|[[Christianity]] 33.8%|[[Islam]] 1.6%|[[Hinduism]] 0.4%|[[Mahayana Buddhism]] 0.1%}}
| official_name =
}}
[[File:Kachin state distriscts map.svg|thumb|The four districts of Kachin State]]
'''Kachin State''' ({{lang-my|ကချင်ပြည်နယ်}}; [[Jingpho language|Kachin]]: {{lang|kac|Jinghpaw Mungdaw}}), also known by the [[endonym]] '''Kachinland''', is the northernmost [[administrative divisions of Myanmar|state]] of [[Myanmar]]. It is bordered by China to the north and east ([[Tibet Autonomous Region|Tibet]] and [[Yunnan]], specifically and respectively); [[Shan State]] to the south; and [[Sagaing Region]] and [[India]] ([[Arunachal Pradesh]]) to the west. It lies between north latitude 23° 27' and 28° 25' longitude 96° 0' and 98° 44'. The area of Kachin State is {{convert|89041|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}. The capital of the state is [[Myitkyina]]. Other important towns include [[Bhamo]], [[Mohnyin]] and [[Putao Town, Kachin State|Putao]].

Kachin State has Myanmar's highest mountain, [[Hkakabo Razi]] at {{convert|5889|m|ft}}, forming the southern tip of the [[Himalayas]], and a large inland lake, [[Indawgyi Lake]].

==History==
What is now Kachin State was historically inhabited by a diverse population of various ethnolinguistic groups, including the [[Nung Rawang|Rawang]], the [[Lisu people|Lisu]], the [[Jingpo people|Jingpo]], the [[Zaiwa language|Zaiwa]], the [[Lachik|Lashi/Lachik]] and the Lawngwaw/Maru, all of whom had overlapping territories and varying social structures.<ref>Sadan, M. 2007, TRANSLATING GUMLAU:HISTORY, THE ‘KACHIN’ AND EDMUND LEACH. in Sadan, M and Robinne, F. (eds) 2007. Social Dynamics in the Highlands of Southeast Asia, Reconsidering Political Systems of Highland Burma by E. R. Leach. Brill. Leiden, Boston.</ref><ref>Kachin National Museum, Myitkyina</ref> The term "Kachin" is a Burmese umbrella term referring to ethnic groups living between the central Bamar heartland to the south and China to the north.

Traditional [[Kachin people|Kachin]] society was based on shifting hill agriculture. According to "The Political Systems of Highland Burma: A Study of Kachin Social Structure", written by E. R. Leach, Kachin was not a linguistic category. Political authority was based on chieftains who depended on support from immediate kinsmen. Considerable attention has been given by anthropologists of the Kachin custom of maternal cousin marriage, wherein it is permissible for a man to marry his mother's brother's daughter, but not with the father's sister's daughter. In pre-colonial times, the Kachin were [[Animism|animist]].

After the [[Sino-Burmese War (1765–1769)|Qing-Konbaung war]], the Chinese exercised a degree of control over the present-day northeastern Kachin State. During the British colonization of Burma, the [[Kachin Hills]] tribal autonomy was accepted by the British government. British forces carried out two expeditions against the Kachin in 1892 and 1896. In 1910, the British occupied Hpimaw ({{Zh|s=片马|p=Piànmǎ}}) in the Pianma Incident.

The pre-independence Burmese government under [[Aung San]] reached the [[Panglong Agreement]] with the Shan, Kachin, and Chin peoples on 12 February 1947. The agreement accepted "Full autonomy in internal administration for the Frontier Areas" in principle and envisioned the creation of a Kachin State by the Constituent Assembly. Burma attained independence on 4 January 1948. Kachin State was formed in the same year out of the former [[British rule in Burma|British Burma]] civil districts of [[Bhamo District|Bhamo]] and [[Myitkyina District|Myitkyina]], together with the larger northern district of [[Putao District|Puta-o]]. Kachin State was officially announced on 10 January 1948 and Kachin State Government held "Mungdaw Masat Masat Manau" (forming of Kachin State Manau) for three consecutive days since 9 to 11 January as happiness since that year they held Manau on 10 January every year until the [[1962 Burmese coup d'état]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Jinghpaw Mung Hte Ngai|last=Wabaw|first=Zau Rip|year=1983|location=Myitkyina|pages=112}}</ref> The vast mountainous hinterlands are predominantly [[Jingpo people|Kachin]], whereas the more densely populated railway corridor and southern valleys are mostly [[Shan people|Shan]] and [[Bamar]]. The northern frontier was not demarcated and until the 1960s [[Government of the People's Republic of China|Chinese government]]s had claimed the [[Jiangxinpo|northern-half]] of Kachin State as Chinese territory since the 18th century.{{Citation needed|date=December 2018}} Before the British rule, roughly 75% of all Kachin [[jadeite]] ended up in China, where it was prized much more highly than the local Chinese [[nephrite]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2018}}

