Shan State is a state of Myanmar. Shan State borders China to the north, Laos to the east, and Thailand to the south, and five administrative divisions of Myanmar in the west. The largest of the 14 administrative divisions by land area, Shan State covers 155,800 km2, almost a quarter of the total area of Myanmar. The state gets its name from the Burmese name for the Tai peoples: "Shan people". The Tai constitute the majority among several ethnic groups that inhabit the area.