South Asia

2026-05-08T14:55:20Z

91.108.164.44: general cleaned up details as per guidelines and corrected details

{{Short description|Subregion of the Asian continent}}
{{About|the geographical subregion of Asia|the physiographical region of Eurasia|Indian subcontinent|the Indian cultural sphere|Greater India|Other uses|Southern Asia (disambiguation){{!}}Southern Asia}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox continent
|title = South Asia
|image = South Asia (orthographic projection).svg
|area = {{convert|5,222,321|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
|population = 2.04 billion (2024)<ref name = "UN WPP 2019 2"/>
|density = {{convert|362.3|/km2|abbr=on}}
|GDP_nominal = $5.04 trillion (2024)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPD@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD |title=GDP, Current Prices, Purchasing Power Parity; Billions of International Bollars, Billions of U.S. Dollars |publisher=International Monetary Fund}}</ref>
|GDP_PPP = $18.05 trillion (2024)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PPPGDP@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD/PRK |title=GDP, current prices |website=International Monetary Fund}}</ref>
|GDP_per_capita = $2,650 (nominal) (2024) $9,470 (PPP) (2024)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PPPPC@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD |title=GDP per capita, current prices |website=International Monetary Fund}}</ref>
|HDI = {{increase}} 0.672 (2022) (''medium'')<ref name="HDI">{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506051232/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2025 |access-date=6 May 2025 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]] |language=en}}</ref>
|ethnic_groups = {{hlist|[[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]]|[[Dravidian peoples|Dravidian]]|[[Iranian peoples|Iranian]]|[[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]]|[[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]]|[[Turkic peoples|Turkic]]|[[Andamanese peoples|Andamanese]]}}
|religions = * [[Hinduism in South Asia|Hinduism]] (majority in [[Hinduism in India|India]] and [[Hinduism in Nepal|Nepal]])
* [[Islam in South Asia|Islam]] (majority in [[Islam in Pakistan|Pakistan]], [[Islam in Kashmir|Kashmir]], [[Islam in Bangladesh|Bangladesh]], [[Islam in Afghanistan|Afghanistan]] and [[Islam in Maldives|Maldives]])
* [[Christianity]]
* [[Buddhism in South Asia|Buddhism]] (majority in [[Buddhism in Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka]] and [[Buddhism in Bhutan|Bhutan]])
* [[Sikhism]]
* [[Jainism]]
* Other: [[folk religion]], [[Zoroastrianism]], [[irreligion]]
|demonym = {{hlist|[[Ethnic groups in South Asia|South Asian]]|}}
|countries = {{collapsible list
| title = [[List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Asia|7 countries]]
| 
| {{flag|Bangladesh}}
| {{flag|Bhutan}}
| {{flag|India}}
| {{flag|Maldives}}
| {{flag|Nepal}}
| {{flag|Pakistan}}
| {{flag|Sri Lanka}}
}}
{{collapsible list
|title = [[List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Asia|1 often included]]
|{{flag|Afghanistan}}
}}
|list_countries =
|dependencies = {{Collapsible list
| titlestyle = background:transparent;text-align:left;font-weight:normal;
| title = [[Dependent territory|External]] (1)
| {{flag|British Indian Ocean Territory}}{{refn|group=note|Administered by the United Kingdom, claimed by [[Mauritius]] as the [[Chagos Archipelago]].}} (United Kingdom)
}}
|unrecognised =
|languages = {{collapsible list
| title = Official languages (national level)
| [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
| [[Dari]] ([[Persian language|Persian]])
| [[Urdu]]
| [[Hindi]]
| [[Pashto]]
| [[Nepali language|Nepali]]
| [[Dzongkha]]
| [[Dhivehi language|Dhivehi]]
| English
| [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]]
| [[Tamil language|Tamil]]
}}
{{collapsible list
| title = Other official languages (provincial/regional level) 
| titlestyle = text-align:left;padding-right:4em;font-weight:normal;background-color:white;
| bullets = true
| '''[[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]]''':
{{hlist
| [[Khasi language|Khasi]]
| [[Santali language|Santali]]
}}
| '''[[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]]''':
{{hlist
| [[Malayalam]]
| [[Kannada]]
| [[Kurukh language|Kurukh]]
| [[Telugu language|Telugu]]
}}
| '''[[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]''':
{{hlist
| [[Assamese language|Assamese]]
| [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]]
| [[Chhattisgarhi language|Chhattisgarhi]]
| [[Dogri language|Dogri]]
| [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
| [[KRNB lects|Kamtapuri]]
| [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]]
| [[Konkani language|Konkani]]
| [[Kurmali language|Kurmali]]
| [[Maithili language|Maithili]]
| [[Marathi language|Marathi]]
| [[Odia language|Odia]]
| [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]
| [[Rangpuri language|Rajbanshi]]
| [[Sanskrit]]
| [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]]
}}
| '''[[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]]''':
{{hlist
| [[Bodo language|Bodo]]
| [[Gurung language|Gurung]]
| [[Limbu language|Limbu]]
| [[Mizo language|Mizo]]
| [[Meitei language|Meitei]]
| [[Sikkimese language|Sikkimese]]
| [[Tamang language|Tamang]]
| [[Standard Tibetan|Tibetan]]
| [[Nepal Bhasa|Newari]]
}}
| '''[[Turkic languages|Turkic]]''':
{{hlist
| [[Turkmen language|Turkmen]]
| [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]]
}}
}}
|time = {{collapsible list
| title = 5 time zones
| titlestyle = text-align:left;padding-right:4em;font-weight:normal;background-color:white;
| bullets = true
| '''[[UTC+04:30]]''':
{{hlist
| [[Time in Afghanistan|Afghanistan]]
}}
| '''[[UTC+05:00]]''':
{{hlist
| [[Time in the Maldives|Maldives]]
| [[Time in Pakistan|Pakistan]]
}}
| '''[[UTC+05:30]]''':
{{hlist
| [[Time in India|India]]
| [[Time in Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka]]
}}
| '''[[UTC+05:45]]''':
{{hlist
| [[Time in Nepal|Nepal]]
}}
| '''[[UTC+06:00]]''':
{{hlist
| [[Bangladesh Standard Time|Bangladesh]]
| [[Bhutan Time|Bhutan]]
}}
}}
|internet = [[.af]], [[.bd]], [[.bt]], [[.in]], [[.io]], [[.lk]], [[.mv]], [[.np]], [[.pk]]
|calling_code = [[List of country calling codes|Zone 8 & 9]]
|cities = 
{{Collapsible list
| title = [[List of largest cities#List|10 largest cities in South Asia]]
| titlestyle = text-align:left;padding-right:4em;font-weight:normal;background-color:white;
|
# {{flagicon|India}} Delhi
# {{flagicon|India}} [[Mumbai]]
# {{flagicon|Bangladesh}} [[Dhaka]]
# {{flagicon|Pakistan}} [[Karachi]]
# {{flagicon|India}} [[Kolkata]]
# {{flagicon|Pakistan}} [[Lahore]]
# {{flagicon|Afghanistan}} [[Kabul]]
# {{flagicon|India}} [[Bangalore]]
# {{flagicon|India}} [[Chennai]]
# {{flagicon|India}} [[Hyderabad]]
}}
|m49 = <code>034</code> – [[United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia|Southern Asia]] <code>142</code> – [[Asia]] <code>001</code> – [[World]]
|footnotes =
}}

'''South Asia''' is the southern [[Subregion#Asia|subregion]] of [[Asia]] that is defined in both geographical and [[Ethnicity|ethnic]]-[[Culture|cultural]] terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's population. As commonly conceptualised, the modern [[State (polity)|states]] of South Asia include [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[India]], the [[Maldives]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Sri Lanka]], with [[Afghanistan]] also often included, which may also be classified as part of [[Central Asia]].{{sfn|Saez|2012|p=58|ps=: "Afghanistan is considered to be part of Central Asia. It regards itself as a link between Central Asia and South Asia."}}<ref>{{cite web |title=South Asia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/South-Asia |access-date=1 April 2023 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> South Asia borders [[East Asia]] to the northeast, Central Asia to the northwest, [[West Asia]] to the west and [[Southeast Asia]] to the east. [[Southeast Asia]] and [[Littoral South Asia|Maritime South Asia]] are the only subregions of Asia that lie partly within the [[Southern Hemisphere]]. The [[British Indian Ocean Territory]] and two out of [[Atolls of Maldives|26 atolls]] of the Maldives in South Asia lie entirely within the [[Southern Hemisphere]]. Topographically, it is dominated by the [[Indian subcontinent]] and is bounded by the [[Indian Ocean]] in the south, and the [[Himalayas]], [[Karakoram]], and [[Pamir Mountains]] in the north.<ref name="Chapman, Graham P. p. 10">{{cite book|last1=Baker|first1=Kathleen M.|last2=Chapman|first2=Graham P.|title=The Changing Geography of Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-KIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA10|date=11 March 2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-93384-6|pages=10– |quote=This greater India is well defined in terms of topography; it is the Indian sub-continent, hemmed in by the Himalayas on the north, the Hindu Khush in the west and the Arakanese in the east.}}</ref>

[[Neolithic|Settled life]] emerged on the Indian subcontinent in the western margins of the [[Indus River]] [[Indus Basin|Basin]] 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]] of the third millennium BCE.<ref name="Combined-2">
* {{harvnb|Dyson|2018|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 4–5]}}.
* {{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23 33]}}.</ref> By {{BCE|1200}}, an [[Proto-language|archaic form]] of [[Sanskrit]], an [[Indo-European language]], had [[Trans-cultural diffusion|diffused]] into India from the northwest,<ref name="Lowe2015">{{cite book |last=Lowe |first=John J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L07CBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA2 |title=Participles in Rigvedic Sanskrit: The syntax and semantics of adjectival verb forms |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-19-100505-3 |pages=1–2 |quote=(The Rigveda) consists of 1,028 hymns (suktas), highly crafted poetic compositions originally intended for recital during rituals and for the invocation of and communication with the Indo-Aryan gods. Modern scholarly opinion largely agrees that these hymns were composed between around 1500 BCE and 1200 BCE, during the eastward migration of the Indo-Aryan tribes from the mountains of what is today northern Afghanistan across the Punjab into north India.}}</ref><ref name="Combined-4-Rigveda2">
* {{Harvnb|Witzel|2003|pp=68–70}}: "It is known from internal evidence that the Vedic texts were orally composed in northern India, at first in the Greater Punjab and later on also in more eastern areas, including northern Bihar, between ca. 1500 BCE and ca. 500–400 BCE. The oldest text, the Rgveda, must have been more or less contemporary with the Mitanni texts of northern Syria/Iraq (1450–1350 BCE); [...] The Vedic texts were orally composed and transmitted, without the use of script, in an unbroken line of transmission from teacher to student that was formalised early on. This ensured an impeccable textual transmission superior to the classical texts of other cultures; it is in fact something of a <nowiki>''</nowiki>tape-recording<nowiki>''</nowiki> of ca. 1500–500 BCE. Not just the actual words, but even the long-lost musical (tonal) accent (as in old Greek or in Japanese) has been preserved up to the present. [...] The RV text was composed before the introduction and massive use of iron, that is before ca. 1200–1000 BCE."
* {{Harvnb|Doniger|2014|pp=xviii, 10}}: "A Chronology of Hinduism: ca. 1500–1000 BCE Rig Veda; ca. 1200–900 BCE Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda [...] Hindu texts began with the Rig Veda ('Knowledge of Verses'), composed in northwest India around 1500 BCE; the first of the three Vedas, it is the earliest extant text composed in Sanskrit, the language of ancient India."
* {{harvnb|Ludden|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pBq9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19 19]}}: "In Punjab, a dry region with grasslands watered by five rivers (hence 'panch' and 'ab') draining the western Himalayas, one prehistoric culture left no material remains, but some of its ritual texts were preserved orally over the millennia. The culture is called Aryan, and evidence in its texts indicates that it spread slowly south-east, following the course of the Yamuna and Ganga Rivers. Its elite called itself Arya (pure) and distinguished themselves sharply from others. Aryans led kin groups organized as nomadic horse-herding tribes. Their ritual texts are called Vedas, composed in Sanskrit. [[Vedic Sanskrit]] is recorded only in hymns that were part of Vedic rituals to Aryan gods. To be Aryan apparently meant to belong to the elite among pastoral tribes. Texts that record Aryan culture are not precisely datable, but they seem to begin around 1200 BCE with four collections of Vedic hymns (Rg, Sama, Yajur, and Artharva)."
* {{harvnb|Dyson|2018|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA14 14–15]}}: "Although the collapse of the Indus valley civilization is no longer believed to have been due to an 'Aryan invasion' it is widely thought that, at roughly the same time, or perhaps a few centuries later, new Indo-Aryan-speaking people and influences began to enter the subcontinent from the north-west. Detailed evidence is lacking. Nevertheless, a predecessor of the language that would eventually be called Sanskrit was probably introduced into the north-west sometime between 3,900 and 3,000 years ago. This language was related to one then spoken in eastern Iran; and both of these languages belonged to the Indo-European language family. [...] It seems likely that various small-scale migrations were involved in the gradual introduction of the predecessor language and associated cultural characteristics. However, there may not have been a tight relationship between movements of people on the one hand, and changes in language and culture on the other. Moreover, the process whereby a dynamic new force gradually arose—a people with a distinct ideology who eventually seem to have referred to themselves as 'Arya'—was certainly two-way. That is, it involved a blending of new features which came from outside with other features—probably including some surviving Harappan influences—that were already present. Anyhow, it would be quite a few centuries before Sanskrit was written down. And the hymns and stories of the Arya people—especially the Vedas and the later Mahabharata and Ramayana epics—are poor guides as to historical events. Of course, the emerging Arya were to have a huge impact on the history of the subcontinent. Nevertheless, little is known about their early presence."
* {{harvnb|Robb|2011|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GQ-2VH1LO_EC&pg=PA46 46–]}}: "The expansion of Aryan culture is supposed to have begun around 1500 BCE. It should not be thought that this Aryan emergence (though it implies some migration) necessarily meant either a sudden invasion of new peoples, or a complete break with earlier traditions. It comprises a set of cultural ideas and practices, upheld by a Sanskrit-speaking elite, or Aryans. The features of this society are recorded in the Vedas."</ref> with the [[Dravidian languages]] being supplanted in the northern and western regions.<ref name="Combined-4">{{harvnb|Dyson|2018|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16 16], [https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA25 25]}}.</ref> By {{BCE|400}}, [[Social stratification|stratification]] and [[Social exclusion|exclusion]] by [[caste]] had emerged within [[Hinduism]],<ref name="Dyson2018-16a">{{harvnb|Dyson|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16 16]}}.</ref> and [[Buddhism]] and [[Jainism]] had arisen, proclaiming [[social order]]s unlinked to heredity.<ref name="Fisher2018-59">{{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 59]}}.</ref>

