Gangaw Township is a township of Gangaw District in Magway Division, Myanmar. Gangaw Township occupies the northernmost part of Magway District and borders Sagaing Region to the north and east and Chin State to the west. Gangaw town is the administrative centre of the township and Gangaw District. The wider area is commonly associated with the Yaw region.
Geography Gangaw Township is located in the mountainous and forested part of northern Magway Region. The terrain is much different than the central lowlands of Maway Region, with relatively little lowland paddy land and an agro-ecology more characterized. The Township lies between the Pontaung and Ponnya-taung mountain ranges to the east and the Chin hills to the west.
Demographics According to the 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census, Gangaw Township had a population of 133,295, consisting of 63,420 males and 69,875 females. Of the population living in conventional households, 13,283 people lived urban areas and 115,532 in rural areas. The census recorded 29,912 conventional households and an average household size of 4.3 persons. The population includes mostly Bamar people known locally as Yaw, as well as Chin communities.
Administration Gangaw Township is part of Gangaw District in Magway region. The 2014 census recorded 4 wards and 71 village tracts in the township. Gangaw township serves serves as the administrative centre of both Gangaw Township and Gangaw District, which includes Htilin and Saw townships. The United Nation Development Programme conducted local government mapping in Magway Region in 2014, including Gangaw Township. The study examined local administration, citizen participation at the delivery of basic services such as education and health care. In Gangaw, according to the research that included interviews with residents and service providers in selected village tracts and wards.
History Gangaw township formed part of a wider Yaw region during the period of Myanmar kings. An historical study of Gangaw and surrounding Kyaw states reviles that Gangaw was established in 1248 CE, traditionally associated with soldiers and other personal sent during the reign of king Narathihapate to settle areas describes as the "four jungles". According to the historical account the village was named after a big Gangaw tree at the settlement site. The name was later changed from "Kankaw" to "Gangaw" during the Konbaung period.
The Yaw region remained geographically relatively isolated for much of the modern period. In the post independent it was affected by armed conflict including communist insurgency. According to research on the region, state control and development expanded substantially after the 1980's, with new infrastructure, resource extraction projects and urban development changing the area's economy and connection with other parts of Myanmar.
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