AKYAB, a municipality and district in the Arakan division of Burma at the confluence of the large rivers Myu, Kaladan and Lemro. After the cession of Arakan to the British by the treaty of Yandaboo in 1826 the old capital of Myohaung was abandoned as the seat of government, and Akyab on the sea coast selected in stead. Trade restrictions were removed and Akyab rapidly grew from a small fishing village into a leading port of Burma, with a population in 1931 of (28,724 males and 9,370 females) . The population has varied but slightly since the census of 1881. Out of the total population, 4,049 (3,877 males and 172 females) are "adventitious" Mohammedan and Hindu labourers. The set tled civil population comprises 15,802 Buddhists (Arakanese and Burmese, 8,111 males and 7,691 females), 10,988 Hindus (10,259 males and 729 females) and 10,032 Mohammedans (9,456 males and 576 females).
It contains the usual public buildings and several large rice mills. The chief export is rice. The district lies along the north-eastern shores of the Bay of Bengal, with an area of 5,176sq.m. and a population in 1931 of 637,580. (See BURMA.)