In the early medieval era, [[Christianity]], [[Islam]], [[Judaism]], and [[Zoroastrianism]] became established on South Asia's southern and western coasts.<ref name="Combined-8">
* {{harvnb|Ludden|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pBq9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA54 54]}}.
* {{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2006|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA78 78–79]}}.
* {{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA76 76]}}.</ref> [[Muslims|Muslim]] armies from Central Asia intermittently overran the plains of northern India,<ref name="Combined-13">
* {{harvnb|Ludden|2014|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pBq9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 68–70]}}.
* {{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2006|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA19 19], 24}}.</ref> eventually founding the [[Delhi Sultanate]] in the 13th century, and drawing the region into the cosmopolitan [[Islamic Golden Age|networks of medieval Islam]].<ref name="Combined-10">
* {{harvnb|Dyson|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA48 48]}}.
* {{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA53 52]}}.</ref> The Islamic [[Mughal Empire]], in 1526, ushered in two centuries of relative peace,<ref name="AsherAsher2006-152">{{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA152 152]}}.</ref> leaving a legacy of luminous architecture.{{efn|"Shah Jahan eventually sent her body 800 km (500 mi) to Agra for burial in the Rauza-i Munauwara ("Illuminated Tomb") – a personal tribute and a stone manifestation of his imperial power. This tomb has been celebrated globally as the Taj Mahal."<ref name="Fisher2018-106" />}}<ref name="Fisher2018-106">{{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA106 106]}}.</ref> Gradually expanding [[Company rule in India|rule of the British East India Company]] followed, turning most of South Asia into a colonial economy, but also consolidating its [[sovereignty]].<ref name="Combined-11">
* {{harvnb|Asher|Talbot|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA289 289]}}.
* {{harvnb|Fisher|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA120 120]}}.</ref> [[British Raj|British Crown rule]] began in 1858. The rights promised to Indians were granted slowly,<ref name="Combined-12">{{citation |last=Taylor |first=Miles |title=Crowns and Colonies: European Monarchies and Overseas Empires |pages=38–39 |year=2016 |editor-last=Aldrish, Robert |chapter=The British royal family and the colonial empire from the Georgians to Prince George |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iR3GDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 |publisher=[[Manchester University Press]] |isbn=978-1-5261-0088-7 |editor2-last=McCreery, Cindy}}</ref>{{sfn|Peers|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dyQuAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA76 76]}} but [[Industrial Revolution|technological changes]] were introduced, and modern ideas of education and the public life took root.<ref name="EmbreeHay1988">{{citation |last1=Embree |first1=Ainslie Thomas |title=Sources of Indian Tradition: Modern India and Pakistan |page=85 |year=1988 |chapter=Nationalism Takes Root: The Moderates |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XoMRuiSpBp4C&pg=PA85 |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |isbn=978-0-231-06414-9 |last2=Hay |first2=Stephen N. |last3=Bary |first3=William Theodore De}}</ref> In 1947, the British Indian Empire was [[Partition of India|partitioned]] into two independent [[Dominion#India and Pakistan|dominions]],<ref name="fisher-partition">{{harvnb|Fisher|2018|pp=173–174}}: "The partition of South Asia that produced India and West and East Pakistan resulted from years of bitter negotiations and recriminations ... The departing British also decreed that the hundreds of princes, who ruled one-third of the subcontinent and a quarter of its population, became legally independent, their status to be settled later. Geographical location, personal and popular sentiment, and substantial pressure and incentives from the new governments led almost all princes eventually to merge their domains into either Pakistan or India. [...] Each new government asserted its exclusive sovereignty within its borders, realigning all territories, animals, plants, minerals, and all other natural and human-made resources as either Pakistani or Indian property, to be used for its national development... Simultaneously, the central civil and military services and judiciary split roughly along religious 'communal' lines, even as they divided movable government assets according to a negotiated formula: 22.7 percent for Pakistan and 77.3 percent for India."</ref><ref name="chatterji-partition">{{citation |last1=Chatterji |first1=Joya |title=Routledge Handbook of the South Asian Diaspora |year=2013 |editor-last=Chatterji |editor-first=Joya |chapter=Introduction: Concepts and Questions |place=London and New York |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-48010-9 |quote=[[Joya Chatterji]] describes how the partition of the British Indian empire into the new nation states of India and Pakistan produced new diaspora on a vast, and hitherto unprecedented, scale, but hints that the sheer magnitude of refugee movements in South Asia after 1947 must be understood in the context of pre-existing migratory flows within the partitioned regions (see also Chatterji 2013). She also demonstrates that the new national states of India and Pakistan were quickly drawn into trying to stem this migration. As they put into place laws designed to restrict the return of partition emigrants, this produced new dilemmas for both new nations in their treatment of 'overseas Indians'; and many of them lost their right to return to their places of origin in the subcontinent, and also their claims to full citizenship in host countries. |last2=Washbrook |first2=David |editor2-last=Washbrook |editor2-first=David}}</ref><ref name="talbot-sing">{{citation |last1=Talbot |first1=Ian |title=The Partition of India |year=2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=utKmPQAACAAJ |access-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213073754/https://books.google.com/books?id=utKmPQAACAAJ |archive-date=13 December 2016 |url-status=live |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-85661-4 |quote=When the British divided and quit India in August 1947, they not only partitioned the subcontinent with the emergence of the two nations of India and Pakistan but also the provinces of Punjab and Bengal. ... Indeed for many the Indian subcontinent's division in August 1947 is seen as a unique event which defies comparative historical and conceptual analysis |last2=Singh |first2=Gurharpal}}</ref><ref name="khan-great-partition">{{citation |last=Khan |first=Yasmin |title=The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan |page=1 |year=2017 |orig-date=2007 |edition=2nd |place=New Haven and London |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-23032-1 |quote=South Asians learned that the British Indian empire would be partitioned on 3 June 1947. They heard about it on the radio, from relations and friends, by reading newspapers and, later, through government pamphlets. Among a population of almost four hundred million, where the vast majority live in the countryside, ploughing the land as landless peasants or sharecroppers, it is hardly surprising that many thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, did not hear the news for many weeks afterwards. For some, the butchery and forced relocation of the summer months of 1947 may have been the first that they knew about the creation of the two new states rising from the fragmentary and terminally weakened British empire in India |author-link=Yasmin Khan}}</ref> a Hindu-majority [[Dominion of India]] and a Muslim-majority [[Dominion of Pakistan]], amid large-scale loss of life and an unprecedented migration.<ref>
* {{harvnb|Copland|2001|pp=71–78}}.
* {{harvnb|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p=222}}.</ref> The 1971 [[Bangladesh Liberation War]], a [[Cold War in Asia#South Asia|Cold War]] episode resulting in [[East Pakistan]]'s secession,<ref>{{Cite web |title=How the Cold War Shaped Bangladesh's Liberation War |url=https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/how-the-cold-war-shaped-bangladeshs-liberation-war/ |access-date=20 September 2024 |website=thediplomat.com |language=en-US}}</ref> was the most recent instance of a new nation being formed in the region.

South Asia has a total area of 5.2 million km2 (2 million sq.mi), which is 10% of the Asian continent.<ref name="EoMA">"[http://www.bookrags.com/research/indian-subcontinent-ema-03/ Indian Subcontinent] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121100141/http://www.bookrags.com/research/indian-subcontinent-ema-03/|date=21 January 2012}}" ''Encyclopedia of Modern Asia'' 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."</ref> The population of South Asia is estimated to be 2.04 billion<ref name="Chapman, Graham P. p. 10"/> or about one-fourth of the world's population, making it both the [[List of continents and continental subregions by population|most populous]] and the [[Population density|most densely populated]] geographical region in the world.<ref name="South Asia Regional Overview">{{cite web |url=http://www.sardeg.org/marketana.asp |title=South Asia Regional Overview |website=South Asian Regional Development Gateway |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121043924/http://www.sardeg.org/marketana.asp |archive-date=21 November 2008}}</ref>

In 2022, South Asia had the world's largest populations of [[Hindus]], [[Muslims]], [[Sikhs]], Jains, and Zoroastrians.<ref name="dip8Jan2016" /> South Asia alone accounts for 90.47% of Hindus, 95.5% of Sikhs, and 31% of Muslims worldwide, as well as 35 million [[Christians]] and 25 million Buddhists.<ref name="Pew Research 2012">{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/table-religious-composition-by-country-in-numbers/ |title=Religion population totals in 2010 by Country |year=2012 |website=Pew Research Center |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161209223553/http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/table-religious-composition-by-country-in-numbers/ |archive-date=9 December 2016}}</ref>{{sfn|Ruffle|2013|p=193}}<ref name="pewforum.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/future-of-the-global-muslim-population-regional-asia/ |url-status=live |title=Region: Asia-Pacific |date=27 January 2011 |website=Pew Research Center |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010061404/http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/future-of-the-global-muslim-population-regional-asia/ |archive-date=10 October 2017 |access-date=13 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="pew2Apr2015" />

The [[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation]] (SAARC) is an economic cooperation organisation in the region which was established in 1985 and includes all of the South Asian nations.<ref name="SAARC Summit" />

==Definition==

==={{Anchor|Northwestern boundary (Afghanistan and Pakistan)}}Ambiguity===
[[File:South Asia (ed)update.PNG|thumb|340px|Various definitions of South Asia, including the definition by the [[United Nations geoscheme]] which was created for "statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories."<ref name="Millenniumindicators.un.org">{{cite web |url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49.htm |title=Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use |publisher=United Nations |access-date=25 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170711220015/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49.htm |archive-date=11 July 2017 |url-status=live}} Quote: "The assignment of countries or areas to specific groupings is for statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories by the United Nations."</ref>]]

The geographical extent is not clear cut as systemic and foreign policy orientations of its constituents are quite asymmetrical.<ref name="Ghosh1989">{{cite book |last=Ghosh |first=Partha Sarathy |date=1989 |title=Cooperation and Conflict in South Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O0TBqJCE4k8C&pg=PA5 |publisher=Technical Publications |pages=4–5 |isbn=978-81-85054-68-1 |access-date=12 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516185842/https://books.google.com/books?id=O0TBqJCE4k8C&pg=PA5 |archive-date=16 May 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Beyond the core territories of the Indian Empire (territories of the British Empire which were under the system of British Raj), there is a high degree of variation as to which other countries are included in South Asia.<ref>Bertram Hughes Farmer, ''An Introduction to South Asia'', pages 1, Routledge, 1993, {{ISBN|0-415-05695-0}}</ref><ref name=Razzaque3>{{cite book|first=Jona|last=Razzaque|title=Public Interest Environmental Litigation in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7E7al37aYBEC&pg=PA3|year=2004|publisher=Kluwer Law International|isbn=978-90-411-2214-8|pages=3 with footnotes 1 and 2|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007120534/https://books.google.com/books?id=7E7al37aYBEC&pg=PA3|archive-date=7 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=mmann>{{cite book|first=Michael|last=Mann|title=South Asia's Modern History: Thematic Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uh0cBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|year=2014|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-62445-5|pages=13–15}}</ref><ref name=anderson5>{{cite book|first1=Ewan W.|last1=Anderson|first2=Liam D.|last2=Anderson|title=An Atlas of Middle Eastern Affairs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n-VJAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 |year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-64862-5|page=5}}, Quote: "To the east, Iran, as a Gulf state, offers a generally accepted limit to the Middle East. However, Afghanistan, also a Muslim state, is then left in isolation. It is not accepted as a part of Central Asia and it is clearly not part of the Indian subcontinent".</ref> There is no clear boundary – geographical, geopolitical, socio-cultural, economical, or historical – between South Asia and other parts of Asia, especially Southeast Asia and West Asia.<ref>Dallen J. Timothy and Gyan P. Nyaupane, ''Cultural Heritage and Tourism in the Developing World: A Regional Perspective'', page 127, Routledge, 2009, {{ISBN|978-1-134-00228-3}}</ref> Most of this region is peninsular, resting on the [[Indian Plate]] and being isolated from the rest of Asia by mountain barriers;<ref>
[http://www.answers.com/topic/Asia#Columbia_Encyclopedia_d_ans "Asia" > Geology and Geography] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223002115/http://www.answers.com/topic/asia#Columbia_Encyclopedia_d_ans|date=23 February 2012}}. ''The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia'', 6th ed. Columbia University Press, 2003: "Asia can be divided into six regions, each possessing distinctive physical, cultural, economic, and political characteristics... South Asia (Afghanistan and the nations of the Indian Peninsula) is isolated from the rest of Asia by great mountain barriers."</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/38479/Asia "Asia" > Geologic history – Tectonic framework] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501014535/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/38479/Asia|date=1 May 2011}}. ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2009: "The paleotectonic evolution of Asia terminated some 50 million years ago as a result of the collision of the Indian Plate with Eurasia. Asia's subsequent neotectonic development has largely disrupted the continent's preexisting fabric. The first-order neotectonic units of Asia are Stable Asia, the Arabian and Indian cratons, the Alpide plate boundary zone (along which the Arabian and Indian platforms have collided with the Eurasian continental plate), and the island arcs and marginal basins."</ref> it resembles a diamond which is delineated by the Himalayas on the north, the [[Hindu Kush]] in the west, and the [[Chin Hills|Arakanese]] in the east,<ref name="Baker2002">{{cite book |last1=Baker |first1=Kathleen M. |title=The Changing Geography of Asia |last2=Chapman |first2=Graham P. |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-134-93384-6 |page=10 |orig-year=First published 1992}}: "This greater India is well defined in terms of topography; it is the Indian peninsula, hemmed in by the Himalayas on the north, the Hindu Khush in the west and the Arakanese in the east."</ref> and which extends southward into the Indian Ocean with the [[Arabian Sea]] to the southwest and the [[Bay of Bengal]] to the southeast.<ref name="Oxford" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=McLeod |first1=John |title=The History of India |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-313-31459-9 |page=2}}</ref>

