Ayeyarwady Region (Burmese: ဧရာဝတီတိုင်းဒေသကြီး, pronounced: [ʔèjàwədì táiɴ dèθa̰ dʑí]; formerly Ayeyarwady Division and Irrawaddy Division) is a region of Myanmar, occupying the delta region of the Ayeyarwady River (Irrawaddy River). It is bordered by Bago Region to the north, Bago Region and Yangon Region to the east, and the Bay of Bengal to the south and west. It is contiguous with the Rakhine State in the northwest.
The region lies between north latitude 15° 40' and 18° 30' approximately and between cast longitude 94° 15' and 96° 15'. It has an area of 13,566 square miles (35,140 km2). The population is over 6.5 million, making it the most populous of Burma’s states and regions. The population density is 466 /sq mi (180 /km2).
Ayeyarwady Region is flanked by the Rakhine Yoma (Arakan Mountains) range in the west and large areas were cleared for paddy cultivation, leading to its preeminent position as the main rice producer in the country, a position it has retained into the 21st century.
It has also a number of lakes. Of the rivers branching out from the mighty Ayeyarwady, Ngawun, Pathein and Toe are famous.
Pathein (Burmese: ပုသိမ်မြို့; MLCTS: pu. sim mrui., Burmese pronunciation: [pəθèiɴ mjo̰]; Mon: ဖာသီ, [pha sɛm]), also called Bassein, is a port city with a 2004 population estimated at 215,600, and the capital of the Ayeyarwady Region, Burma. It lies on the Pathein River (Bassein), which is a western branch of the Irrawaddy River. Pathein is the fourth largest city of Burma (Myanmar), situated 190 km west of Yangon. It is located within the Pathein Township of Pathein District and is also the seat of all. Although once part of the Mon kingdom, Pathein has few ethnic Mon residents today. The majority are of Bamar, Burmese Indians, Kayin ethnicity. There are, however, notable minorities of Karen and Rakhine.