There are 4 million people who consider themselves Mons. The population of Mon State is about 1 million. Most of the people in Mon State speak Mon, but the official language is Burmese. The Mon have never been allowed to teach in their native language. Orchards and rubber plantations are found in the mountainous area, while most flat lands are occupied by paddy fields and salt fields along the coastline of Mon State.
Fishing is another traditional occupation of the local people.
Natural resources such as forest and onshore and offshore mineral resources are exploited only by top Burmese military leaders and foreign companies. At the present time one of the biggest investments in the exploitation of natural gas reserves is in Mon State. The territory, covering the whole of lower Burma, was wrested from the Mons by the Burmese. The British conquered Burma and hundreds of thousands of Mons, who had migrated into Thailand, returned to their homeland when it came into the British rule. The British promised Mon their own leadership and recognition after the defeating the Burmese.