MINBU, a district in the Magwe division of Burma. The dis trict has an area of 3,594 sq.m., and a population (1931) of 277,876, showing an increase of 11,922 in the decade and a density of 83 inhabitants to the square mile. The district may be said to consist of low plain-land towards the Irrawaddy, and of undulat ing country inland rising higher and higher westwards towards the Arakan hills. Between the plain and the Arakan Yoma range is a distinct line of hills running north and south, and usually called the Nwa-Madaung hills. The submontane valleys are largely cul tivated, but are very unhealthy except to those born in them. The chief streams besides the Irrawaddy are the Mon, the Maw, and the Salin, which are largely used for irrigation. At Minbu town the Irrawaddy is 3 miles wide, with many islands and sandbanks. There are considerable fisheries along the Irrawaddy and on the Paunglin lake, which is a lagoon fed from the Irrawaddy. Oil occurs near the mud volcanoes of Minbu, and three distinct oil fields have been developed in the line of hills—an anticline of Peguan rocks—which runs through Minbu town; but the Minbu fields are small and cannot be ranked with the great fields of Yenangyaung and Singu.
There is a large area of reserved forest in the district. The chief crops raised are rice, gram, millet, beans, peas, sesamum and tobacco. The annual rainfall varies greatly over the district. It is very considerable on and under the Arakan Yomas, and very slight towards the Irrawaddy. The thermometer rises to over 00° in the hot months, and the mean minimum in December is about Minbu, the district headquarters, stands on the Irrawaddy. It had a population of 6,005 in 1931. The river steamers in the dry season can come no nearer than four miles to the south of the town. The town of Salin is the centre of the northern part of the district ; pop. (1931)