Kachin troops formerly formed a significant part of the Burmese army. With the unilateral [[wikt:abrogate|abrogation]] of the [[Union of Burma]] constitution by the [[Ne Win]] regime in 1962, Kachin forces withdrew and formed the [[Kachin Independent Army|Kachin Independence Army]] (KIA) under the [[Kachin Independence Organization]] (KIO). Aside from the major towns and railway corridor, Kachin State has been virtually independent from the mid-1960s through 1994, with an economy based on agriculture and trade with China, including of jade. After a Myanmar army offensive in 1994 seized the jade mines from the KIO, a peace treaty was signed, permitting continued KIO effective control of most of the State, under aegis of the Myanmar military. This ceasefire immediately resulted in the creation of numerous splinter factions from the KIO and KIA of groups opposed to the [[State Peace and Development Council|SPDC]]'s sham peace accord, and the political landscape remains highly unstable.

[[File:"Hukaung Valley".jpg|thumb|Hukaung Valley, Kachin State]]

===Kachin conflict===
{{main|Kachin conflict}}

The complex political situation started when the Kachin armed group was established on 25 October 1960, after the U Nu government announced the state religion as Buddhism, as the Kachin people stopped believing in the government administration system, established after the federal union was agreed upon in the 1947 Panglong agreement. Between 1962 and 2010, the military government ruled over Myanmar. Cease fire agreements between ethnic armed groups and the government were made starting in 1989. And then in 2011 the new government led by President Thein Sein, broke the cease fire agreement which was agreed upon by the former military government and the Kachin ethnic armed group in 1994, resuming fighting against the Kachin who are living in the northern part of Myanmar, northern part of Shan, near the China border on 9 June 2011. Because of the abrupt internal conflict, thousands of internally displaced people fled to refugee camps which are located in the government-controlled area as well in the Kachin Independence Army controlled area (Hlaing, 2005).

KIO made a [[ceasefire]] agreement with the [[State Peace and Development Council|military government]] in 1994 while leaving political issues to be discussed with the next elected government. Throughout its struggle, both in the ceasefire and non-ceasefire period, KIO also made agreements with other ethnic rebels and alliances including the Democratic Alliance of Burma (DAB), the National Democratic Front (NDF), and United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC). The main goal was to pressure the military government and restore the federal democratic government with greater autonomy to Kachin State. During its 17 years of ceasefire from 1994 to 2011 the KIO actively participated in the military-led constitution-drafting-process, attending the National Convention, which was boycotted by the democratic icon Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy and ethnic political parties. The KIO together with 12 other ethnic groups demanded amendments of the draft to be more in line with a federal democratic system and to give autonomy to states (Zaw Oo & Win Min 2007).

