Yangon suffers from deeply inadequate infrastructure, especially compared to other major cities in Southeast Asia, such as Jakarta, Bangkok or Hanoi.

Though many historic residential and commercial buildings have been renovated throughout central Yangon, most satellite towns that ring the city continue to be profoundly impoverished and lack basic infrastructure.

Notable governors of Dagon included Princess Maha Dewi, who ruled the town from 1364 to 1392,[15] and her grandniece, Shin Saw Pu, who later became the only female queen regnant in Burmese history.

[16][17] In 1755, King Alaungpaya, the founder of the Konbaung dynasty captured Dagon, added settlements around it, and called the enlarged town "Yangon".

[20][21] Based on the design by army engineer Lt. Alexander Fraser, the British constructed a new city on a grid plan on delta land, bounded to the east by the Pazundaung Creek and to the south and west by the Yangon River.

[23] Colonial Yangon, with its spacious parks and lakes and mix of modern buildings and traditional wooden architecture, was known as "the garden city of the East".

[citation needed] After World War I, Yangon became the center of the Burmese independence movement, with leftist Rangoon University students leading the way.

In the 1990s, the military government's more open market policies attracted domestic and foreign investment, bringing a modicum of modernity to the city's infrastructure.

The Saffron Revolution saw mass shootings and the use of crematoria in Yangoon by the Burmese government to erase evidence of their crimes against monks, unarmed protesters, journalists and students.

While the city had few human casualties, three-quarters of Yangon's industrial infrastructure was destroyed or damaged, with losses estimated at US$800 million.

[43] The femboy population in Yangon also increased due to the Spring Revolution of Myanmar, protesting against the ruling military junta who took control after the 2021 coup d'état.

It is primarily due to the heavy rainfall received during the rainy season that makes Yangon fall under the tropical monsoon climate category.

Maps from 1944 show little development north of Inya Lake and areas that are now layered in cement and stacked with houses were then virtual backwaters.

Although most apartment buildings were built only within the last 20 years, they look much older and rundown due to shoddy construction and lack of proper maintenance.

[61] West of the pagoda towards the former Hluttaw (Parliament) complex is the 130-acre (53-ha) People's Square and Park, the former parading ground on important national days when Yangon was the capital.

It has direct flights to major cities in Asia, such as Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Kolkata, and Dubai.

[67] In 2017 the government of Japan provided more than US$200 million in finance to assist with a range of works including developing and maintaining the Yangon circular railway line, purchasing new carriages and upgrading signalling.

[1][72] All buses and 80% of the taxis in Yangon run on compressed natural gas (CNG), following the 2005 government decree to save money on imported petroleum.

[citation needed] In July 2008, the two most popular cars in Yangon, 1986/87 Nissan Sunny Super Saloon and 1988 Toyota Corolla SE Limited, cost the equivalent of about US$20,000 and US$29,000 respectively.

The government's decision to move the nation's administrative capital to Naypyidaw has drained an unknown number of civil servants away from Yangon.

Protestors against the ruling military junta wore gender-nonconforming outfits the which was previously unfamiliar to Myanmar, as a tactic to lead towards a "social and cultural ideological revolution".

In recent years, however, the prospect of overseas job opportunities has enticed some to study other languages: Mandarin Chinese is most popular, followed by Japanese, and French.

Semi-governmental The Myanmar Times weekly, published in Burmese and in English, is mainly geared for Yangon's expatriate community.

[95] According to official statistics, in July 2010, the country had over 400,000 internet users, with the vast majority hailing from just two cities, Yangon and Mandalay.

Until April 2009, the now-defunct Myanmar Premier League, consisted of 16 Yangon-based clubs,[102] played all its matches in Yangon stadiums, and attracted little interest from the general public or commercial success despite the enormous popularity of football in Burma.

The construction industry has been negatively affected by the move of state apparatus and civil servants to Naypyidaw,[116] new regulations introduced in August 2009 requiring builders to provide at least 12 parking spaces in every new high-rise building, and the general poor business climate.

[119] As part of an urban development strategy, a hotel zone has been planned in Yangon's outskirts, encompassing government- and military-owned land in Mingaladon, Hlegu and Htaukkyant Townships.

While many students in poor districts fail to reach high school, a handful of Yangon high schools in wealthier districts such as Dagon 1, Sanchaung 2, Kamayut 2, Bahan 2, Latha 2, and TTC provide the majority of students admitted to the most selective universities in the country, highlighting the extreme shallowness of talent pool in the country.

While Yangon University remains the best known (its main campus is a part of popular Burmese culture e.g. literature, music, film, etc.

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