{{Multiple image
| image1 = South Asia (orthographic projection) without national boundaries, with ambiguities indicated.svg
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| total_width = 230
| align = left
| footer = The northwestern boundary of South Asia is debated, with Afghanistan being variously described as South or Central Asian
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The common definition of South Asia is largely inherited from the administrative boundaries of the Indian Empire,<ref>Navnita Chadha Behera, ''International Relations in South Asia: Search for an Alternative Paradigm'', page 129, SAGE Publications India, 2008, {{ISBN|978-81-7829-870-2}}</ref> with several exceptions. The current territories of [[Bangladesh]], [[India]], and Pakistan which were the core territories of the [[British Empire]] from 1857 to 1947 also form the core territories of South Asia.<ref name="The World Bank">{{cite web|title=The World Bank|url=http://data.worldbank.org/region/SAS|access-date=5 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151110061347/http://data.worldbank.org/region/SAS|archive-date=10 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="eldis.org">{{cite web |title=Institute of Development Studies: Afghanistan |url=http://www.eldis.org/go/home&id=16238&type=Document |access-date=28 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601015811/http://www.eldis.org/go/home%26id%3D16238%26type%3DDocument |archive-date=1 June 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The mountain countries of [[Nepal]] and [[Bhutan]], two independent countries that were not under the British Raj but were protectorates of the Empire,<ref>{{cite book|author=Saul Bernard Cohen |title=Geopolitics: The Geography of International Relations|date=2008|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers| edition=2| page=329| isbn=978-0-7425-8154-8}}</ref> and the [[Island South Asia|island countries]] of Sri Lanka and the Maldives are generally included.<ref name="McLeod2002">{{cite book |last1=McLeod |first1=John |title=The History of India |year=2002 |publisher=Greenwood Press |page=1 |isbn=978-0-313-31459-9}}</ref> By various definitions based on substantially different reasons, the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]] and the [[Tibet Autonomous Region]] may be included as well.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Keith |first1=Arthur Berriedale |author-link=Arthur Berriedale Keith |title=A Constitutional History of India: 1600–1935 |year=1936 |publisher=Methuen & Co |pages=440–444 |oclc=18526}}</ref><ref>N. D. Arora, ''Political Science for Civil Services Main Examination'', page 42:1, Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2010, 9780070090941</ref><ref>Stephen Adolphe Wurm, Peter Mühlhäusler & Darrell T. Tryon, ''Atlas of languages of intercultural communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas'', pages 787, International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic Studies, Published by Walter de Gruyter, 1996, {{ISBN|3-11-013417-9}}</ref><ref>[http://www.answers.com/topic/south-asia#Columbia_Encyclopedia_d_ans "Indian subcontinent" > Geology and Geography] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220121713/http://www.answers.com/topic/south-asia#Columbia_Encyclopedia_d_ans|date=20 February 2012}}.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Haggett |first=Peter |title=Encyclopedia of World Geography (Vol. 1) |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |year=2001 |page=2710 |isbn=978-0-7614-7289-6}}</ref><ref>[http://www.janes.com/articles/Janes-Sentinel-Security-Assessment-South-Asia/Territories-British-Indian-Ocean-Territory.html Territories (British Indian Ocean Territory)], Jane's Information Group</ref> [[Myanmar]] (Burma), a former British colony and now largely considered a part of Southeast Asia, is also sometimes included.<ref name="Ghosh1989" /><ref name="Razzaque3" /><ref name="mittal" /> [[Afghanistan]] is also included by some sources.<ref name="Ghosh1989" /><ref name="Razzaque3" /><ref>{{cite book|first=Keith|last=Robbins|title=Transforming the World: Global Political History since World War II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dxknBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT386 |year=2012|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-137-29656-6|page=386}}, Quote: "Some thought that Afghanistan was part of the Middle East and not South Asian at all".</ref>{{sfn|Saez|2012|p=58|ps=: "Afghanistan is considered to be part of Central Asia. It regards itself as a link between Central Asia and South Asia."}}

===Organisational definitions===
[[File:South Asia UN.png|thumb|left|United Nations map of South Asia.<ref name=unmapsworld>
[https://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/english/htmain.htm United Nations Cartographic Centre] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630232206/http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/english/htmain.htm|date=30 June 2017}} Retrieved 18 June 2015</ref> However, the United Nations does not endorse any definitions or area boundaries.{{refn|group=note|According to the UN cartographic section website disclaimers, "DESIGNATIONS USED: The depiction and use of boundaries, geographic names and related data shown on maps and included in lists, tables, documents, and databases on this website are not warranted to be error free nor do they necessarily imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations."<ref name=unmapsworld />}}]]

The [[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation]] (SAARC), a contiguous block of countries, started in 1985 with seven countries{{snd}}Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka{{snd}}and admitted Afghanistan as an eighth member in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch/Detail/?ots591=4888CAA0-B3DB-1461-98B9-E20E7B9C13D4&lng=en&id=53216 |title=SAARC: Afghanistan comes in from the cold |author=Sarkar, Sudeshna |date=16 May 2007 |website=Current Affairs – Security Watch |publisher=Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zürich |access-date=6 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614091639/http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch/Detail/?ots591=4888CAA0-B3DB-1461-98B9-E20E7B9C13D4&lng=en&id=53216 |archive-date=14 June 2011 }}</ref><ref name="SAARC Summit">{{cite web |url=http://www.saarc-sec.org/ |title=South Asian Organisation for Regional Cooperation (official website) |publisher=SAARC Secretariat, Kathmandu, Nepal. |access-date=6 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216014912/http://saarc-sec.org/ |archive-date=16 December 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> China and Myanmar have also applied for the status of full members of SAARC.<ref>Chatterjee Aneek, ''International Relations Today: Concepts and Applications'', page 166, Pearson Education India, {{ISBN|978-81-317-3375-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2 December 2014 |title=SAARC Membership: India blocks China's entry for the time being |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/saarc-membership-india-blocks-chinas-entry-for-the-time-being/articleshow/45342607.cms |newspaper=The Economic Times| access-date=17 March 2015| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181218222754/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/saarc-membership-india-blocks-chinas-entry-for-the-time-being/articleshow/45342607.cms |archive-date=18 December 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[South Asia Free Trade Agreement]] admitted Afghanistan in 2011.<ref>[http://globalsummitryproject.com.s197331.gridserver.com/archive/saarc/saarc-sec.org/areaofcooperation/detailfeb2.html?activity_id=36 Global Summitry Project] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712052452/http://globalsummitryproject.com.s197331.gridserver.com/archive/saarc/saarc-sec.org/areaofcooperation/detailfeb2.html?activity_id=36|date=12 July 2020}}, SAARC</ref>

The [[World Bank]] and [[United Nations Children's Fund]] (UNICEF) recognises the eight SAARC countries as South Asia,<ref>[http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/0,,pagePK:158889~piPK:146815~theSitePK:223547,00.html South Asia: Data, Projects and Research] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080414234252/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/0,,pagePK:158889~piPK:146815~theSitePK:223547,00.html|date=14 April 2008}}, The World Bank</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://saarc-sec.org/areaofcooperation/detail.php?activity_id=36|title=SAFTA Protocol|access-date=20 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315005650/http://saarc-sec.org/areaofcooperation/detail.php?activity_id=36|archive-date=15 March 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=South Asia|url=https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/southasia.html|website=Unicef.org|access-date=16 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220203433/https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/southasia.html|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=UNICEF ROSA|url=https://www.unicef.org/rosa/where.html|website=Unicef.org|access-date=16 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220203418/https://www.unicef.org/rosa/where.html|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> while the [[Herfindahl index|Hirschman–Herfindahl index]] of the [[United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific]] for the region excludes Afghanistan from South Asia.<ref>[http://www.unescap.org/tid/projects/agrnego_sama.pdf Mapping and Analysis of Agricultural Trade Liberalization in South Asia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319013359/http://www.unescap.org/tid/projects/agrnego_sama.pdf|date=19 March 2009}}, Trade and Investment Division (TID), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific</ref> Population Information Network (POPIN) excludes Maldives which is included as a member Pacific POPIN subregional network.<ref>[https://www.un.org/Depts/escap/pop/bulletin/v07n2ft1.htm Asia-Pacific POPIN Consultative Workshop Report] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025033612/http://www.un.org/Depts/escap/pop/bulletin/v07n2ft1.htm|date=25 October 2012}}, Asia-Pacific POPIN Bulletin, Vol. 7, No. 2 (1995), pages 7–11</ref> The United Nations Statistics Division's [[United Nations geoscheme|scheme of subregions]], for statistical purpose,<ref name="Millenniumindicators.un.org"/> includes [[Iran]] along with all eight members of the SAARC as part of [[Southern Asia (UN geoscheme)|Southern Asia]].<ref>[http://millenniumindicators.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm#asia Geographical region and composition] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713041240/http://millenniumindicators.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm#asia|date=13 July 2011}}, Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings, United Nations</ref>

===Indian subcontinent===
{{See also|Indian subcontinent#Geopolitics}}
[[File:Indian subcontinent.JPG|thumb|The region as described in a 1992 work about the geography of Asia: ''"This greater India is well defined in terms of topography; it is the Indian peninsula, hemmed in by the Himalayas on the north, the Hindu Khush in the west and the Arakanese in the east."''<ref name=mittal/><ref name="Baker2002" />]]

The terms "[[Indian subcontinent]]" and "South Asia" are sometimes used interchangeably.<ref name=McLeod2002/><ref name=Oxford>"Indian subcontinent". ''[[Oxford Dictionary of English|New Oxford Dictionary of English]]'' ({{ISBN|0-19-860441-6}}) New York: Oxford University Press, 2001; p. 929: "the part of Asia south of the Himalayas which forms a peninsula extending into the Indian Ocean, between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Historically forming the whole territory of greater India, the region is now divided between India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh."</ref><ref name=norwineplus/><ref name="BoseJalal2004" /><ref>''The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia'', 6th ed. Columbia University Press, 2003: "region, S central Asia, comprising the countries of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh and the Himalayan states of Nepal, and Bhutan. Sri Lanka, an island off the southeastern tip of the Indian peninsula, is often considered a part of the subcontinent."</ref> The Indian subcontinent is largely a geological term referring to the land mass that drifted northeastwards from ancient [[Gondwana]], colliding with the Eurasian plate nearly 55 million years ago, towards the end of Palaeocene. This geological region largely includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.<ref name="Jones2011p267">{{cite book|author=Robert Wynn Jones|title=Applications of Palaeontology: Techniques and Case Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mrPiq_8pkAwC&pg=PA267 |year=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-49920-0|pages=267–271}}</ref> Historians Catherine Asher and Cynthia Talbot state that the term "Indian subcontinent" describes a natural physical landmass in South Asia that has been relatively isolated from the rest of Eurasia.<ref name="AsherTalbot2006">{{citation|last1=Asher|first1=Catherine B.|last2=Talbot|first2=Cynthia|title=India Before Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC|date=16 March 2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-80904-7|pages=5–8, 12–14, 51, 78–80|access-date=9 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424074737/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC|archive-date=24 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

The use of the term ''Indian subcontinent'' began in the British Empire, and has been a term particularly common in its successors.<ref name=norwineplus>Milton Walter Meyer, ''South Asia: A Short History of the Subcontinent'', pages 1, Adams Littlefield, 1976, {{ISBN|0-8226-0034-X}} Jim Norwine & Alfonso González, ''The Third World: states of mind and being'', pages 209, Taylor & Francis, 1988, {{ISBN|0-04-910121-8}} {{Cite book |last1=Boniface |first1=Brian G. |first2=Christopher P. |last2=Cooper |title=Worldwide Destinations: The Geography of Travel and Tourism |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |date=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c46i9jr9mhgC&pg=PA344 |isbn=978-0-7506-5997-0 |access-date=19 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919153240/https://books.google.com/books?id=c46i9jr9mhgC&pg=PA344 |archive-date=19 September 2015 |url-status=live }} Judith Schott & Alix Henley, ''Culture, Religion, and Childbearing in a Multiracial Society'', pages 274, Elsevier Health Sciences, 1996, {{ISBN|0-7506-2050-1}} Raj S. Bhopal, ''Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies'', pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, {{ISBN|0-19-856817-7}} Lucian W. Pye & Mary W. Pye, ''Asian Power and Politics'', pages 133, Harvard University Press, 1985, {{ISBN|0-674-04979-9}} Mark Juergensmeyer, ''The Oxford handbook of global religions'', pages 465, Oxford University Press US, 2006, {{ISBN|0-19-513798-1}}</ref> South Asia as the preferred term is particularly common when scholars or officials seek to differentiate this region from East Asia.<ref name=inden>Ronald B. Inden, ''Imagining India'', page 51, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2000, {{ISBN|1-85065-520-0}}, Quote:"It is very common today in academic and official circles to speak of the Indian subcontinent as 'South Asia', thereby distinguishing it from an 'East Asia'."</ref> According to historians [[Sugata Bose]] and [[Ayesha Jalal]], the Indian subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance."<ref name="BoseJalal2004">{{cite book |last1=Bose |first1=Sugata |author1-link=Sugata Bose |last2=Jalal |first2=Ayesha |author2-link=Ayesha Jalal |year=2004 |orig-year=First published 1998 |title=Modern South Asia |edition=2nd |publisher=Routledge |page=3 |isbn=0-415-30787-2 |quote=Indian subcontinent{{snd}}or South Asia{{snd}}as it has come to be known in more recent and neutral parlance}}</ref> This "neutral" notion refers to the concerns of Pakistan and Bangladesh, particularly given the recurring conflicts between India and Pakistan, wherein the dominant placement of "India" as a prefix before the subcontinent might offend some political sentiments.<ref name=mittal/> In Pakistan, even the term "South Asia" was considered too India-centric and was "banned" within the International Relations department of Karachi University until 1989 after the death of [[Zia ul Haq]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zaidi |first1=S. Akbar |editor1-last=Sridharan |editor1-first=E. |title=International Relations Theory and South Asia: Security, Political Economy, Domestic Politics, Identities, and Images |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=boM8DwAAQBAJ&dq=%22South+Asia%22+term+academic+banned+as+too+India+centric+Pakistan&pg=PT305 |volume=II |year=2011 |edition=2nd |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-807080-1 |page=379 |chapter=A Conspicuous Absence: Social Science Teaching and Research on India in Pakistan}}</ref> This region has also been labelled as "India" (in its classical and [[Middle kingdoms of India|pre-modern]] sense) and "[[Greater India]]".<ref name=mittal>Sushil Mittal and Gene Thursby, ''Religions of South Asia: An Introduction'', page 3, Routledge, 2006, {{ISBN|978-1-134-59322-4}}</ref><ref name="Baker2002" />

===Asian context===
{{See also|Akhand Bharat|Asian relations with Northeast India}}
{{Multiple image
| image1 = Greater Middle East (orthographic projection).svg
| image2 = Central Asia definitions (orthographic).png
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| perrow = 1
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| footer = The [[Greater Middle East]] (top), [[Central Asia]] and associated neighbouring regions (middle), and [[East Asia]] (bottom){{efn|China claims Indian-administered [[Arunachal Pradesh]]}}
}}