The seventeen-year ceasefire broke down and fighting between the Kachin Independence Organization and the government resumed in June 2011 after the Kachin Independent Army disallowed the government's order to transform into a Border Guard Force and it claimed that the regime's 2008 Constitution lacked federal democratic principles and equal political rights for ethnic minorities based on the Panglong Agreement. Renewed fighting between the [[Kachin Independence Army]] and the [[Burmese army]] began on 9 June 2011 at [[Ta-pein hydropower plan]] and continued throughout 2012. Initial reports suggested that from June to September 2011 a total of 5,580 [[Internally Displaced Persons]] from 1,397 households arrived at 38 IDP camps under Myanmar Government control.<ref>{{Citation | title = UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Kachin fighting hits IDP health | place= Myitkyina | date = 15 November 2012 | newspaper = Irin | url = http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96785/MYANMAR-Kachin-fighting-hits-IDP-health}}.</ref> In August 2012 thousands of Kachin refugees were forced by the [[Government of the People's Republic of China|Chinese Government]] back into [[Myanmar]] despite the continued fighting there; NGOs like [[Human Rights Watch]] called to cease such action and pointed the illegality of doing so under international law.<ref>{{Citation | publisher = BBC | date = 24 August 2012 | title = China 'forcing Kachin refugees back to Burma | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19365075}}.</ref> As of 9 October 2012, over 100,000 IDPs are taking shelter in various camps across Kachin State. The majority of IDPs (est. 70,000) are currently sheltering in KIA controlled territory.<ref>{{Citation |title=IDPs |publisher = MRTV3 | url = http://www.mrtv3.net.mm/newpaper/411newsn.pdf | page = 8 Col 4}}. {{dead link|date=November 2016}}</ref> Fatality estimates were difficult to estimate but most reports suggested that between government troops, [[Kachin Independence Army]] rebels, and civilians upwards of 1,000 people had died in the conflict.

Even though many Kachins were already displaced internally, only around 150,000 people are reported as IDPs. The Kachins are currently the major target for the [[Government of Myanmar|Burmese government]],{{Citation needed|date=September 2014}} yet relatively few Kachins have chosen to resettle in countries such as the United States or Australia, in comparison to other Myanmar ethnic minorities, such as the Karens and Chins.

==Government==
{{expand section|date=July 2015}}
The [[Kachin State Government]] consists of an executive ([[Kachin State Government]]), a legislature ([[Kachin State Hluttaw]]), and a judiciary.

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations
|footnote =
|source = 2014 Myanmar Census<ref name="census-2014"/>
|1973 |737939
|1983 |904794
|2014 |1689441
}}
[[File:Stcolumbancathedral.jpg|thumb|St. Columban's Catholic Cathedral, in Myitkyina, Kachin State]]

===Religion===
According to the [[2014 Myanmar Census]], [[Buddhism|Buddhists]], who make up 64.0% of Kachin State's population, form the largest religious community there.<ref name="TUR">{{cite book | url=https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B067GBtstE5TSl9FNElRRGtvMUk | title=The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census Census Report Volume 2-C | publisher=Department of Population Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population MYANMAR | author=Department of Population Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population MYANMAR | date=July 2016 | pages=12–15}}</ref> Religious minority communities include Christians (33.8%), [[Muslims]] (1.6%), [[Hinduism|Hindus]] (0.4%), and [[Animism|animists]] (0.2%) who collectively comprise the remainder of Kachin State's population.<ref name="TUR"/> 2.8% of the population listed no religion, other religions, or were otherwise not enumerated.<ref name="TUR"/>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto;"
|- style="text-align: center;"
! Religious group
! Population % '''1983'''
! Population % '''2015'''<ref name="TUR"/>
|-
! style="background:Yellow;"| Buddhism
| 58.5% || 64.0%
|-
! style="background:DodgerBlue;"| Christianity
| 38.5% || 33.8%
|-
! style="background:Orange;"| Hinduism
| 1.8% || 0.4%
|-
! style="background:Green;"| Islam
| 0.5% || 1.6%
|-
! style="background:Black; color:white;"| Other
| 0.7% || 0.2
|}
{{clear}}

According to the [[State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee]]'s 2016 statistics, 7,966 Buddhist monks were registered in Kachin State, comprising 1.5% of Myanmar's total [[Sangha]] membership, which includes both novice [[samanera]] and fully-ordained bhikkhu.<ref name="mahana">{{Cite web|title=The Account of Wazo Monks and Nuns in 1377 (2016 year)|url=http://www.mahana.org.mm/en/religious-affairs/the-account-of-wazo-monks-and-nuns-in-1377-2016-year/|website=[[State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee]]|date=2016|access-date=19 January 2021|language=en-US}}</ref> The majority of monks belong to the [[Thudhamma Nikaya]] (95.3%), followed by the [[Shwegyin Nikaya]] (4.7%), with the remainder of monks belonging to other small [[Nikāya|monastic orders]].<ref name="mahana"/> 1,103 [[thilashin]] were registered in Kachin State, comprising 1.8% of Myanmar's total thilashin community.<ref name="mahana"/>

