Myanmar's Military Controls Only a Fifth of the Country as Insurgents Gain Ground

Myanmar's junta controls just 21 percent of national territory while ethnic armed organisations and resistance forces hold 42 percent, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. The shift reflects five years of territorial erosion since the February 2021 coup. Armed groups, once confined to border regions, have since 2023 expanded operations into zones the military long held secure. Neither side has achieved decisive dominance—the junta lacks the governance capacity to reclaim lost ground; the resistance lacks political coherence to consolidate its territorial gains.