South Asia

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South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is a southern region of the Asian continent, comprising the sub-Himalayan countries and the regions on their west and, for some authorities (see below), on the east as well. It is surrounded (clockwise, from west to east) by Western Asia, Central Asia, Eastern Asia, and Southeastern Asia.

Contents 1 Definitions and usage 1.1 Controversy over the definition 1.2 Territory and region data 2 Demography and history 2.1 History 2.2 Ethnic groups 2.3 Religions 2.4 Languages 3 References 4 See also 5 Other subregions in Asia 6 External links

[edit] Definitions and usage

South Asia consists of the following countries and territories:

•  Bangladesh
•  British Indian Ocean Territory
•  Bhutan
•  India
•  Maldives
•  Nepal
•  Pakistan
•  Sri Lanka

These countries, except the British Indian Ocean Territory, are also currently members of a regional co-operation group, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which was jointly formed by them. For assumed geographic, cultural, and/or historical reasons.^{[citation needed]}, the following countries and territories are often included in South Asia:

•  Afghanistan^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]}(Otherwise considered Central Asian or Middle-Eastern^[16]) (Now a member of SAARC)
•  Myanmar, (Prior to August 1947, for more than a century, it was part of the British Raj region of South Asia proper.) (Otherwise considered Southeast Asian^{[citation needed]})
• Tibet, PRC^{[2][3][10][11][12][13][14][15][17]} (Otherwise considered Central Asian^[18]) (The People's Republic of China, exercising sovereignty over Tibet, is an observer member of SAARC)

The United Nations also includes Iran, but not Tibet or Burma, as part of Southern Asia:^[19]

•  Iran (Iran is an observer nation in SAARC) (Otherwise considered Southwest Asia)

Geophysically, the term Indian subcontinent is used to describe those regions which lie on the Indian Plate, bordered on the north by the Eurasian Plate. However, a good proportion of the Pakistani land mass is not on the Indian plate, but on the fringes of the Iranian plateau. As in the case of the Hindukush mountains, everything to the south-east of the Iranian Plateau is considered South Asia. But, geopolitically, Southern Asia subsumes the Indian subcontinent and includes both, the territories found internal to the Indian Plate and those in proximity to it. Afghanistan, for instance, is sometimes grouped in this region due to socio-political, historical, and ethnic (Pashtun) ties to neighbouring Pakistan.

[edit] Controversy over the definition

The definition of South Asia can vary greatly from person to person. Most, if not all, sources accept Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Chagos Islands, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka as South Asian. The controversy originates over Afghanistan, Iran, and Tibet. Afghanistan and Tibet are often considered South Asian by many universities' departments of South Asian studies, especially those referenced above, but this definition is by no means universal. Another controversy grows over Iran, as Iran is considered South Asian only by the UN. The G8's definition of the Greater Middle East includes both Pakistan and Afghanistan. See: Middle East and Greater Middle East. Controversial race researcher Richard Lynn has defined Southern Asia as "from Bangladesh in the east through India, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, the Gulf states, the near East, and Turkey".^[20]