According to Robert M. Cutler – a scholar of political science at [[Carleton University]], the terms South Asia, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia are distinct, but the confusion and disagreements have arisen due to the geopolitical movement to enlarge these regions into Greater South Asia, [[Greater Middle East|Greater Southwest Asia]], and [[Greater Central Asia]]. The frontier of Greater South Asia, states Cutler, between 2001 and 2006 has been geopolitically extended to eastern Iran and western Afghanistan in the west, and in the north to northeastern Iran, northern Afghanistan, and southern [[Uzbekistan]].<ref name="Amineh2007p112">{{cite book|first=Robert M.|last=Cutler|editor-first=Mehdi|editor-last=Amineh|title=The Greater Middle East in Global Politics: Social Science Perspectives on the Changing Geography of the World Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4PevCQAAQBAJ|year=2007|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-474-2209-9|pages=xv, 112}}</ref>

Identification with a South Asian identity was found to be significantly low among respondents in an older two-year survey across Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.<ref>Kishore C. Dash, ''Regionalism in South Asia'', pages 172–175, Routledge, 2008, {{ISBN|0-415-43117-4}}</ref>

==History==
{{For-multi|a topical guide|Outline of South Asian history|a chronological guide|Timeline of South Asian history}}{{For|the pre-1947 history of the region|History of India|History of Pakistan|History of Bangladesh}}

===Pre-history===
{{See also|Peopling of India}}
The history of core South Asia begins with evidence of human activity of ''[[Anatomically modern humans|Homo sapiens]],'' as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including ''[[Homo erectus]]'' from about 500,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bongard-Levin |first=G. M. |title='A History of India |year=1979 |location=Moscow |publisher=Progress Publishers |page=11 |isbn=0-7147-1336-8}}</ref> The earliest prehistoric culture have roots in the [[Mesolithic]] sites as evidenced by the rock paintings of [[Bhimbetka rock shelters]] dating to a period of 30,000 BCE or older,{{refn|group=note|{{harvnb|Doniger|2010|p=66}}: "Much of what we now call Hinduism may have had roots in cultures that thrived in South Asia long before the creation of textual evidence that we can decipher with any confidence. Remarkable cave paintings have been preserved from Mesolithic sites dating from {{Circa|30,000 BCE}} in [[Bhimbetka rock shelters|Bhimbetka]], near present-day Bhopal, in the Vindhya Mountains in the province of Madhya Pradesh."}} as well as Neolithic times.{{refn|group=note|{{harvnb|Jones|Ryan|2006|p=xvii}}: "Some practices of Hinduism must have originated in Neolithic times (c. 4000 BCE). The worship of certain plants and animals as sacred, for instance, could very likely have very great antiquity. The worship of goddesses, too, a part of Hinduism today, maybe a feature that originated in the Neolithic."}}

===Ancient era===
[[File:Indus Valley Civilization, Mature Phase (2600-1900 BCE).png|thumb|left|[[Indus Valley Civilisation]] during 2600–1900 BCE, the mature phase]]

The [[Indus Valley Civilisation]], which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of South Asia from {{Circa|3300}} to 1300 BCE in present-day [[Pakistan]], [[North India]], and [[Afghanistan]], was the first major civilisation in South Asia.{{sfn|Thapar|1966|p=23}} A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture developed in the [[Mature Harappan]] period, from 2600 to 1900 BCE.{{sfn|Thapar|1966|p=24}} According to anthropologist [[Gregory Possehl|Possehl]], the Indus Valley civilisation provides a logical, if somewhat arbitrary, starting point for South Asian religions, but these links from the Indus religion to later-day South Asian traditions are subject to scholarly dispute.{{sfn|Possehl|2002|p=141–156}}

[[File:Mauryan Empire ca. 265 BCE.png|thumb|right|Maurya Empire in 250 BCE]]

The Vedic period, named after the Vedic religion of the [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryans]],{{refn|group=note|Michaels: "They called themselves ''arya'' ("Aryans," literally "the hospitable," from the Vedic ''arya'', "homey, the hospitable") but even in the Rgveda, ''arya'' denotes a cultural and linguistic boundary and not only a racial one."{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=33}}}} lasted from {{Circa|1900}} to 500 BCE.{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=32}}{{sfn|Witzel|1995|p=3-4}} The Indo-Aryans were [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]]-speaking pastoralists{{sfn|Witzel|1995}} who migrated into north-western India after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization.{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=33}}{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=30–35}} Linguistic and archaeological data show a cultural change after 1500 BCE,{{sfn|Michaels|2004|p=33}} with the linguistic and religious data showing links with Indo-European languages and religion.{{sfn|Flood|1996|p=33}} By about 1200 BCE, the Vedic culture and agrarian lifestyle were established in the northwest and northern Gangetic plain of South Asia.{{sfn|Witzel|1995}}{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=43–45, 48}} Rudimentary state-forms appeared, of which the [[Kuru Kingdom|Kuru]]-Pañcāla union was the most influential.{{sfn|Witzel|1995|p=6}}{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=52–53}} The first recorded [[State (polity)|state-level society]] in South Asia existed around 1000 BCE.{{sfn|Witzel|1995}} The Brahmanas and Aranyakas, and the Upanishads into which they merged, began to ask the meaning of a ritual, adding increasing levels of philosophical and metaphysical speculation,{{sfn|Samuel|2008|p=25}} or "[[Hindu synthesis]]".{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}}

Increasing urbanisation of South Asia between 800 and 400 BCE, and possibly the spread of urban diseases, contributed to the rise of ascetic movements and of new ideas which challenged the orthodox [[Brahmanism]].{{Sfn|Flood|1996|pp=81–82}}{{Failed verification|date=June 2020}} These ideas led to [[Sramana]] movements, of which Mahavira ({{Circa|549}}–477 BCE), proponent of [[Jainism]], and [[Buddha]] ({{Circa|563|483}}), founder of [[Buddhism]], was the most prominent icons.<ref name="World Religions">{{cite book |first=Jacob |last=Neusner |year=2009 |title=World Religions in America: An Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=34vGv_HDGG8C&pg=PA183 |publisher=Westminster John Knox Press |isbn=978-0-664-23320-4 |access-date=26 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418085646/https://books.google.com/books?id=34vGv_HDGG8C&pg=PA183 |archive-date=18 April 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Greek army led by [[Alexander the Great]] stayed in the [[Hindu Kush]] region of South Asia for several years and then later moved into the Indus valley region. Later, the [[Maurya Empire]] extended over much of South Asia in the 3rd century BCE. Buddhism spread beyond south Asia, through northwest into Central Asia. The [[Bamiyan Buddhas]] of Afghanistan and the [[Edicts of Ashoka|edicts of Aśoka]] suggest that the Buddhist monks spread Buddhism (Dharma) in eastern provinces of the [[Seleucid Empire]], and possibly even farther into West Asia.{{Sfn| Gombrich|2006|p=135}}{{Sfn|Trainor|2004|pp=103, 119}}{{sfn|Neelis|2011|pp=102–106}} The Theravada school spread south from India in the 3rd century BCE, to Sri Lanka, later to Southeast Asia.{{sfn|Guy|2014|pp=9–11, 14–15, 19–20}} Buddhism, by the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE, was prominent in the Himalayan region, Gandhara, Hindu Kush region, and Bactria.{{sfn|Neelis|2011|pp=114–115, 144, 160–163, 170–176, 249–250}}<ref name=deborahkh>{{cite book |last=Klimburg-Salter |first=Deborah |title=The Kingdom of Bamiyan: Buddhist art and culture of the Hindu Kush |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.pahar.3623 |url-access=registration |year=1989 |publisher=Istituto Universitario Orientale & Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente |isbn=978-0-87773-765-0 |oclc=25902336}} (Reprinted by Shambala)</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Barbara |last=Crossette |title=So Close to Heaven: The Vanishing Buddhist Kingdoms of the Himalayas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4iCQAAAAMAAJ |year=1996 |publisher=Vintage|isbn=978-0-679-74363-7 |pages=84–85}}</ref>

From about 500 BCE through about 300 CE, the Vedic-Brahmanic synthesis or "Hindu synthesis" continued.{{sfn|Hiltebeitel|2007|p=12}} Classical Hindu and Sramanic (particularly Buddhist) ideas spread within South Asia, as well as outside South Asia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Klimkeit |first1=H.-J. |editor-last1=Boxworth |editor-first1=C. E. |editor-last2=Asimov |editor-first2=M. S. |chapter=Manichaeism and Nestorian Christianity |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000111664 |year=2000 |volume=IV.2 |publisher=UNESCO |pages=79–80 |isbn=978-92-3-103654-5}}</ref>{{sfn|Samuel|2008|pp=76–78, 194–201}}{{sfn|Guy|2014|pp=10–11}} The [[Gupta Empire]] ruled over a large part of the region between the 4th and 7th centuries, a period that saw the construction of major temples, monasteries and universities such as the [[Nalanda]].{{sfn|Michell|1977|p=18, 40}}<ref name=scharfe2002p144>{{cite book|first=Hartmut|last=Scharfe|title=Handbook of Oriental Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7s19sZFRxCUC|year=2002|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-04-12556-8|pages=144–153|access-date=26 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126123255/https://books.google.com/books?id=7s19sZFRxCUC|archive-date=26 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Craig|last=Lockard|title=Societies, Networks, and Transitions: Volume I: A Global History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yJPlCpzOY_QC|year=2007|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|isbn=978-0-618-38612-3|page=188|access-date=26 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126122832/https://books.google.com/books?id=yJPlCpzOY_QC|archive-date=26 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> During this era, and through the 10th century, numerous cave monasteries and temples such as the [[Ajanta Caves]], [[Badami cave temples]], and [[Ellora Caves]] were built in South Asia.<ref>{{cite book|first=Walter M.|last=Spink|title=Ajanta: History and Development, Volume 5: Cave by Cave|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UPqUHXlwXdcC|year=2005|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-04-15644-9|pages=1–9, 15–16|access-date=26 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629134751/https://books.google.com/books?id=UPqUHXlwXdcC|archive-date=29 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/243 |title=Ellora Caves – UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=26 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161209142802/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/243 |archive-date=9 December 2016 |url-status=live }}, Quote:"Ellora, with its uninterrupted sequence of monuments dating from A.D. 600 to 1000, brings the civilization of ancient India to life. Not only is the Ellora complex a unique artistic creation and a technological exploit but, with its sanctuaries devoted to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, it illustrates the spirit of tolerance that was characteristic of ancient India."</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Lisa|last=Owen|title=Carving Devotion in the Jain Caves at Ellora|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vHK2WE8xAzYC|year=2012|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-04-20629-8|pages=1–10|access-date=26 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205083836/https://books.google.com/books?id=vHK2WE8xAzYC|archive-date=5 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Medieval era===
{{See also|Medieval India}}
[[File:Rajendra map new.svg|thumb|Outreach of influence of early medieval [[Chola dynasty]]]]

Islam came as a political power in the fringe of South Asia in 8th century CE when the Arab general [[Muhammad bin Qasim]] conquered [[Sindh]], and [[Multan]] in southern Punjab, in modern-day Pakistan.<ref name="infopak">{{cite web|url=http://www.infopak.gov.pk/History.aspx |title=History in Chronological Order |publisher=Government of Pakistan |access-date=9 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723113602/http://www.infopak.gov.pk/History.aspx |archive-date=23 July 2010 }}</ref> By 962 CE, Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms in South Asia were under a wave of raids from Muslim armies from Central Asia.<ref name=mrpislam>See:
* {{cite book |last1=Pirbhai |first1=M. Reza |title=Reconsidering Islam in a South Asian Context |year=2009 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-17758-1}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Richards |first1=J. F. |title=The Islamic frontier in the east: Expansion into South Asia |journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies |date=October 1974 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=91–109 |doi=10.1080/00856407408730690| issn=0085-6401}}
* {{cite book |last1=Shokoohy |first1=Mehrdad |title=Bhadreśvar: The Oldest Islamic Monuments in India |year=1988 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-08341-7}}; see discussion of earliest raids in Gujarat</ref> Among them was [[Mahmud of Ghazni]], who raided and plundered kingdoms in north India from east of the Indus river to west of Yamuna river seventeen times between 997 and 1030.<ref name=pj03/> Mahmud of Ghazni raided the treasuries but retracted each time, only extending Islamic rule into western Punjab.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Heathcote |first1=T. A. |year=1995 |title=The Military in British India: The Development of British Forces in South Asia, 1600–1947 |publisher=Manchester University Press |page=6 |isbn=978-1-78383-064-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Barnett |first=Lionel D. |title=Antiquities of India: An Account of the History and Culture of Ancient Hindustan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LnoREHdzxt8C&pg=PA1 |year=1999 |orig-year=First published 1913 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers and Distributors |pages=73–79|isbn=9788171564422 }}</ref>

[[File:Timur defeats the sultan of Delhi.jpg|thumb|left|[[Timur]] defeats the [[Sultan of Delhi]], Nasir-u Din Mehmud, in the winter of 1397–1398]]

The wave of raids on north Indian and western Indian kingdoms by Muslim warlords continued after Mahmud of Ghazni, plundering and looting these kingdoms.<ref>Richard Davis (1994), Three styles in looting India, History and Anthropology, 6(4), pp 293–317, {{doi|10.1080/02757206.1994.9960832}}</ref> The raids did not establish or extend permanent boundaries of their Islamic kingdoms. The Ghurid Sultan [[Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad]] began a systematic war of expansion into North India in 1173.<ref>Muhammad B. Sam Mu'izz Al-Din, T. W. Haig, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. VII, ed. C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W. P. Heinrichs and C. Pellat, (Brill, 1993)</ref> He sought to carve out a principality for himself by expanding the Islamic world,<ref name=pj03/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Bosworth |first1=C. E. |author-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |editor-last1=Boyle |editor-first1=J. A. |year=1968 |chapter=The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World (A.D. 1000–1217) |title=The Cambridge History of Iran |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-iran/political-and-dynastic-history-of-the-iranian-world-ad-10001217/024AA8933D346C06170E0D72EA6D71A4 |volume=5 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=161–170 |isbn=978-0-521-06936-6}}</ref> and thus laid the foundation for the Muslim kingdom that became the [[Delhi Sultanate]].<ref name=pj03>{{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=Peter |author-link=Peter Jackson (historian) |year=2003 |title=The Delhi Sultanate: A Political and Military History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lt2tqOpVRKgC |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=3–30 |isbn=978-0-521-54329-3}}</ref> Some historians chronicle the Delhi Sultanate from 1192 due to the presence and geographical claims of Mu'izz al-Din in South Asia by that time.<ref>[http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelines/southasia_timeline.htm History of South Asia: A Chronological Outline] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211053208/http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelines/southasia_timeline.htm |date=11 December 2013 }} Columbia University (2010)</ref>

