Yangon 1920, 1936 and 1938 all began in Yangon. Yangon was under Japanese occupation (1942–45), and incurred heavy damage during World War II. The city was retaken by the Allies in May 1945. Yangon became the capital of the Union of Burma on 4 January 1948 when the country regained independence from the British Empire. Soon after Burma's independence in 1948, many colonial names of streets and parks were changed to more nationalistic Burmese names. In 1989, the current military junta changed the city's English name to "Yangon", along with many other changes in English transliteration of Burmese names. (The changes
Yangon Region transferred from Bago Division to Yangon Division. Post-war Yangon grew tremendously. Successive Burmese governments built satellite towns near Yangon. Today, Yangon Region is essentially the Greater Yangon metropolitan area surrounded by a hollow rural hinterland. Yangon Region consists of 4 districts and 44 townships. Of the 44, the city of Yangon now encompasses 33 townships. The ethnic Bamar, Rakhine, Karen and Mon make up the majority of the population. The division is also home to a large number of Chinese and South Asians. The majority of the inhabitants are Theravada Buddhists, followed by Muslims, Christians and Hindus. According to 2014