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South Asia
GDP (Nominal) $2.561 trillion (2014)
GDP (PPP) $9.05 trillion (2014)
Languages Assamese, Balochi, Bengali, Dari, Dhivehi, Dzongkha, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Manipuri, Nepali, Oriya, Pashto, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Sinhala, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu

South Asia or Southern Asia is a term created about 50–60 years ago to replace the centuries older term Indian Subcontinent, used to represent the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities, adjoining countries to the west and east. Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian Plate, which rises above sea level as northern parts of India south of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. South Asia is bounded on the south by the Indian Ocean and on land (clockwise, from west) by West Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.

The current territories of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka form the countries of South Asia, with deviating definitions based on often substantially different reasons, the British Indian Ocean Territory, Mauritius, Iran, and the Tibet Autonomous Region are included as well. South Asia is home to well over one fifth of the world's population, making it both the most populous and the most densely populated geographical region in the world. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is an economic cooperation organisation in the region which was established in 1985 and includes all eight nations comprising South Asia.


The area of South Asia and its geographical extent is not clear cut as systemic and foreign policy orientations of its constituents are quite asymmetrical. Aside from the central region of South Asia there is a high degree of variation as to which other countries are included in South Asia.

The current territories of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan form the central region of South Asia, while the mountain countries of Nepal and Bhutan, and island countries of Sri Lanka and Maldives are generally included. Afghanistan and Myanmar are often added, and by various deviating definitions based on often substantially different reasons, the British Indian Ocean Territory, Mauritius, Iran, and the Tibet Autonomous Region are included as well.


The Centres for South Asian Studies at both the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia include Tibet along with the eight members of SAARC in their research programs, but exclude the Maldives. The South Asian Studies Program of Rutgers University and the University of California, Berkeley Centre for South Asia Studies also include the Maldives.

The South Asian Studies Program of Brandeis University defines the region as comprising "India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and in certain contexts Afghanistan, Myanmar, Maldives and Tibet".

Population Information Network (POPIN) includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as part of South Asia. Maldives, in view of its characteristics, was admitted as a member Pacific POPIN subregional network only in principle.

The region may also include the disputed territory of Aksai Chin, which is now administered as part of the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang. A lack of coherent definition for South Asia has resulted in not only a lack of academic studies, but also in a lack interest for such studies. The confusion exists also because of a lack of clear boundary - geographically, geopolitical, socio-culturally, economically or historically - between South Asia and other parts of Asia, especially the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Indian Subcontinent[]

The region was labelled variously as India (in its pre-modern sense), Greater India, Indian Subcontinent and South Asia. The terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are used interchangeably. According to historians Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal, Indian Subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance." Indologist Ronald B. Inden argues that the usage of the term "South Asia" is getting more widespread since it clearly distinguishes the region from East Asia.


The boundaries of South Asia vary based on how the region is defined. South Asia's northern, eastern, and western boundaries vary based on definitions used, while the Indian Ocean is the southern periphery. Most of this region rests on the Indian Plate and is isolated from the rest of Asia by mountain barriers. The most common school of thought proposes the frontier between South and Southwest Asia (i.e. the Middle East) lie in eastern Iran and western Afghanistan, while the frontier between South and Central Asia in northeastern Iran, northern Afghanistan, and southern Kyrgyzstan.



Indian plate[]






South Asia is largely divided into four broad climate zones:

  • The northern Indian edge and northern Pakistani uplands have a dry subtropical continental climate
  • The far south of India and southwest Sri Lanka have a equatorial climate
  • Most of the peninsula have a tropical climate with variations:
    • Hot subtropical climate in northwest India
    • Cool winter hot tropical climate in Bangladesh
    • Tropical semi-arid climate in the center
  • The Himalayas have an Alpine climate




Core countries[]

With the core seven countries, the area covers about 4.48 million km² (1.7 million mi²), which is 10% of the Asian continent or 2.4% of the world's land surface area. Macmillan Reference USA (Gale Group), 2006: "The area is divided between five major nation-states, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, and includes as well the two small nations of Bhutan and the Maldives Republic... The total area can be estimated at 4.4 million square kilometres, or exactly 10 percent of the land surface of Asia.... In 2000, the total population was about 22 percent of the world's population and 34 percent of the population of Asia." South Asia, which consists of the nations of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, is ethnically diverse, with more than 2,000 ethnic entities with populations ranging from hundreds of millions to small tribal groups. South Asia has been invaded and settled by many ethnic groups over the centuries - including various Dravidian, Indo-Iranian, Tibeto-Burman, and Austroasiatic groups. The amalgamation of these various groups has produced composite cultures with many common traditions and beliefs. But, the traditions of different ethnic groups in South Asia have diverged throughout earlier times, sometimes giving rise to strong local traditions such as the distinct South Indian and Bengali cultures. Other ethnic groups, successively streaming in later mainly from Central Asia e.g. Sakas, Kushans, Huns etc. influenced pre-existing South Asian cultures. Among the last of these new arrivals were the Arabs followed by the Turks, the Afghans, and the Mughals. However, Arab influence remained relatively limited in comparison to that of the Turks, Afghans and Mughals who introduced Persianate culture to the region and contributed to the birth of Urdu, a syncretic language of combined Indo-Persian heritage, which is widely spoken today.


The largest spoken language in this region is Hindi, its speakers numbering almost 422 million, the second largest spoken language is Bengali, with about 210 million speakers. Punjabi is the third most spoken language in South Asia with 130 million native speakers. Urdu is also a major language spoken in the subcontinent, especially in Pakistan, and is similar linguistically to Hindi; Hindi and Urdu together make up Hindustānī. These and several other major regional languages are part of the Indo-Aryan sub-branch of the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European languages - the largest linguistic group in the region. The second major language group is the Dravidian language family, consisting of the main South Indian languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam and several smaller tribal languages such as Oraon and Gondi. The Brahui language of the Balochistan region of Pakistan and Afghanistan also belongs to the Dravidian family.

The other great sub-branch of Indo-Iranian, the Iranian languages, also have significant minority representation in South Asia, with Pashto, Dari and Balochi being widely spoken in the northwestern part of the region, in modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. The oldest Iranian language, Avestan, is used as a liturgical language by the Parsi-Zoroastrian community. Many Tibeto-Burman ethnic groups, who are speakers of their language-group, are found in northeast India, Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan. Dzongkha a member of this linguistic group, is the national language of Bhutan. There are as many as 24 Tibeto-Burman languages spoken in Bhutan. Other small groups, speaking Austroasiatic languages, are also present in South Asia.