The Delhi Sultanate covered varying parts of South Asia and was ruled by a series of dynasties: Mamluk, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, and Lodi dynasties. [[Muhammad bin Tughlaq]] came to power in 1325, launched a war of expansion and the Delhi Sultanate reached it largest geographical reach over the South Asian region during his 26-year rule.<ref name=ebmit>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/396460/Muhammad-ibn-Tughluq Muḥammad ibn Tughluq] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427052630/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/396460/Muhammad-ibn-Tughluq |date=27 April 2015 }} Encyclopædia Britannica</ref> A Sunni Sultan, Muhammad bin Tughlaq persecuted non-Muslims such as Hindus, as well as non-Sunni Muslims such as Shia and Mahdi sects.<ref>Firoz Shah Tughlak, [https://archive.org/stream/cu31924073036737#page/n393/mode/2up Futuhat-i Firoz Shahi – Autobiographical memoirs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019003453/http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924073036737#page/n393/mode/2up |date=19 October 2016 }}, Translated in 1871 by Elliot and Dawson, Volume 3 – The History of India, Cornell University Archives, pp 377–381</ref><ref name=vsoxfordmbt>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Vincent A. |author-link=Vincent Arthur Smith |year=1919 |title=The Oxford History of India |url=https://archive.org/stream/oxfordhistoryofi00smituoft#page/252/mode/1up |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=249–251 |oclc=839048936}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Schimmel |first1=Annemarie |author-link=Annemarie Schimmel |year=1980 |title=Islam in the Indian Subcontinent |location=Leiden |publisher=E.J. Brill |pages=20–23 |isbn=978-90-04-06117-0}}</ref>

Revolts against the Delhi Sultanate sprang up in many parts of South Asia during the 14th century.{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} In the northeast, the [[Bengal Sultanate]] became independent in 1346 CE. It remained in power through the early 16th century. The state religion of the sultanate was Islam.<ref name="Lewis2011">{{cite book |first=David |last=Lewis |author-link=David Lewis (academic) |title=Bangladesh: Politics, Economy and Civil Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5lH40gT7xvYC&pg=PA44 |year=2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=44 |isbn=978-1-139-50257-3 |quote=In 1346 ... what became known as the Bengal Sultanate began and continued for almost two centuries.}}</ref><ref name="Hussain2003">{{cite book |last1=Hussain |first1=Syed Ejaz |year=2003 |title=The Bengal Sultanate: Politics, Economy and Coins (A.D. 1205–1576) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qFyd95ECLwkC |publisher=Manohar |page=325 |isbn=978-81-7304-482-3 |quote=The rulers of the Sultanate Bengal are often blamed for promoting Islam as state sponsored religion.}}</ref> In [[South India]], the Hindu [[Vijayanagara Empire]] came to power in 1336 and persisted until the middle of the 16th century. It was ultimately defeated and destroyed by an alliance of the Muslim [[Deccan sultanates]] at the [[Battle of Talikota]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kulke |first1=Hermann |author-link1=Hermann Kulke |last2=Rothermund |first2=Dietmar |author-link2=Dietmar Rothermund |title= A History of India |year=2004 |orig-year=First published 1986 |edition=4th |publisher= Routledge |isbn= 978-0-415-32919-4 |pages=187, 191–192}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Nilakanta Sastri|first= K. A.|title= A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar|year=2002|orig-year=First published 1955|edition=4th|publisher=Oxford University Press|location= New Delhi|isbn=978-0-19-560686-7 |author-link=K. A. Nilakanta Sastri |pages=216, 239–250}}</ref>

About 1526, the Punjab governor Dawlat Khan Lodī reached out to the Mughal [[Babur]] and invited him to attack the Delhi Sultanate. [[Babur]] defeated and killed Ibrahim Lodi in the [[Battle of Panipat (1526)|Battle of Panipat]] in 1526. The death of Ibrahim Lodi ended the Delhi Sultanate, and the [[Mughal Empire]] replaced it.<ref name=eblodi>
[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/345985/Lodi-dynasty#ref222519 Lodi Dynasty] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427010347/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/345985/Lodi-dynasty#ref222519 |date=27 April 2015 }} ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (2009)</ref>

===Modern era===
[[File:Emperor Shah Jahan and Prince Alamgir (Aurangzeb) in Mughal Court, 1650.jpg|thumb|Emperor [[Shah Jahan]] and his son Prince [[Aurangzeb]] in Mughal court, 1650]]

The [[modern era|modern history period]] of South Asia, that is the 16th century onwards, witnessed the establishment of the Mughal Empire, with Sunni Islam theology. The first ruler was Babur had [[Turco-Mongol tradition|Turco-Mongol roots]] and his realm included the northwestern and [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] regions of South Asia. Several regions of South Asia were largely under [[Hindu king]]s such as those of the Vijayanagara Empire and the [[Kingdom of Mewar]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Guptajit|last=Pathak|title=Assam's history and its graphics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MdjO3XVk0MAC&pg=PA124|year=2008|publisher=Mittal|isbn=978-81-8324-251-6|page=124}}</ref> Parts of modern [[Telangana]] and [[Andhra Pradesh]] were under local Muslim rulers, the Deccan Sutanates.

The Mughal Empire continued its wars of expansion after Babur's death. With the fall of the Rajput kingdoms and Vijayanagara, its boundaries encompassed almost the entirety of the Indian subcontinent.<ref name="borocz">{{cite book|first=József|last=Böröcz|author-link=József Böröcz|title=The European Union and Global Social Change|page=21|publisher=[[Routledge]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d0SPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA21|access-date=26 June 2017|isbn=978-1-135-25580-0|date=10 September 2009}}</ref> The Mughal Empire was marked by a period of artistic exchanges and a Central Asian and South Asian architecture synthesis, with remarkable buildings such as the [[Taj Mahal]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Catherine Blanshard Asher|title=Architecture of Mughal India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ctLNvx68hIC|year=1992|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-26728-1|pages=1–2|access-date=27 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160518184418/https://books.google.com/books?id=3ctLNvx68hIC|archive-date=18 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Maddison|2003|pp=259–261}}<ref name="harrison">{{cite book|title=Developing cultures: case studies|author=[[Lawrence Harrison (academic)|Lawrence E. Harrison]], [[Peter L. Berger]]|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2006|page=158|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RB0oAQAAIAAJ|isbn=978-0-415-95279-8|access-date=28 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328092359/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RB0oAQAAIAAJ|archive-date=28 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

However, this time also marked an extended period of [[Religious violence in India#Mughal Empire|religious persecution]].<ref>{{cite book|first=John F.|last=Richards|author-link=John F. Richards|title=The Mughal Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HHyVh29gy4QC|year=1995|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-56603-2|pages=97–101|access-date=27 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529043831/https://books.google.com/books?id=HHyVh29gy4QC|archive-date=29 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Two of the religious leaders of [[Sikhism]], [[Guru Arjan]], and [[Guru Tegh Bahadur]] were arrested under orders of the Mughal emperors after their revolts and were executed when they refused to convert to Islam.<ref>Pashaura Singh (2005), [http://www.global.ucsb.edu/punjab/journal_12_1/3_singh.pdf Understanding the Martyrdom of Guru Arjan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175032/http://www.global.ucsb.edu/punjab/journal_12_1/3_singh.pdf |date=3 March 2016 }}, Journal of Punjab Studies, 12(1), pages 29–62; Quote (p. 29): "most of the Sikh scholars have vehemently presented this event as the first of the long series of religious persecutions that Sikhs suffered at the hands of Mughal authorities."; {{cite book| first=Pashaura| last=Singh| title=Life and Work of Guru Arjan: History, Memory, and Biography in the Sikh Tradition| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FbPXAAAAMAAJ| year=2006| publisher=Oxford University Press| isbn=978-0-19-567921-2| pages=23, 217–218| access-date=27 December 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330183644/https://books.google.com/books?id=fBPXAAAAMAAJ| archive-date=30 March 2017| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Chris |last=Seiple |title=The Routledge handbook of religion and security|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|year=2013|isbn=978-0-415-66744-9|page=96}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=Pashaura|last1=Singh|first2=Louis|last2=Fenech|title=The Oxford handbook of Sikh studies|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, UK|year=2014|isbn=978-0-19-969930-8|pages=236–238, 442–445}}</ref> Religious taxes on non-Muslims called ''[[jizya]]'' were imposed. Buddhist, Hindu, and Sikh temples were desecrated. However, not all Muslim rulers persecuted non-Muslims. [[Akbar]], a Mughal ruler for example, sought religious tolerance and abolished jizya.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Annemarie|last1=Schimmel|author-link1=Annemarie Schimmel|first2=Burzine K.|last2=Waghmar|title=The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture|url=https://archive.org/details/empireofgreatmug00anne|url-access=registration|year=2004|publisher=Reaktion|isbn=978-1-86189-185-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/empireofgreatmug00anne/page/35 35], 115–121|access-date=27 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Matthew |last=White |author-link= |date=2011 |title=The Great Big Book of Horrible Things |publisher=W. W. Norton |page=234 |isbn=978-0-393-08192-3 |quote=The Mughals traditionally had been tolerant of Hinduism ... Aurangzeb, however ... prohibited Hindus from riding horses or litters. He reintroduced the head tax non-Muslims had to pay. Aurangzeb relentlessly destroyed Hindu temples all across India.|title-link=The Great Big Book of Horrible Things }}</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/oxfordhistoryofi00smituoft#page/436/mode/2up/search/aurangzeb The Oxford History of India] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326090422/https://archive.org/stream/oxfordhistoryofi00smituoft#page/436/mode/2up/search/aurangzeb |date=26 March 2016 }}, Oxford University Press, page 437</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=John|last=Bowman|title=Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cYoHOqC7Yx4C |year=2005|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-50004-3|pages=282–284}}</ref>

The death of Aurangzeb and the collapse of the Mughal Empire, which marks the beginning of modern India, in the early 18th century, provided opportunities for the [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]], [[Sikh Empire|Sikhs]], [[Mysore Kingdom|Mysoreans]], and [[Nawabs of Bengal]] to exercise control over large regions of the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{cite book|title=A History of State and Religion in India|first1=Ian|last1=Copland|first2=Ian|last2=Mabbett|first3= Asim|last3= Roy|first4=Kate|last4=Brittlebank|first5=Adam|last5=Bowles|page=161|display-authors=3|publisher=Routledge|year=2012}}</ref><ref>''History of Mysore Under Hyder Ali and Tippoo Sultan'' by Joseph Michaud p. 143</ref> By the mid-18th century, India was a major [[proto-industrialization|proto-industrializing]] region.<ref name="voss">{{cite book |last=Roy |first=Tirthankar |author-link=Tirthankar Roy |editor1=Lex Heerma van Voss |editor2=Els Hiemstra-Kuperus |editor3=Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk |year=2010 |chapter=The Long Globalization and Textile Producers in India |title=The Ashgate Companion to the History of Textile Workers, 1650–2000 |publisher=[[Ashgate Publishing]] |page=255 |isbn=978-0-7546-6428-4 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f95ljbhfjxIC&pg=PA255}}</ref>{{sfn|Maddison|2003|pp=259–261}}

[[File:British Indian Empire 1909 Imperial Gazetteer of India.jpg|thumb|left|British Indian Empire in 1909. [[British India]] is shaded pink, the [[princely state]]s are shaded yellow.]]

Maritime trading between South Asia and European merchants began at the turn of the 16th century after the [[Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India]]. British, French, and Portuguese colonial interests struck treaties with these rulers and established their trading ports. In northwestern South Asia, a large region was consolidated into the Sikh Empire by [[Ranjit Singh]].<ref>{{cite book |author=J. S. Grewal |author-link=J. S. Grewal |year=1990 |title=The Sikhs of the Punjab |publisher=Cambridge University Press |series=The New Cambridge History of India |volume=II.3 |pages=99,103 |isbn=978-0-521-26884-4 |quote=In 1799, a process of unification was started by Ranjit Singh virtually to establish an empire ... Before his death in 1839 Rajit Singh's authority over all the conquered and subordinated territories between the river Satlej and the mountain ranges of Ladakh, Karakoram, Hindukush and Sulaiman was recognized.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Patwant|last=Singh|title=Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vr4VAQAAIAAJ |year=2008|publisher=Peter Owen|isbn=978-0-7206-1323-0|pages=113–124}}</ref> After the defeat of the [[Nawab of Bengal]] and [[Tipu Sultan]] and his [[Franco-Indian Alliances|French allies]], [[Company rule in India|British traders]] went on to dominate much of South Asia through [[Divide and rule|divide-and-rule]] tactics by the early 19th century. The region experienced significant [[De-industrialisation of India|de-industrialisation]] in its first few decades of British rule.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last1=Sullivan |first1=Dylan |last2=Hickel |first2=Jason |title=How British colonialism killed 100 million Indians in 40 years |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/12/2/how-british-colonial-policy-killed-100-million-indians |access-date=1 September 2023 |publisher=Al Jazeera |type=Opinion |language=en}}</ref> Control over the subcontinent was then [[British Raj|transferred]] to the British government after the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]], with the British cracking down to some extent afterwards.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Indian Uprising of 1857 and its aftermath |url=https://www.lhistoire.fr/english-version/the-indian-uprising-of-1857-and-its-aftermath |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=lhistoire.fr |language=fr}}</ref>

An increase of famines and extreme poverty characterised the colonial period, though railways built with British technology eventually provided crucial famine relief by increasing food distribution throughout India.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p=97}}<ref name=":1" /> Millions of South Asians began to migrate [[South Asian diaspora#Colonial era|throughout the world]], impelled by the economic/[[Indian indenture system|labour]] needs and opportunities presented by the British Empire.<ref>{{Citation |last=Persaud |first=Alexander |title=Indian Merchant Migration within the British Empire |date=27 August 2020 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History |url=https://oxfordre.com/asianhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277727-e-602 |access-date=9 May 2024 |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.602 |isbn=978-0-19-027772-7|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Indian migration and empire : a colonial genealogy of the modern state {{!}} Western Libraries {{!}} Western Washington University |url=https://library.wwu.edu/indian-migration-and-empire-colonial-genealogy-modern-state |access-date=9 May 2024 |website=library.wwu.edu|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240509201212/https://library.wwu.edu/indian-migration-and-empire-colonial-genealogy-modern-state|archive-date=2024-05-09}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781444351071 |title=The Encyclopedia of Global Human Migration |date=4 February 2013 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-4443-3489-0 |editor-last=Ness |editor-first=Immanuel |edition=1 |language=en |doi=10.1002/9781444351071.wbeghm501}}</ref> The introduction of [[Western values (West)|Western political thought]] inspired a growing Indian intellectual movement, and so by the 20th century, British rule began to be challenged by the [[Indian National Congress]], which sought full independence under the leadership of [[Mahatma Gandhi]].<ref name="D Demy 2017 p. 644">{{cite book | last1=D | first1=J.M.S.P. | last2=Demy | first2=T.J. | title=War and Religion: An Encyclopedia of Faith and Conflict [3 volumes] | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | year=2017 | isbn=979-8-216-16317-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hRnOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT644| page=644}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=McLane |first=John R. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt13x1cv8 |title=Indian Nationalism and the Early Congress |date=1977 |publisher=Princeton University Press|jstor=j.ctt13x1cv8 }}</ref>

