Fossils of the early primates over 40 million years old were excavated in the Pondaung and Ponnya areas from Pakokku District in Magway Region, leading the government to proclaim that Myanmar as "the birthplace of humanity in the world," a claim which is unsupported by anthropologists.

An ancient city of the Pyu, Peikthano-myo, about 2,000 years old, is located in Taungdwingyi Township, Magway Region.

Magway Region's districts are Magwe, Minbu, Thayet, Pakokku and Gangaw, comprising 25 townships and 1,696 ward village tracts.

Over 95% the people are Bamar, with very small numbers of minorities including Chin, Rakhine, Karen, Shan, and a tiny Anglo-Burmese population.

During colonial times, this part of Burma had a large Anglo-Burmese population, descended from Western oil workers and their Burmese partners.

[4] Minority religious communities include Christians (0.7%), Muslims (0.3%), Hindus (0.1%), and animists (0.1%) who collectively comprise the remainder of Magway Region’s population.

[4] According to the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee’s 2016 statistics, 31,349 Buddhist monks were registered in Magway Region, comprising 5.9% of Myanmar's total Sangha membership, which includes both novice samanera and fully-ordained bhikkhu.

[5] The Irrawaddy River is the major transportation system in Magway Region, both in terms of volume of goods and population served.

Most major towns in the region are river ports on the Irrawaddy; among them are Magway, Pakokku, Minbu, Yenangyaung, Chauk, Allanmyo, and Thayetmyo.

[6] The Pyay to Nyaung-U, Pakokku and Myingyan railway runs through eastern Magway with connections to the capital Naypyidaw, Rangoon and Mandalay.

In addition, there are two rail lines running north from the Irrawaddy port of Kyangin, one to Chaung-U in Sagaing Region and the other to the Myittha River valley past Myaing and Kyaw.

Magway Region's oil fields are located in Mann, Yenangyaung, Chauk, Kyauk-khwet, Letpando and Ayadaw.

Other crops grown are rice, millet, maize, sunflower, beans and pulses, tobacco, toddy, chili, onions, and potatoes.

Famous products of Magway Region include Thanaka (Limonia acidissima) and Phangar (Chebulic myrobalan) fruit.

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.

[12][13] Although health care is nominally free, in reality, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even in public clinics and hospitals.