===Language===
[[Burmese language|Burmese]] and [[Jingpho language|Jingpho]] are [[lingua franca]]s of Kachin State. Since Burma achieved independence in 1948, significant numbers of Burmese speakers have settled in Kachin State, which has accelerated a [[language shift]] from Jingpho to Burmese. Other Kachin tribes speak and write their own language: the [[Zaiwa]], the [[Nung Rawang|Rawang]], and the [[Lisu people|Lisu]], who speak both the [[Lisu language]] and the [[Lipo language]].

===Ethnicity===
The ethnic data from the 2014 census is available only with the [[Tatmadaw]] (Myanmar Armed Forces) and not released to the public. As per the 1983 Census, the ethnic composition was Bamar: 29.3%, Shan: 24.2% and Kachin: 38.1%. In a speech delivered on 2016, Min Aung Hlaing of Tatmadaw gave the ethnic composition of the Kachin state as follows: Bamar – 29.2%, Shan – 23.6%, Jingphaw – 18.97%, Lisu – 7%, Rawam – 5%, Lawwaw – 3.33%, Lacheik – 2.89%, Zaikwa – 1.57% and Others – 8%.<ref>https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Ethnic-Identity-in-Myanmar.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:"Tanai Market".jpg|thumb|Tanai Market]]
The economy of Kachin State is predominantly agricultural. The main products include rice, [[teak]], [[sugar cane]], [[opium]]. Mineral products include gold, [[jade]], and [[rare-earth element]]s.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} Hpakant is well known for its jade mines.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ruby-sapphire.com/heaven-hell-jade-burma.htm|title=Heaven and Hell: Burma's jade mines, Part 1|website=Ruby-sapphire|date=18 May 2010|access-date=23 May 2012|archive-date=5 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205222243/http://www.ruby-sapphire.com/heaven-hell-jade-burma.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Bhamo is one of the border trading points between China and Myanmar.<ref>{{cite web |author=Aye Lei Tun |title=Myanmar Times & Business Reviews |url=http://www.mmtimes.com/no380/b005.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215122027/http://www.mmtimes.com/no380/b005.htm |archive-date=15 February 2012 |access-date=23 May 2012 |work=[[The Myanmar Times]]}}</ref> A significant amount of legal and illegal cross-border trade along the [[China–Myanmar border]] passes through Kachin State, through border posts operated by both the central government (e.g., [[Lweje]]) and [[List of ethnic armed organisations in Myanmar|ethnic armed organisations]] (e.g., [[Laiza]] and [[Kanpaikti]]).

=== Jade mining ===
Over 600 tons of jade stones, which were unearthed from Lone-Khin area in [[Hpakant Township]] in Kachin State, had been displayed in Myanmar Naypyidaw to be sold in November 2011. Most of the jade stones extracted in Myanmar, 25,795 tons in 2009–10 and 32,921 tons in 2008–09, are from Kachin State. The largest jade stone in the world, 3000 tons, 21 metres long, 4.8 metres wide and 10.5 metres high was found in Hpakant in 2000.<ref>{{Citation|publisher=Baganland |date=October 2010 |url=http://www.baganland.net/2010/10/myanmar-jade-production-up.html |title=Burma jade production up |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519122746/http://www.baganland.net/2010/10/myanmar-jade-production-up.html |archive-date=19 May 2011 }}</ref> The Myanmar government pays little attention to the deterioration of environment in Kachin because of jade mining. There has been erosion, flooding and mudslides. Several houses are destroyed every year.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Shane Abrahams |title=Archived copy |date=October 2009 |url=http://www.shaneabrahams.com/2009/10/environmental-damage-causing-health-problems-in-kachin-state/ |access-date=10 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111228054713/http://www.shaneabrahams.com/2009/10/environmental-damage-causing-health-problems-in-kachin-state/ |archive-date=28 December 2011 }}</ref>

