The HDI operates in 24 townships in 6 different regions of the country. Each of these regions has its own distinctive social, cultural, and ecological characteristics, and each has a different and distinctive ethnic make-up.

Three of these regions, containing 11 of the HDI townships, lie within the central part of the country: Southern Shan states (5 townships), the Dry Zone (3 townships), and the Ayeyarwaddy Delta (3 townships).

The remaining three regions, in which 13 HDI townships are located, lie along border areas: Northern and Eastern Rakhine State (5 townships), Chin State (5 townships), and Kachin State (2 townships).