Britain, under pressure from Indian freedom fighters, increasingly gave self-rule to British India. By the 1940s, two rival camps had emerged among independence activists: those who [[Muslim nationalism in South Asia|favored a separate nation]] for Indian Muslims, and those who [[Composite nationalism|wanted a united India]]. As [[World War II]] raged, over 2 million Indians fought for Britain;<ref name="Darwin2011">{{Cite web |last=Darwin |first=John |author-link=John Darwin (historian) |date=3 March 2011 |title=BBC – History – British History in depth: Britain, the Commonwealth and the End of Empire |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/endofempire_overview_01.shtml |access-date=1 September 2023 |publisher=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref> by the end of the war, Britain was greatly weakened, and thus decided to grant independence to the vast majority of South Asians in 1947,<ref name="Darwin2011" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tharoor |first=Shashi |title=The Partition: The British game of 'divide and rule' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2017/8/10/the-partition-the-british-game-of-divide-and-rule |access-date=1 September 2023 |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> though this coincided with the [[Partition of India]] into a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan, which resulted in significant displacement and violence and harder religious divides in the region.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Dalrymple |first=William |date=22 June 2015 |title=The Mutual Genocide of Indian Partition |language=en-US |magazine=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/29/the-great-divide-books-dalrymple |access-date=1 September 2023 |issn=0028-792X}}</ref>

===Contemporary era===
{{Multiple image
| image1 = India & Pakistan on eve of Independence.png
| image2 = India Pakistan China Disputed Areas Map.png
| total_width = 240
| caption1 = Indian (brown) and Pakistani (green) territory on 15 August 1947, upon independence.
| caption2 = India and Pakistan consolidated their territory in the mid-20th century, but have an ongoing dispute over [[Kashmir]].
| align = left
}}

In 1947, the newly independent India and Pakistan had to decide how to deal with the hundreds of [[princely states]] that controlled much of the subcontinent, as well as what to do with the remaining European (non-British) colonies.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Goa Remained a Portuguese Colony when India Became Independent |url=https://thewire.in/history/goa-remained-a-portuguese-colony-when-india-became-independent |access-date=9 May 2024 |website=The Wire |language=en}}</ref> A combination of referendums, military action, and negotiated accessions took place in rapid succession, leading to the political integration of the [[Political integration of India|vast majority of India]] and [[Princely states of Pakistan|Pakistan]] within a few years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Asrar |first=Shakeeb |title=How British India was divided |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/8/14/how-india-pakistan-and-bangladesh-were-formed |access-date=9 May 2024 |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=14 August 2021 |title=Why Pakistan ended up with so few princely states |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/research/why-pakistan-ended-up-with-so-few-princely-states-7453288/ |access-date=9 May 2024 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>[[File:India and Pakistan November 1971.png|thumb|182x182px|South Asia on the eve of the de jure commencement of the [[Indo-Pakistani war of 1971|1971 Indo-Pakistani war]], which concluded with [[East Pakistan]] becoming the independent nation of [[Bangladesh]].]]
India and Pakistan [[Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts|clashed several times]] in the decades after Independence, with [[Kashmir conflict|disputes over Kashmir]] playing a significant role.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 January 2023 |title=India and Pakistan came close to nuclear war: Pompeo |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-64396138 |access-date=1 September 2023}}</ref> In 1971, the eastern half of Pakistan seceded with help from India and became the People's Republic of Bangladesh after the traumatic [[Bangladesh Liberation War]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=What has been the Impact of the Creation of Bangladesh? {{!}} History Today |url=https://www.historytoday.com/archive/head-head/what-has-been-impact-creation-bangladesh |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=www.historytoday.com}}</ref> This, along with India and Pakistan gaining nuclear weapons soon afterwards, increased tensions between the two countries.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The nuclear arsenals of China, India and Pakistan are growing |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2022/08/11/the-nuclear-arsenals-of-china-india-and-pakistan-are-growing |access-date=1 September 2023 |issn=0013-0613}}</ref> The [[Cold War]] decades also [[Cold War in Asia#South Asia|contributed to the divide]], as Pakistan aligned with the West and India with the [[Soviet Union]];<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sen |first=Somdeep |title=Why is India standing with Putin's Russia? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/3/14/why-is-istandwithputin-trending-in |access-date=1 September 2023 |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>[https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2022/09/russia-and-india-a-new-chapter?lang=en Russia and India: A New Chapter] https://carnegieendowment.org/ Rajan Menon, Eugene Rumer</ref> other factors include the time period after the 1962 [[Sino-Indian War]], which saw India and China move apart while Pakistan and China built closer relations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How India Sees China's Ties with Pakistan and Bhutan |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-india-sees-chinas-ties-with-pakistan-and-bhutan/ |access-date=9 May 2024 |website=Brookings |language=en-US}}</ref>

Pakistan has been beset with [[Terrorism in Pakistan|terrorism]], [[Poverty in Pakistan|economic issues]], and [[Military coups in Pakistan|military dominance of its government]] since Independence,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mir |first=Asfandyar |date=28 February 2023 |title=Pakistan's Twin Crises |language=en-US |work=Foreign Affairs |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/pakistan/pakistans-twin-crises |access-date=1 September 2023 |issn=0015-7120}}</ref> with none of its Prime Ministers having completed a full 5-year term in office.<ref>{{Cite web |title=No Pakistani prime minister has completed a full term in office |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/9/factbox-no-pakistani-prime-minister-has-completed-a-full-tenure |access-date=1 September 2023 |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> India has grown significantly,<ref>{{Cite web |title=India's rise is beyond doubt |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/India-s-rise-is-beyond-doubt |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=Nikkei Asia |language=en-GB}}</ref> having slashed its rate of extreme poverty to below 20%<ref name=":2" /> and surpassed Pakistan's GDP per capita in the 2010s due to [[Economic liberalisation in India|economic liberalisation]] from the 1980s onward.<ref name=":4" /> Bangladesh, having struggled greatly for decades due to conflict with and economic exploitation by Pakistan,<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 November 2022 |title=There are lessons for Pakistan in the 1971 secession of Bangladesh |url=https://arab.news/cm7f4 |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=Arab News PK |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bangal |title=Bangladesh Liberation War: Economic Exploitation |url=https://www.virtualbangladesh.com/the-basics/history-of-bangladesh/independence/history-prelude-independence/economic-exploitation/ |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=Virtual Bangladesh |language=en-US}}</ref> is now one of the fastest-growing countries in the region, beating India in terms of [[GDP per capita]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Bangladesh's economic miracle is in jeopardy |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/asia/2023/03/01/bangladeshs-economic-miracle-is-in-jeopardy |access-date=1 September 2023 |issn=0013-0613}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sinha |first=Shishir |date=7 May 2023 |title=Per capita GDP for Bangladesh higher than India till 2022 |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/world/per-capita-gdp-for-bangladesh-higher-than-india-till-2022/article66823548.ece |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=BusinessLine |language=en}}</ref> Afghanistan has gone through [[Invasions of Afghanistan#Soviet invasions: 1929, 1930, and 1979|several invasions]] and Islamist regimes, with many of its refugees having gone to Pakistan and other parts of South Asia and bringing back cultural influences such as [[cricket]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 May 2011 |title=A historical timeline of Afghanistan |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/asia-jan-june11-timeline-afghanistan |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |date=1 February 2014 |title=From refugee camps to Kabul: The story of Afghan cricket |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-24614257 |access-date=1 September 2023}}</ref> [[Religious nationalism]] has grown across the region,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Malji |first=Andrea |year=2022 |title=Religious Nationalism in Contemporary South Asia |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/religious-nationalism-in-contemporary-south-asia/041691105FDA51E0B36024B47A956AB0 |series=Elements in Religion and Violence |language=en |doi=10.1017/9781108919050 |isbn=978-1-108-91905-0 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="dip21Aug2023">{{Cite magazine |last1=Ramachandran |first1=Sudha |date=21 August 2023 |title=Muqtedar Khan on Why Religious Nationalism Is Poisoning South Asia |url=https://thediplomat.com/2023/08/muqtedar-khan-on-why-religious-nationalism-is-poisoning-south-asia/ |access-date=11 May 2024 |magazine=The Diplomat |language=en-US}}</ref> with persecution causing millions of Hindus and Christians to flee Pakistan and Bangladesh,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=Navtan |date=30 November 2019 |title=Hindus under attack in Bangladesh, Pakistan, face annihilation |url=https://sundayguardianlive.com/news/hindus-attack-bangladesh-pakistan-face-annihilation |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=The Sunday Guardian Live |language=en-US|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20191201145243/https://sundayguardianlive.com/news/hindus-attack-bangladesh-pakistan-face-annihilation|archive-date=2019-12-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1 February 2023 |title=The Past has yet to Leave the Present: Genocide in Bangladesh |url=https://hir.harvard.edu/the-past-has-yet-to-leave-the-present-genocide-in-bangladesh/ |first1=Kimtee |last1=Kundu |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=Harvard International Review |language=en}}</ref> and [[Hindutva|Hindu nationalism]] having grown in India with the election of the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] in 2014.<ref name="dip21Aug2023" />

A recent phenomenon has been that of India and China [[Sino-Indian border dispute|fighting on their border]], as well as vying for [[String of Pearls (Indian Ocean)|dominance of South Asia]], with China partnering with Pakistan and using its superior economy to attract countries surrounding India, while [[Quadrilateral Security Dialogue|America and other countries]] have strengthened ties with India to counter China in the broader [[Indo-Pacific]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Limited Hard Balancing: Explaining India's Counter Response to Chinese Encirclement |language=en-US |work=Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs |publisher=Air University |date=24 April 2023 |author=Tanveer Ahmad Khan |url=https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/JIPA/Display/Article/3371481/limited-hard-balancing-explaining-indias-counter-response-to-chinese-encircleme/ |access-date=1 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schuman |first=Michael |date=1 March 2023 |title=What Limits Any U.S. Alliance With India Over China |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/03/india-relations-us-china-modi/673237/ |access-date=9 May 2024 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref> (See also: [[2025 India–Pakistan standoff]])

==Geography==
{{See also|Indian subcontinent#Geography}}
{{Further|Geography of India|Geography of Pakistan|Geography of Afghanistan|Geography of Bangladesh|Geography of Bhutan|Geography of Sri Lanka|Geography of Nepal|Geography of the Maldives}}

According to Saul Cohen, early colonial era strategists treated South Asia with East Asia, but in reality, the South Asia region excluding Afghanistan is a distinct [[Geopolitics|geopolitical]] region separated from other nearby geostrategic realms, one that is geographically diverse.<ref>Saul Bernard Cohen, ''Geopolitics of the world system'', pages 304–305, Rowman & Littlefield, 2003, {{ISBN|0-8476-9907-2}}</ref> The region is home to a variety of geographical features, such as [[glacier]]s, [[rainforest]]s, [[valley]]s, [[desert]]s, and [[grassland]]s that are typical of much larger continents. It is surrounded by three water bodies{{snd}}the [[Bay of Bengal]], the Indian Ocean and the [[Arabian Sea]]{{snd}}and has acutely varied climate zones. The tip of the Indian Peninsula had the highest quality pearls.<ref>{{cite book |last=Xinru |first=Liu |title=The Silk Road in World History |url=https://archive.org/details/silkroadinworldh0000liux |url-access=registration |year=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=40}}</ref>

===Indian Plate===
{{Main|Indian Plate}}

Most of this region is resting on the [[Indian Plate]], the northerly portion of the [[Indo-Australian Plate]], separated from the rest of the [[Eurasian Plate]]. The Indian Plate includes most of South Asia, forming a land mass which extends from the [[Himalayas]] into a portion of the basin under the Indian Ocean, including parts of [[Southwest China|South China]] and Eastern [[Indonesia]], as well as [[Kunlun Mountains|Kunlun]] and [[Karakoram]] ranges,<ref>Sinvhal, ''Understanding Earthquake Disasters'', page 52, Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2010, {{ISBN|978-0-07-014456-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kumar |first1=M. Ravi |last2=Bhatia |first2=S. C. |title=A new seismic hazard map for the Indian plate region under the global seismic hazard assessment programme |journal=Current Science |date=August 1999 |volume=77 |issue=3 |page=447 |jstor=24102967}}</ref> and extending up to but not including [[Ladakh]], [[Kohistan District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa|Kohistan]], the [[Hindu Kush]] range, and [[Balochistan]].<ref>M. Asif Khan, ''Tectonics of the Nanga Parbat syntaxis and the Western Himalaya'', page 375, Geological Society of London, 2000, {{ISBN|978-1-86239-061-4}}</ref><ref>Srikrishna Prapnnachari, ''Concepts in Frame Design'', page 152, Srikrishna Prapnnachari, {{ISBN|978-99929-52-21-4}}</ref><ref>A. M. Celâl Şengör, ''Tectonic evolution of the Tethyan Region'', Springer, 1989, {{ISBN|978-0-7923-0067-0}}</ref> It may be noted that [[Geophysics|geophysically]] the [[Yarlung Tsangpo River]] in Tibet is situated at the outside the border of the regional structure, while the [[Pamir Mountains]] in Tajikistan are situated inside that border.<ref>Valentin Semenovich Burtman & Peter Hale Molnar, ''Geological and Geophysical Evidence for Deep Subduction of Continental Crust Beneath the Pamir'', page 10, Geological Society of America, 1993, {{ISBN|0-8137-2281-0}}</ref>

The [[Indian subcontinent]] formerly formed part of the [[supercontinent]] [[Gondwana]], before rifting away during the [[Cretaceous]] period and colliding with the Eurasian Plate about 50–55 million years ago and giving birth to the [[Himalayan range]] and the [[Tibetan Plateau]]. It is the [[peninsula]]r region south of the [[Himalaya]]s and [[Kuen Lun]] mountain ranges and east of the [[Indus River]] and the [[Iranian Plateau]], extending southward into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea (to the southwest) and the Bay of Bengal (to the southeast).