[edit] Territory and region data

Name of country/region, with flag	Area (km²)	Population	Population density (per km²)	Capital	GDP (Total)	GDP (Per capita)	Currency	Government	Official languages	Coat of Arms
Afghanistan (see above)	647,500	31,889,923	46	Kabul	$32.4 billion	$1,490	Afghan afghani	Islamic republic	Pashto, Dari[1]
Bangladesh	144,000	150,448,340	1045	Dhaka	$360.9 billion	$2,270	Taka	Parliamentary republic	Bengali
Bhutan	47,000	672,425	45	Thimphu	$4.39 billion	$5,477	Ngultrum, Indian rupee	Absolute monarchy	Dzongkha
British Indian Ocean Territory	60	3,500	58.3	Diego Garcia			Pound sterling	British Overseas Territory	English
India	3,287,590	1,128,808,000	329	New Delhi	$906.268 billion	$863	Indian rupee	Federal republic, Parliamentary democracy	Hindi, English and 20 other official languages
Iran (see above)	1,648,195	71,208,000	42	Tehran	$852 billion	$12,300	Iranian rial	Islamic republic	Persian, Constitutional status for regional languages [21]
Maldives	298	298,842	1,105	Malé	$2.569 billion	$7,675	Rufiyaa	Republic	Dhivehi
Myanmar (see above)	676,578	55,400,000	75	Yangon	$93.77 billion	$1,691	Myanmar kyat	Military Junta	Burmese; Jingpho, Shan, Karen, Mon, (Spoken in Myanmar's Autonomous States.)
Nepal	147,181	28,901,790	184	Kathmandu	$41.18 billion	$1,500	Nepalese rupee	Interim government	Nepali
Pakistan	880,940	162,423,000	206	Islamabad	$504.3 billion	$3320.12	Pakistani rupee	Islamic Republic	Urdu, English, Balochi, Pashto, Punjabi, Siraiki, Sindhi[22]
Sri Lanka	65,610	19,668,000	310	Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte	$86.72 billion	$4,600	Sri Lankan rupee	Democratic Socialist Republic	Sinhala, Tamil
Tibet Autonomous Region, PRC (see above)	1,228,400	2,740,000	2.2	Lhasa	CNY 29.01 billion	CNY 10,322	Chinese yuan	Autonomous region of China	Tibetan, Chinese

[edit] Demography and history

[edit] History

Further information: History of South Asia

The peoples of the region possess several distinguishing features that set them apart anthropologically from the rest of Asia; the dominant peoples and cultures are Indo-Aryan and Dravidian, (though the Mongoloid populations in north-east India, Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet are not to be ignored), and have a great affinity with the peoples of Iranian Plateau and the Caucasus particularly in the north west region of South Asia encompassing the modern states of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Persian, Arab and Turkish cultural traditions from the west also form an integral part of Islamic South Asian culture, but have been adapted to form a Muslim culture distinct from what is found in the Middle East e.g. pilgrimage to dargahs is common among many South Asian Muslims.

South Asia ranks among the world's most densely-populated regions. About 1.6 billion people live here – about one-fourth of all the people in the world. The region's population density of 305 persons per square kilometre is more than seven times the world average.

The region has a long history. Ancient civilizations developed in the Indus River Valley and the Dwaraka region. The region was far more prosperous before the 18th century, when the Mughal Empire held sway in the north and the Maratha Empire held sway in the south and central regions of the Indian peninsula. Subsequently, European encroachments, initially by Portugal and the Netherlands,and later by France and British colonialism, led to political destabilisation of the region, leading finally to almost complete occupation and rule by the British. Most of the region gained independence from Europe by the late 1940s, when these colonial powers were weakened by the World War II and could neither control the people of the region nor satisfy their aspirations.

Since 1947, most of the countries of South Asia have achieved tremendous progress in all spheres. Most notable achievements are in the fields of education; industry; health care; information technology and services based on its applications; research in the fields of cutting edge sciences and technologies; defence related self-reliance projects; international/global trade and business enterprises and outsourcing of human resources. In all these areas, Republic of India is leading the group of SAARC nations; her only blemishes being inequitable distribution of wealth and prosperity among its billion plus population, periodic inter-religious violence and perceived or real grievances of religion/caste based minorities. However, the new generation is working diligently on remediation of these aberrations.