=== Hydropower ===
In 2006, the Prime Minister General Thein Sein made an agreement with the China Power Investment Cooperation in Beijing to build seven dams in Kachin State.<ref>Kachin State Natural Resources Development Policy Discussion Paper, June,2015</ref> The controversial construction project of a huge 1,055 megawatt hydroelectric power plant dam, the [[Myitsone Dam]], is ongoing.<ref name="earthtimes1">{{Citation | title = Develop Kachin hydropower plant | newspaper = Earth times | url = http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/336357,develop-kachin-hydropower-plant.html| archive-url = https://archive.today/20120803004128/http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/336357,develop-kachin-hydropower-plant.html| url-status=dead| archive-date = 3 August 2012}}</ref> It is funded by China Power Investment Cooperation. When completed, the dam will measure 152 metre high and the electricity produced will be sold to China. This project displaced about 15,000 people and is one of 7 projects planned for the Irrawaddy River.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.burmariversnetwork.org/news/11-news/559-kio-warns-china-myitsone-dam-could-spark-civil-war.html |title=KIO warns China: Myitsone Dam could spark 'civil war' |publisher=Burma Rivers Network |date=20 May 2011 |access-date= 23 May 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120324075712/http://www.burmariversnetwork.org/news/11-news/559-kio-warns-china-myitsone-dam-could-spark-civil-war.html |archive-date= 24 March 2012}}</ref>

=== Rare earth mining ===
Kachin State is the world's largest source of [[Rare-earth element|rare earths]], which are critical in the supply chains of many multinational corporations, including Tesla and General Motors.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2022-08-09 |title=New evidence shows massive and rapid expansion of illicit rare earths industry in Myanmar, fuelling human rights abuses, environmental destruction and funding military-linked militias |url=https://www.globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/new-evidence-shows-massive-and-rapid-expansion-illicit-rare-earths-industry-myanmar-fuelling-human-rights-abuses-environmental-destruction-and-funding-military-linked-militias/ |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=Global Witness |language=en}}</ref> In 2021, China imported {{US$|200 million}} of rare earths from Myanmar in December 2021, exceeding 20,000 tonnes.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2022-08-09 |title=Myanmar's poisoned mountains |url=https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/natural-resource-governance/myanmars-poisoned-mountains/ |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=Global Witness |language=en}}</ref> Rare earths were discovered near Pangwa in [[Chipwi Township]] in the late 2010s.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Illegal rare earth mining harms environment in Myanmar's Kachin state |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/mining-03102022184456.html |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=Radio Free Asia |language=en}}</ref>

As China has shut down domestic mines due to the severe environmental impact, it has largely outsourced rare earth mining to Kachin State.<ref name=":1" /> Chinese companies and miners illegally set up operations in Kachin State without government permits, and instead circumvent the central government by working with a [[Border Guard Forces|Border Guard Force]] militia under the [[Tatmadaw]], formerly known as the [[New Democratic Army – Kachin]], which has profited from this extractive industry.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Makichuk |first=Dave |date=2021-05-03 |title=Is Myanmar's junta benefiting from rare-earth boom? |url=https://asiatimes.com/2021/05/is-myanmars-junta-benefitting-from-rare-earth-boom/ |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=Asia Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Mining operations also began in areas controlled by the [[Kachin Independence Organisation]] in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-24 |title=Rare-Earth Mining companies defy angry villagers and public opposition |url=https://www.bnionline.net/en/news/rare-earth-mining-companies-defy-angry-villagers-and-public-opposition |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=Burma News International |language=en}}</ref>

Rare earth mining has contaminated and polluted the local environment, including waterways and forests, and eroded mountainous landscapes, and impacted the health of locals.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> Since the [[2021 Myanmar coup d'état]], mining of rare earths in Kachin State has accelerated, due to lack of proper oversight.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-14 |title=Rare Earths in Myanmar: Unobtanium? |url=https://thediplomat.com/2021/06/rare-earths-in-myanmar-unobtanium/ |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=The Diplomat |language=en-US}}</ref> Land has also been seized from locals to conduct mining operations.<ref name=":1" /> {{As of|2022|March}}, 2,700 mining collection pools scattered across 300 separate locations were found in Kachin State, encompassing the area of [[Singapore]], and an exponential increase from 2016.<ref name=":1" />