===Climate===
[[File:South Asia map of Köppen climate classification.svg|thumb|upright=1.75|right|South Asia's [[Köppen climate classification]] map<ref name="Peel">{{cite journal |author1=Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. |year=2007 |title=Updated world map of the Köppen–Geiger climate classification |journal=Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. |volume=11 |issue=5 |pages=1633–1644 |doi=10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 |bibcode=2007HESS...11.1633P |url=http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.html |issn=1027-5606 |access-date=18 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210144308/http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.html |archive-date=10 February 2017 |url-status=live |doi-access=free }} ''(direct: [http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.pdf Final Revised Paper] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203170339/http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.pdf |date=3 February 2012 }})''</ref> is based on native vegetation, temperature, precipitation, and their seasonality.
{{columns-list|colwidth=12em|
{{legend|#0000FE|[[tropical rainforest climate|(Af) '''Tropical rainforest''']]}}
{{legend|#0077FF|[[tropical monsoon climate|(Am) '''Tropical monsoon''']]}}
{{legend|#46A9FA|[[tropical savanna climate|(Aw) '''Tropical savanna''', wet & dry]]}}
{{legend|#FE0000|[[hot desert climate|(BWh) '''Hot desert''']]}}
{{legend|#FE9695|[[cold desert climate|(BWk) '''Cold desert''']]}}
{{legend|#F5A301|[[hot semi-arid climate|(BSh) '''Hot semi arid''']]}}
{{legend|#FFDB63|[[cold semi-arid climate|(BSk) '''Cold semi arid''']]}}
{{legend|#FFFF00|[[hot-summer Mediterranean climate|(Csa) '''Mediterranean''', dry, hot summer]]}}
{{legend|#C6FF4E|[[humid subtropical climate|(Cfa) '''Subtropical''', humid]]}}
{{legend|#96FF96|[[humid subtropical climate|(Cwa) '''Subtropical''', humid summer, dry winter]]}}
{{legend|#63C764|[[subtropical highland climate|(Cwb) '''Subtropical highland''', dry winter]]}}
{{legend|#FF00FE|[[humid continental climate|(Dsa) '''Continental''', hot summer]]}}
{{legend|#C600C7|[[humid continental climate|(Dsb) '''Continental''', warm summer]]}}
{{legend|#5A77DB|[[humid continental climate|(Dwb) '''Continental''', dry winter]]}}
{{legend|#4C51B5|[[subarctic climate|(Dwc) '''Continental Subarctic''', dry winter]]}}
}}]]

The climate of this vast region varies considerably from area to area from tropical monsoon in the south to temperate in the north. The variety is influenced by not only the altitude but also by factors such as proximity to the seacoast and the seasonal impact of the [[monsoon]]s. Southern parts are mostly hot in summers and receive rain during monsoon periods. The northern belt of [[Indo-Gangetic plain]]s also is hot in summer, but cooler in winter. The mountainous north is colder and receives snowfall at higher altitudes of Himalayan ranges.

As the [[Himalayas]] block the north-Asian bitter cold winds, the temperatures are considerably moderate in the plains down below. For the most part, the climate of the region is called the monsoon climate, which keeps the region humid during summer and dry during winter, and favours the cultivation of [[jute]], tea, rice, and various vegetables in this region.

South Asia is largely divided into four broad climate zones:<ref name=olive1>John E. Olive, ''The Encyclopedia of World Climatology'', page 115-117, Springer, 2005, {{ISBN|978-1-4020-3264-6}}</ref>
* The northern Indian edge and northern Pakistani uplands have a dry subtropical [[continental climate]]
* The far south of India and southwest Sri Lanka have an [[equatorial climate]]
* Most of the peninsula has a tropical climate with variations:
** Hot [[Subtropics|subtropical]] climate in northwest India
** Cool winter hot [[tropical climate]] in Bangladesh
** Tropical [[semi-arid climate]] in the center
* The Himalayas and most of the [[Hindu Kush]] have an [[Alpine climate]]

Maximum relative humidity of over 80% has been recorded in [[Khasi and Jaintia Hills]] and Sri Lanka, while the area adjustment to Pakistan and western India records lower than 20%–30%.<ref name=olive1/> Climate of South Asia is largely characterised by monsoons. South Asia depends critically on monsoon rainfall.{{sfn|Mitra|Kumar|Kumar|Abrol|2002|p=83}} Two monsoon systems exist in the region:{{sfn|Mitra|Kumar|Kumar|Abrol|2002|p=76}}
* The summer monsoon: Wind blows from the southwest to most parts of the region. It accounts for 70%–90% of the annual precipitation.
* The winter monsoon: Wind blows from the northeast. Dominant in Sri Lanka and Maldives.

The warmest period of the year precedes the monsoon season (March to mid June). In the summer the low pressures are centered over the [[Indus-Gangetic Plain]] and high wind from the Indian Ocean blows towards the center. The monsoons are the second coolest season of the year because of high humidity and cloud covering. But, at the beginning of June, the jetstreams vanish above the [[Tibetan Plateau]], low pressure over the [[Indus Valley]] deepens and the [[Intertropical Convergence Zone]] (ITCZ) moves in. The change is violent. Moderately vigorous monsoon depressions form in the Bay of Bengal and make landfall from June to September.<ref name=olive1/>

====Climate change====
{{Main|Climate change in Asia}}

[[File:Guo 2023 Asia IVT projections.jpg|thumb|Greater warming increases the amount of moisture in the atmosphere over Asia, which directly leads to extreme precipitation. Probability of 20-year, 50-year and 100-year extremes consistently increases with warming across Asia. In the most affected parts of South Asia, up to a 15-fold average increase for 100-year extremes is possible under {{convert|3|C-change|F-change}} of warming.<ref name="Guo2023" />]]

South Asian countries are expected to experience more flooding in the future as the monsoon pattern intensifies.<ref name="AR6_WGII_Chapter10">Shaw, R., Y. Luo, T. S. Cheong, S. Abdul Halim, S. Chaturvedi, M. Hashizume, G. E. Insarov, Y. Ishikawa, M. Jafari, A. Kitoh, J. Pulhin, C. Singh, K. Vasant, and Z. Zhang, 2022: [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGII_Chapter10.pdf Chapter 10: Asia]. In [https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/ Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability] [H.-O. Pörtner, D. C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E. S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, New York, US, pp. 1457–1579 |doi=10.1017/9781009325844.012.</ref>{{rp|1459}} Across Asia as a whole, 100-year extremes in vapour transport (directly related to extreme precipitation) would become 2.6 times more frequent under {{convert|1.5|C-change|F-change}} of global warming, yet 3.9 and 7.5 times more frequent under {{convert|2|C-change|F-change}} and {{convert|3|C-change|F-change}}. In parts of South Asia, they could become up to 15 times more frequent.<ref name="Guo2023">{{cite journal |last1=Guo |first1=Lianyi |last2=Shi |first2=Yi |last3=Zhao |first3=Yang |date=1 August 2023 |title=Future Projections of Extreme Integrated Water Vapor Transport and Population Exposure Over the Asian Monsoon Region |journal=Earth's Future |volume=11 |issue=8 |pages=1, 8 |article-number=e2023EF003583 |doi=10.1029/2023EF003583 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2023EaFut..1103583G }}</ref> At the same time, up to two-thirds of glacier ice in the Hindu Kush region may melt by 2100 under high warming, and these glaciers feed the water basin of over 220 million people.<ref name="AR6_WGII_Chapter10" />{{rp|1487}} As glacier meltwater flow diminishes after 2050, [[Hydropower]] generation would become less predictable and reliable, while agriculture would become more reliant on the intensified monsoon than ever before.<ref name=":HKH2019Climate">{{Cite book |last1=Krishnan |first1=Raghavan |last2=Shrestha |first2=Arun Bhakta |last3=Ren |first3=Guoyu |last4=Rajbhandari |first4=Rupak |last5=Saeed |first5=Sajjad |last6=Sanjay |first6=Jayanarayanan |last7=Syed |first7=Md. Abu. |last8=Vellore |first8=Ramesh |last9=Xu |first9=Ying |last10=You |first10=Qinglong |last11=Ren |first11=Yuyu |title=The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment |date=5 January 2019 |chapter=Unravelling Climate Change in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: Rapid Warming in the Mountains and Increasing Extremes |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-92288-1_3 |pages=57–97 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-92288-1_3 |isbn=978-3-319-92287-4 |s2cid=134572569 }}</ref><ref name=":HKH2019Cryo">{{Cite book |last1=Bolch |first1=Tobias |last2=Shea |first2=Joseph M. |last3=Liu |first3=Shiyin |last4=Azam |first4=Farooq M. |last5=Gao |first5=Yang |last6=Gruber |first6=Stephan |last7=Immerzeel |first7=Walter W. |last8=Kulkarni |first8=Anil |last9=Li |first9=Huilin |last10=Tahir |first10=Adnan A. |last11=Zhang |first11=Guoqing |last12=Zhang |first12=Yinsheng |title=The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment |date=5 January 2019 |chapter=Status and Change of the Cryosphere in the Extended Hindu Kush Himalaya Region |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-92288-1_3 |pages=209–255 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-92288-1_7 |isbn=978-3-319-92287-4 |s2cid=134814572 }}</ref><ref name=":HKH2019Water">{{Cite book |last1=Scott |first1=Christopher A. |last2=Zhang |first2=Fan |last3=Mukherji |first3=Aditi |last4=Immerzeel |first4=Walter |last5=Mustafa |first5=Daanish |last6=Bharati |first6=Luna |title=The Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment |date=5 January 2019 |chapter=Water in the Hindu Kush Himalaya |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-92288-1_8 |pages=257–299 |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-92288-1_8 |isbn=978-3-319-92287-4 |s2cid=133800578 }}</ref> Around 2050, people living in the [[Ganges]] and [[Indus]] river basins (where up to 60% of non-monsoon irrigation comes from the glaciers<ref name="Biemans2019">{{Cite journal | vauthors = Biemans H, Siderius C, Lutz AF, Nepal S, Ahmad B, Hassan T, von Bloh W, Wijngaard RR, Wester P, Shrestha AB, Immerzeel WW | display-authors = 6 |date=July 2019 |title=Importance of snow and glacier meltwater for agriculture on the Indo-Gangetic Plain |journal=Nature Sustainability |language=en |volume=2 |issue=7 |pages=594–601 |doi=10.1038/s41893-019-0305-3 | bibcode = 2019NatSu...2..594B | hdl = 1874/385008 |issn=2398-9629 |s2cid=199110415| url = https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/102562/ }}</ref>) may be faced with severe water scarcity due to both climate and socioeconomic reasons.<ref name="AR6_WGII_Chapter10" />{{rp|1486}}

By 2030, major Indian cities such as [[Mumbai]], [[Kolkata]], [[Cuttack]], and [[Kochi]] are expected to end up with much of their territory below the tide level.<ref>{{cite news |title=These Indian Cities Could Be Underwater in Less Than 9 Years Due to Climate Change |url=https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/these-indian-cities-could-be-underwater-in-less-than-9-years-due-to-climate-change-4401983.html |access-date=12 November 2021 |agency=News18 |date=5 November 2021 |archive-date=12 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112124611/https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/these-indian-cities-could-be-underwater-in-less-than-9-years-due-to-climate-change-4401983.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In Mumbai alone, failing to adapt to this would result in damages of US$112–162 billion by 2050, which would nearly triple by 2070.<ref name="AR6_WGII_Chapter10" /> [[Sea level rise]] in Bangladesh will displace 0.9–2.1 million people by 2050 and may force the relocation of up to one third of power plants by 2030.<ref name="AR6_WGII_Chapter10" /> [[Food security]] will become more uneven, and some South Asian countries could experience significant social impacts from global food price volatility.<ref name="AR6_WGII_Chapter10" />{{rp|1494}} [[Infectious diarrhoea]] mortality and [[dengue fever]] incidence is also likely to increase across South Asia.<ref name="AR6_WGII_Chapter10" />{{rp|1508}} Parts of South Asia would also reach "critical health thresholds" for [[heat stress]] under all but the lowest-emission [[climate change scenario]]s.<ref name="AR6_WGII_Chapter10" />{{rp|1465}} Under the high-emission scenario, 40 million people (nearly 2% of the South Asian population) may be driven to internal migration by 2050 due to climate change.<ref name="AR6_WGII_Chapter10" />{{rp|1469}}
[[File:HKH-Glacier-Mass-Change.png|thumb|left|Observed glacier mass loss in the [[Hindu Kush]] [[Himalayas]] region since the 20th century<ref name=":HKH2019Cryo" />]]
India is estimated to have the world's highest [[social cost of carbon]] - meaning that it experiences the greatest impact from [[greenhouse gas emissions]].<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news |title=New study finds incredibly high carbon pollution costs – especially for the US and India |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/oct/01/new-study-finds-incredibly-high-carbon-pollution-costs-especially-for-the-us-and-india |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=1 October 2018 |access-date=12 October 2018 |archive-date=5 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505095643/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2018/oct/01/new-study-finds-incredibly-high-carbon-pollution-costs-especially-for-the-us-and-india |url-status=live }}</ref> Other estimates describe Bangladesh as the country most likely to be the worst-affected.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ayers|first1=Jessica|last2=Huq|first2=Saleemul|last3=Wright|first3=Helena|last4=Faisal|first4=Arif M.|last5=Hussain|first5=Syed Tanveer|date=2 October 2014|title=Mainstreaming climate change adaptation into development in Bangladesh|journal=Climate and Development|volume=6|issue=4|pages=293–305|doi=10.1080/17565529.2014.977761|s2cid=54721256|issn=1756-5529|doi-access=free|bibcode=2014CliDe...6..293A }}</ref><ref>{{Cite report|url=http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/ifpridp01281.pdf|title=Agriculture and Adaptation in Bangladesh: Current and Projected Impacts of Climate Change|date=July 2013|publisher=IFPRI|access-date=26 November 2020|vauthors=Thomas TS, Mainuddin K, Chiang C, Rahman A, Haque A, Islam N, Quasem S, Sun Y|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20180721153327/http://cdm15738.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/127767/filename/127978.pdf|archive-date=2018-07-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|date=2018|editor-last=Islam|editor-first=Md. Nazrul|editor2-last=van Amstel|editor2-first=André|title=Bangladesh I: Climate Change Impacts, Mitigation and Adaptation in Developing Countries|url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-26357-1|series=Springer Climate|language=en-gb|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-26357-1|bibcode=2018bicc.book.....I |isbn=978-3-319-26355-7|issn=2352-0698|s2cid=199493022|access-date=30 November 2020|archive-date=2 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102131031/https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-26357-1|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 2017 edition of [[Germanwatch]]'s ''Climate Risk Index'', Bangladesh and Pakistan ranked sixth and seventh respectively as the countries most affected by climate change in the period from 1996 to 2015, while India ranked fourth among the list of countries most affected by climate change in 2015.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kreft|first1=Sönke|url=https://germanwatch.org/en/download/16411.pdf|title=Global Climate Risk Index 2017|last2=David Eckstein|first2=David|last3=Melchior|first3=Inga|date=November 2016|publisher=Germanwatch e.V.|isbn=978-3-943704-49-5|location=Bonn|access-date=10 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925181000/https://germanwatch.org/en/download/16411.pdf|archive-date=25 September 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some research suggests that South Asia as a whole would lose 2% of its [[GDP]] to climate change by 2050, while these losses would approach 9% by the end of the century under the most intense climate change scenario.<ref name="AR6_WGII_Chapter10" />{{rp|1468}}

