Loikaw
Capital of Kayah State, Myanmar
title: "Loikaw" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["township-capitals-of-myanmar", "populated-places-in-kayah-state"] description: "Capital of Kayah State, Myanmar" topic_path: "general/township-capitals-of-myanmar" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loikaw" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Capital of Kayah State, Myanmar ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| settlement_type | Capital City |
| official_name | Loikaw |
| native_name | လွိုင်ကော်မြို့ |
| other_name | Lwègaw |
| image_caption | Clock Tower |
| image_map | File:Loikaw clock tower.jpg |
| pushpin_map | Myanmar |
| pushpin_label_position | bottom |
| pushpin_map_caption | Location in Myanmar |
| coordinates | |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_name | Myanmar |
| subdivision_type1 | Region |
| subdivision_type2 | District |
| subdivision_type3 | Township |
| subdivision_name1 | Kayah State |
| subdivision_name2 | Loikaw |
| subdivision_name3 | Loikaw |
| leader_title | Mayor |
| unit_pref | Imperial |
| area_total_sq_mi | 10.3 |
| elevation_m | 884 |
| elevation_ft | 2900 |
| population_as_of | 2019 |
| population_footnotes | |
| population_density_km2 | auto |
| population_blank1_title | Ethnicities |
| population_blank2_title | Religions |
| population_total | 59,450 |
| timezone | MMT |
| utc_offset | +6.30 |
| :: |
|settlement_type = Capital City |official_name = Loikaw |native_name = လွိုင်ကော်မြို့ |other_name = Lwègaw |image_skyline = |image_caption =Clock Tower |image_map =File:Loikaw clock tower.jpg |map_caption = |pushpin_map = Myanmar |pushpin_label_position = bottom |pushpin_map_caption = Location in Myanmar |coordinates = |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = Myanmar |subdivision_type1 = Region |subdivision_type2 = District |subdivision_type3 = Township |subdivision_name1 = Kayah State |subdivision_name2 = Loikaw |subdivision_name3 = Loikaw |leader_title = Mayor |unit_pref = Imperial |area_total_sq_mi = 10.3 |elevation_m = 884 |elevation_ft = 2900 |population_as_of = 2019 |population_footnotes = |population_density_km2 = auto |population_blank1_title = Ethnicities |population_blank2_title = Religions |population_blank2 = |website = |population_total= 59,450 |timezone = MMT |utc_offset = +6.30
Loikaw (, ) is the largest city and the capital of Kayah State, also known as Karenni State, in Myanmar. It is located in the Karen Hills area, near the State's northern tip, just above an embayment on the Pilu River. The inhabitants are mostly Kayah (Karenni). Myanmar's largest hydropower plant (built by the Japanese as war reparation) is located about 20 km east of Loikaw at Lawpita Falls.
The town of Loikaw comprises 13 urban wards, namely Naungya, Daw-ukhu, Mainglon, Mingala, Dhammayon, Zaypaing, Shwetaung, Landama, Dawtanma, Dawnoeku, Shansu, and Minsu wards.
History
thumb|left|345px|Landscape of Loikaw in 1922. The bridges appear flimsy, but were substantial enough that elephants could walk over them. Loikaw was the Headquarters of the Political Officer in Charge of the Karenni States, part of the Princely States of British Burma, in 1922 during British rule in Burma. The town was located in the only flat part of the Karenni area. In 1892 it numbered four huts. As an Agent of the British government he was exercising control over the local Karenni Rulers, being supervised by the Superintendent at Taunggyi. The headquarters of the American Baptist Mission to Hill Karens was also located in Loikaw.
As with the rest of Kayah State, outsider access to Loikaw has been restricted post-independence, with special permits required to secure entry. Since the 2021 coup, Loikaw has been the scene of intense fighting between the Burmese military and ethnic armed groups opposed to military control, forcing many of the city's residents to flee. On 7 November 2023, the Karenni National People's Liberation Front, Karenni Army, and Karenni Nationalities Defence Force launched a military offensive known as Operation 1107 against the ruling State Administration Council junta. An additional offensive, known as Operation 1111, started on 11 November 2023 with the aim of capturing Loikaw. By 18 December, anti-junta forces were reported to have control of 85% of the city.
Demographics
2014
|title = Historical Population |type = |align = |direction = |width = |state = |shading = |pop_name = |percentages = |footnote = |source = Ministry of Labor, Immigration, and Population and General Administration Department data |1973 | |1983 | 33,665 |2014 | 51,349 |2019 | 59,450
The 2014 Myanmar Census reported that Loikaw had a population of 51,349, constituting 40.0% of Loikaw Township's total population.