[edit] Ethnic groups

Further information: Ethnic groups of South Asia

[edit] Religions

Afghanistan[23]	Sunni Muslim (80%), Shi'a Muslim (19%), other (1%)
Bangladesh[24]	Muslim (82.8%), Hindu (14.2%), Buddhist (1.6%), Christian (1.3%),Believers in tribal faiths (0.1%)
British Indian Ocean Territory[25]	Christian (45.55%), Hindu (38.55%), Muslim (9.25%), Non-Religious (6.50%), Atheist (0.10%), Other (0.05%)
Bhutan[26]	Buddhist (75%), Hindu (25%)
India[27]	Hindu (80.5%), Muslim (13.4%), Christian (2.3%), Sikh (1.9%), Buddhist (0.8%), Jain (0.4%), Others (0.6%)
Iran[28]	Shi'a Muslim (89%), Sunni Muslim (9%), Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i (2%)
Maldives[29]	Sunni Muslim (100%) (One must be a Sunni Muslim to be a citizen on the Maldives[citation needed])
Myanmar[30]	Theravada Buddhism (89%), Muslim (4%), Christian (4%) (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Animist (1%), others (including Hinduism) (2%)
Nepal[31]	Hindu (80.6%), Buddhist (10.7%), Muslim (4.2%), Kirat (3.6%)
Pakistan[32]	Muslim (96.28%), Christian (1.59%), Hindu (0.25%), Ahmadi (0.22%)
Sri Lanka[33]	Theravada Buddhist (70.42%), Muslim (10.89%), Hindu (8.78%), Catholic (7.77%), Other Christian (1.96%), Other (0.13%)
Tibet, PRC	Buddhist, Bön, Hindu, Muslim, and others[citation needed]

[edit] Languages

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• History of South Asia
• South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
• South Asian Economic Union
• Indosphere
• Greater India
• Indology
• India (disambiguation)
• Islamic conquest of South Asia
• List of South Asian stock exchanges
• South Asian cuisine

[edit] Other subregions in Asia

• East Asia
• South-East Asia
• Central Asia
• North Asia
• West Asia

[edit] External links

• BBC News South Asia
• Himal Southasian magazine
• South Asian Note
• Birding in South Asia
• South Asian Awareness Network Conference Website
• Global Media Publications Website
• Digital South Asia Library

v • d • e Geography of South Asia
Himalayas	Himalayas · Western Ghats · Eastern Ghats · Aravalli Range · The Nilgiris · Vindhya Range · Satpura Range · Garo Hills · Shivalik Hills · Khasi Hills · Annamalai Hills · Cardamom Hills · Sulaiman Mountains · Toba Kakar Range · Karakoram · Hindu Kush · Chittagong Hill Tracts · Deccan Plateau · Thar Desert · Makran · Chota Nagpur · Naga Hills · Mysore Plateau · Ladakh Plateau
Coastal	Indo-Gangetic plain · Indus River Delta · Ganga basin · Ganges Delta · Atolls of Maldives · Coromandel Coast · Konkan · Lakshadweep · Andaman and Nicobar Islands · Sundarbans · Rann of Kutch · Protected areas of Tamil Nadu
Main	India · Pakistan · Nepal · Bhutan · Tibet · Sri Lanka · Bangladesh · The Maldives · Portal:Himalaya region

v • d • e Countries and territories of South Asia
Bangladesh  · Bhutan  · India  · Maldives  · Nepal  · Pakistan  · Sri Lanka Sometimes included:  Afghanistan • British Indian Ocean Territory • Iran • Myanmar • Tibet

v • d • e Countries and territories of the Indosphere
South Asia	Afghanistan†  · Bangladesh  · Bhutan  · British Indian Ocean Territory  · India  · Maldives  · Nepal  · Pakistan  · Sri Lanka  · Tibet††
Southeast Asia	Brunei  · Burma (Myanmar)  · Cambodia  · Indonesia  · Laos  · Malaysia  · Philippines  · Singapore  · Thailand  · East Timor
Others	Balochistan†††  · Fiji  · Guyana  · Mauritius  · Yunnan
†Afghanistan is often considered Central Asian but with South Asian influence; if it is Indospheric is debated ††Tibet is otherwise considered Central Asian †††Balochistan is divided between Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan

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