==Transportation==
Kachin State is served by the following airports:
*[[Bhamo Airport]]
*[[Myitkyina Airport]]
*[[Putao Airport]]
There is a railroad between Myitkyina and Mandalay (through Sagaing). The train takes 21–30 hours from Mandalay to Myitkyina.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asterism.info/states/14/|title=Kachin state, northern Myanmar, Burma, travel info & maps|website=Asterism.info|access-date=23 May 2012}}</ref>

==Education==
[[File:University of Myitkyina.jpg|thumb|University of Myitkyina, Kachin State]]
{{see also|List of universities in Kachin State}}
Educational opportunities in Myanmar are extremely limited outside the main cities of [[Yangon]] and [[Mandalay]]. It is especially a problem in Kachin State where over 60 years of fighting between the government and insurgents has displaced thousands of people. The following is a summary of the education system in the state.<ref name=cso-edu>{{cite web|url=http://www.etrademyanmar.com/STATS/s1701.htm |title=Education statistics by level and by State and Division |access-date=9 April 2009 |publisher=Myanmar Central Statistical Organization |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524012235/http://www.etrademyanmar.com/STATS/s1701.htm |archive-date=24 May 2008 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:100px;"|AY 2002–2003
! style="width:100px;"|Primary
! style="width:100px;"|Middle
! style="width:100px;"|High
|-
| Schools
| 1183
| 86
| 41
|-
| Teachers
| 3700
| 1500
| 600
|-
| Students
| 168,000
| 80,000
| 24,100
|}

==Health care==
[[File:"Tanai Hospital".jpg|thumb|Tanai Hospital]]
The general state of health care in Myanmar is poor. The military government spends anywhere from 0.5% to 3% of the country's GDP on health care, consistently ranking among the lowest in the world.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=108&subsecID=900003&contentID=254167 |title=PPI: Almost Half of All World Health Spending is in the United States |date=17 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080205231908/http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=108&subsecID=900003&contentID=254167 |archive-date=5 February 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/06/28_Burma.shtml |title=Burma junta faulted for rampant diseases |date=28 June 2007 |first=Yasmin |last=Anwar |publisher=UC Berkeley News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702123259/http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2007/06/28_Burma.shtml |archive-date=2 July 2012 |url-status=dead }}</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 lack many of the basic facilities and equipment. In general, the health care infrastructure outside of [[Yangon]] and [[Mandalay]] is extremely poor but is especially worse in remote areas like Kachin State. The following is a summary of the public health care system in the state.<ref name=cso-hosp>{{cite web|url=http://www.etrademyanmar.com/STATS/s0413.htm |title=Hospitals and Dispensaries by State and Division |access-date=19 April 2009 |publisher=Myanmar Central Statistical Organization |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430032618/http://www.etrademyanmar.com/STATS/s0413.htm |archive-date=30 April 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! style="width:300px;"|2002–2003
! style="width:100px;"|# Hospitals
! style="width:100px;"|# Beds
|-
| Specialist hospitals
| 2
| 125
|-
| General hospitals with specialist services
| 2
| 500
|-
| General hospitals
| 17
| 553
|-
| Health clinics
| 22
| 352
|- class="sortbottom"
| '''Total'''
| '''43'''
| '''1530'''
|}

==See also==
* [[Kachin Hills]]
* [[Kachin State Cultural Museum]]
* [[Kumon Bum Mountains]]
* [[Myitsone Dam]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080124125905/http://kachinpost.com/ The Kachin Post]

{{Geographic location
| Centre = {{flag|Kachin State}}
| North = [[Tibet Autonomous Region]], {{flag|China}}
| Northeast =
| East = [[Yunnan]], {{flag|China}}
| Southeast =
| South = {{flag|Shan State}}
| Southwest =
| West = {{flag|Sagaing Region}}
| Northwest = [[Arunachal Pradesh]], {{flag|India}}
}}

{{Kachin State}}
{{Administrative divisions of Myanmar}}
{{Territorial disputes in East and South Asia}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Kachin State| ]]
[[Category:States of Myanmar]]
[[Category:1948 establishments in Burma]]

Kachin State - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 18:06, 24 August 2023