Climate
Loikaw has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) bordering on a humid subtropical climate (Cwa). |location = Loikaw, elevation 895 m, (1991–2020) |single line = Y |metric first = Y |collapsed = Y |Jan high C = 27.7 |Feb high C = 30.2 |Mar high C = 32.8 |Apr high C = 33.8 |May high C = 31.3 |Jun high C = 29.1 |Jul high C = 28.2 |Aug high C = 28.0 |Sep high C = 28.8 |Oct high C = 28.8 |Nov high C = 28.0 |Dec high C = 26.7 |year high C = 29.4 |Jan mean C = 18.6 |Feb mean C = 20.7 |Mar mean C = 24.0 |Apr mean C = 26.5 |May mean C = 26.1 |Jun mean C = 25.0 |Jul mean C = 24.5 |Aug mean C = 24.3 |Sep mean C = 24.6 |Oct mean C = 23.9 |Nov mean C = 21.5 |Dec mean C = 18.8 |year mean C = 23.2 |Jan low C = 9.5 |Feb low C = 11.2 |Mar low C = 15.2 |Apr low C = 19.3 |May low C = 20.8 |Jun low C = 21.0 |Jul low C = 20.8 |Aug low C = 20.7 |Sep low C = 20.5 |Oct low C = 19.1 |Nov low C = 15.1 |Dec low C = 10.9 |year low C = 17.0 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 9.3 |Feb precipitation mm = 2.7 |Mar precipitation mm = 14.1 |Apr precipitation mm = 41.1 |May precipitation mm = 139.9 |Jun precipitation mm = 142.1 |Jul precipitation mm = 155.6 |Aug precipitation mm = 226.5 |Sep precipitation mm = 191.6 |Oct precipitation mm = 131.4 |Nov precipitation mm = 38.4 |Dec precipitation mm = 10.2 |year precipitation mm = 1102.7 |unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm |Jan precipitation days = 1.0 |Feb precipitation days = 0.3 |Mar precipitation days = 1.3 |Apr precipitation days = 5.0 |May precipitation days = 14.2 |Jun precipitation days = 18.3 |Jul precipitation days = 19.4 |Aug precipitation days = 21.5 |Sep precipitation days = 17.1 |Oct precipitation days = 11.1 |Nov precipitation days = 4.2 |Dec precipitation days = 1.4 |year precipitation days = 114.7 |source 1 = World Meteorological Organization{{cite web | url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-2-WMO-Normals-9120/Myanmar/CSV/Loikaw_48075.csv | title = World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991–2020 | publisher = World Meteorological Organization | access-date = 16 October 2023}}
Transport
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Thiri_Mingalar_Taung_Kwe_Pagoda.jpg" caption="View of Taung Kwe Pagoda."] ::
Air
The city (and the entire state) is served by Loikaw Airport, with flights to Yangon , Mandalay and Heho. Myanmar National Airlines offer a Yangon-Nay Pyi Taw-Loikaw flight as UB149 ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Loikaw_Airport.jpg" caption="Loikaw Airport"] ::
Rail
Loikaw is linked by the newly constructed Aungpan-Pinlaung-Loikaw rail line. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Loikaw_Station.jpg" caption="Loikaw Station"] ::
Buses
There are express buses from Loikaw to Yangon, Mandalay and other towns.
Education
The town is home to Loikaw University, Technological University, Loikaw, Computer University, Loikaw, and Loikaw Education College.
Health care
Loikaw General Hospital serves not only locals in the state but also to those in the southern part of neighbouring Shan State. The existing buildings of the hospital were built in 1964. Due to increase demands, new two two-storey buildings were constructed with the 1.945 billion yen funding from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).[[File:Naung Yah Lake.jpg|thumb|Naung Yah Lake]] ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Lawpita_Fall.jpeg" caption="Lawpita Fall"] ::
References
References
- "Lwègaw (Variant)" {{GEOnet2. 32FA88457F763774E0440003BA962ED3, [[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency]]
- Myanmar Information Management Unit. (September 2019). "Loikaw Myone Daethasaingyarachatlatmya". MIMU.
- Bitsch, Jørgen (1966) ''Why Buddha Smiles'' Taplinger Publishing, New York, pages 55–56, {{OCLC. 421824
- [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V15_042.gif Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 15, p. 36.]
- (2016-10-08). "A guide to Loikaw, Kayah State (Myanmar) – Against the Compass".
- (2022-01-14). "Burmese flee bombardment as junta 'makes example' of city of Loikaw".
- (9 November 2023). "ကရင်နီဒေသ ၁၁၀၇ စစ်ဆင်ရေး တိုက်ပွဲ ဆင်နွှဲ". [[BBC News]] မြန်မာ.
- (8 November 2023). "ကရင်နီဒေသ ၁၁၀၇ စစ်ဆင်ရေး စတင်". ဗွီအိုအေ.
- (19 December 2023). "Resistance forces claim control of '85 percent' of Karenni State capital".
- (October 2017). "Loikaw Township Report".
- (2015-02-11). "Loikaw to get new hospital buildings funded by JICA – Global New Light Of Myanmar". Global New Light Of Myanmar.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::