=== Regions ===
{{Main category|Regions of South Asia}}

==== Northern South Asia ====
[[Ethnolinguistic group|Ethnolinguistically]], [[Northern South Asia]] is predominantly [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ivani |first1=Jessica K. |last2=Paudyal |first2=Netra |last3=Peterson |first3=John |date=30 August 2021 |title=Indo-Aryan – a house divided? Evidence for the east–west Indo-Aryan divide and its significance for the study of northern South Asia |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/216529/ |journal=Journal of South Asian Languages and Linguistics |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=287–326 |doi=10.1515/jsall-2021-2029 |issn=2196-078X |s2cid=237343508 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ishii |first1=Hiroshi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PmVKvwEACAAJ |title=Social Dynamics in Northern South Asia |last2=Gellner |first2=David N. |last3=Nawa |first3=Katsuo |date=2007 |publisher=Manohar |language=en}}</ref> along with [[Iranic peoples|Iranic populations]] in Afghanistan and [[Balochistan]], and diverse linguistic communities near the Himalayas.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Daurio |first1=Maya |last2=Turin |first2=Mark |year=2020 |title="Langscapes" and language borders: Linguistic boundary-making in northern South Asia |url=https://shs.hal.science/halshs-03083475 |journal=Eurasia Border Review |language=en |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=21 |doi=10.14943/ebr.10.1.21}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Bradley |first1=David |last2=Mohanty |first2=Panchanan |chapter=Sociolinguistics of South Asia: Tibeto-Burman, Austroasiatic and other languages |year=2023 |title=The Routledge Handbook of Sociolinguistics Around the World |pages=184–196 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003198345-17/sociolinguistics-south-asia-david-bradley-panchanan-mohanty |access-date=4 October 2023 |edition=2 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781003198345-17 |isbn=978-1-003-19834-5|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Its borders have been heavily contested (primarily [[Territorial disputes of India|between India]] and its neighbours [[Indo-Pakistani border dispute|Pakistan]] and [[Sino-Indian border dispute|China]], as well as [[Insurgency in Northeast India|separatist movements]] in Northeast India.)<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/31797 |title=Borderland Lives in Northern South Asia |date=3 March 2014 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=9780822355427 |editor-last=Gellner |editor-first=David |language=English |doi=10.26530/oapen_625238|hdl=20.500.12657/31797 }}</ref><ref name=":03">{{Cite web |date=25 October 2022 |title=In the North of South Asia, an arc of peace |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/in-the-north-of-south-asia-an-arc-of-peace-101666705026927.html |access-date=4 October 2023 |website=Hindustan Times |type=Opinion |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chowdhory |first1=Nasreen |last2=Mohanty |first2=Biswajit |date=4 July 2023 |title=Dispossession, Border and Exception in South Asia: An Introduction |journal=Journal of Borderlands Studies |language=en |volume=38 |issue=4 |pages=537–547 |doi=10.1080/08865655.2023.2226404 |issn=0886-5655 |s2cid=259697352 |doi-access=free}}</ref> This tension in the region has contributed to difficulties in sharing river waters among Northern South Asian countries;<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hill |first=Doug |title=Alternative Institutional Arrangements: Managing Transboundary Water Resources in South Asia |url=https://www.academia.edu/3096107 |journal=Academia}}</ref> climate change is projected to exacerbate the issue.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Crow |first1=B. |last2=Singh |first2=Nirvikar |date=March 2008 |title=The management of inter-state rivers as demands grow and supplies tighten: India, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh |url=https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/12433/1/MPRA_paper_12433.pdf |website=Munich Personal RePEc Archive |s2cid=129209899 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=26 March 2019 |title=Putting policy into practice to clean up South Asia's dirty air (commentary) |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2019/03/putting-policy-into-practice-to-clean-up-south-asias-dirty-air-commentary/ |access-date=4 October 2023 |website=Mongabay Environmental News |language=en-US}}</ref> Dominated by the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]], the region is home to about half a billion people and is the poorest South Asian subregion.<ref name=":03" />

==== Northwestern South Asia ====
Northwestern South Asia is the site of many of the first civilisations of the world, such as the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Decline of the Indus River Valley Civilization (c. 3300-1300 BCE) |url=https://www.science.smith.edu/climatelit/decline-of-the-indus-river-valley-civilization-c-3300-1300-bce/ |access-date=5 October 2023 |website=Climate in Arts and History |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Thornton |first1=Christopher P. |title=Introduction: Between Two Civilizations |year=2016 |url=https://rune.une.edu.au/web/handle/1959.11/20329 |access-date=5 October 2023 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology |language=en |isbn=978-1-934536-06-3 |last2=Cable |first2=Charlotte}}</ref> It was historically the most-conquered region of South Asia because it is the first region that invading armies coming from the west had to cross to enter the Indian subcontinent;<ref>[https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/120933/2010_08_South%20Asias%20Geography%20of%20Conflict_Robert%20D.%20Kaplan_0.pdf South Asia's Geography of Conflict] https://www.files.ethz.ch/ Robert D. Kaplan</ref> because of these many invasions, Northwestern South Asia has significant influences from various sources outside of South Asia, mainly from the [[Muslim world]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Neelis |first=Jason |url=https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/38155 |title=Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange within and beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia |date=2010 |publisher=Brill |hdl=20.500.12657/38155 |isbn=978-90-04-19458-8 |language=English}}</ref>

==== Eastern South Asia ====
[[Eastern South Asia]] includes [[Bangladesh]] ([[East Bengal]]), [[Bhutan]], [[East India|eastern]] and [[Northeast India|northeastern]] parts of India, and [[Nepal]]. Major Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms and empires of the region include [[Kikata kingdom|Kikata]], [[Kingdom of the Videhas|Videha]], [[Vajjika League|Vṛji]], [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]], [[Nanda Empire|Nanda]], [[Gangaridai]], [[Maurya Empire|Mauryan]], [[Anga]], [[Kalinga (historical region)|Kalinga]], [[Kamarupa]], [[Samatata]], [[Kanva dynasty|Kanva]], [[Gupta Empire|Gupta]], [[Pala Empire|Pala]], [[Gauda kingdom|Gauda]], [[Sena Empire|Sena]], [[Khadga dynasty|Khadga]], [[Candra dynasty|Candra]], and [[Deva dynasty|Deva]]. Geographically, it lies between the [[Eastern Himalaya]]s and the [[Bay of Bengal]]. Two of the world's largest rivers, the [[Ganges]] and the [[Brahmaputra]], flow into the sea through the [[Bengal region]]. The region includes the world's largest delta, the [[Ganges Delta]], and has a climate ranging from [[Alpine climate|alpine]] and [[Montane ecosystems#Subalpine zone|subalpine]] to [[Subtropics|subtropical]] and [[Tropics|tropical]]. Since Nepal, Bhutan, Northeast India and parts of East India are [[Landlocked country|landlocked]], the coastlines of Bangladesh and East India (in [[West Bengal]] and [[Odisha]]) serve as the principal gateways to the region. With more than 441 million inhabitants, Eastern South Asia is home to 6%{{nbsp}}of the [[World population|world's population]] and 25% of South Asia's population.

==== Central-West Coastal South Asia ====
{{Excerpt|Western India#History|paragraphs=1|files=0}}

==== Central South Asia ====
{{Excerpt|Central India#History|paragraphs=2-3|files=1}}

==== Southern South Asia ====
[[Southern South Asia]] includes [[South India]], the [[Maldives]], and [[Sri Lanka]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cardoso |first=Hugo |title=The synchrony and diachrony of an Asian-Portuguese causal morpheme |url=https://www.academia.edu/76842442 |journal=Academia}}</ref><ref name=":05">[https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/balances-and-benefits-in-the-southern-south-asia/ Balances and benefits in Southern South Asia: The Maldives and Sri Lanka in 2021] https://www.orfonline.org/ Aditya Gowdara Shivamurthy</ref> and is predominantly [[Dravidian peoples|Dravidian]].<ref>[https://www.asianz.org.nz/assets/Uploads/Future-Potential-and-the-Invisible-Diaspora-New-Zealand-and-South-Asia-diaspora.pdf Future potential and the invisible diaspora: New Zealand and South Asia diasporas] https://www.asianz.org.nz/ Robert Didham</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Cohen |first1=Walter |year=2017 |title=Eurasian Literature through the Eighteenth Century |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/12757 |access-date=5 October 2023 |website=academic.oup.com |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198732679.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-873267-9}}</ref> Southern South Asia was a hub of global trade in ancient times because of its position in the important Indian Ocean corridor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Patrick Roberts Made National Geographic 'Explorer' |url=https://www.shh.mpg.de/1827734/patrick-roberts-nat-geo-explorer-grant |access-date=5 October 2023 |website=shh.mpg.de |language=en}}</ref>

Historically, governments throughout Southern South Asia adopted Sanskrit for public political expression beginning around 300 CE and ending around 1300, resulting in greater integration into the broader [[Greater India|South Asian cultural sphere]].<ref>[http://buddhism.lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-BJ001/bj001564378.pdf Comparing East Asian and Southeast Asian Buddhism: Looking at Traditional China from the Margins] http://buddhism.lib.ntu.edu.tw/ John R. McRae</ref> This significantly influenced the languages of the region, making all of the major Dravidian languages except for Tamil highly [[Sanskritisation (linguistics)|Sanskritised]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Setting the record straight |url=https://www.economist.com/johnson/2013/05/13/setting-the-record-straight |access-date=5 October 2023 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=7 January 2023 |title=Sanskrit is the mother of all Indian languages: Bhyrappa |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/sanskrit-is-the-mother-of-all-indian-languages-bhyrappa/article66350430.ece |access-date=5 October 2023 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> Tamil influence in the region is quite significant, with prominent empires such as the [[Chola dynasty]] taking [[Tamil culture]] to Sri Lanka and beyond South Asia, and Sri Lanka having an ancient [[Sri Lankan Tamils|Tamil minority]] and a Dravidian-influenced majority language of [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 August 2020 |title=The Sri Lankan Civil War and Its History, Revisited in 2020 |url=https://hir.harvard.edu/sri-lankan-civil-war/ |access-date=5 October 2023 |website=Harvard International Review |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Perera |first1=Sasanka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xzBREAAAQBAJ&pg=PA99 |title=Against the Nation: Thinking Like South Asians |last2=Pathak |first2=Dev Nath |last3=Kumar |first3=Ravi |date=30 December 2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-93-89812-33-6 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kamalakaran |first=Ajay |date=23 March 2022 |title=How a unique Tamil dialect survived among a fishing community in Sri Lanka |url=https://scroll.in/magazine/1020026/how-a-unique-tamil-dialect-survived-among-a-fishing-community-in-sri-lanka |access-date=5 October 2023 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Land and water area ===
{{See also|Exclusive economic zone|Indian Ocean}}
This list includes [[dependent territories]] within their [[List of sovereign states|sovereign states]] (including uninhabited territories), but does not include claims on [[Antarctica]]. EEZ+TIA is exclusive economic zone (EEZ) plus [[List of countries and outlying territories by total area|total internal area]] (TIA) which includes land and internal waters.
{| class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align: center"
!Country!!Area in km2!!EEZ!!Shelf!!EEZ+TIA
|-
| align="left" |{{AFG}}||652,864||0||0||652,864
|-
| align="left" |{{BAN}}||148,460||86,392||66,438||230,390
|-
| align="left" |{{BHU}}||38,394||0||0||38,394
|-
| align="left" |{{IND}}||3,287,263||2,305,143||402,996||5,592,406
|-
| align="left" |{{NEP}}||147,181||0||0||147,181
|-
| align="left" |{{MDV}}||298||923,322||34,538||923,622
|-
| align="left" |{{PAK}}||881,913||290,000||51,383||1,117,911
|-
| align="left" |{{SRI}}||65,610||532,619||32,453||598,229
|-
!'''Total'''||'''5,221,093'''||'''4,137,476'''||'''587,808'''||'''9,300,997'''
|}

==Society==
{{See also|South Asian ethnic groups}}

===Population===
The population of South Asia is about 1.938 billion which makes it the [[List of continents by population#Regional and continental (sub)totals in 2013|most populated region]] in the world.<ref>
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2014). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision, custom data acquired via website. http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Excel-Data/population.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404064129/http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Excel-Data/population.htm |date=4 April 2013 }}
</ref> It is socially very mixed, consisting of many language groups and religions, and social practices in one region that are vastly different from those in another.<ref>{{cite book|author=Baten, Jörg |title=A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present.|date=2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=249|isbn=978-1-107-50718-0}}</ref>

{| class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align: center"
! rowspan="2" |Country
! rowspan="2" |[[List of countries by population|Population]] in thousands
(2023)<ref name="UN WPP 2019">{{Cite web |title=World Population prospects – Population division |url=https://population.un.org/wpp/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205234912/https://population.un.org/wpp/ |archive-date=5 February 2019 |access-date=9 May 2023 |publisher=United Nations}}</ref><ref name="UN WPP 2019 2">{{Cite web|title=Overall total population|url=https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Files/1_Indicators%20(Standard)/EXCEL_FILES/1_Population/WPP2019_POP_F01_1_TOTAL_POPULATION_BOTH_SEXES.xlsx|access-date=16 July 2019|publisher=United Nations|format=xlsx|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227235642/https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Files/1_Indicators%20(Standard)/EXCEL_FILES/1_Population/WPP2019_POP_F01_1_TOTAL_POPULATION_BOTH_SEXES.xlsx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
! rowspan="2" |% of South Asia
! rowspan="2" |% of world<ref>{{cite web|title=World Population Prospects 2017 Key Findings|url=https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2017_KeyFindings.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216180720/https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2017_KeyFindings.pdf|archive-date=16 December 2017|access-date=29 October 2019|publisher=United Nations}}</ref>
! rowspan="2" |[[List of countries by population density|Density]] (per km2)
! colspan="3" |Population growth rate<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|title=United Nations Population Div, World Population Prospects 2017, File: Population Growth Rate, retrieved 5/20/18|url=https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Download/Standard/Population/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927210437/https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Download/Standard/Population/|archive-date=27 September 2016}}</ref>
! colspan="7" |Population projection (in thousands)<ref name="UN WPP 2019" /><ref name="UN WPP 2019 2" />
|-
!2005–10
!2010–15
!2015–20
!1950
!1975
!2000
!2025
!2050
!2075
!2100
|-
| align="left" |{{AFG}}
|42,240
|2.17%
|0.525%
|61.8
|2.78
|3.16
|2.41
|7,752
|12,689
|20,779
|44,516
|74,075
|98,732
|110,855
|-
| align="left" |{{BAN}}
|172,954
|8.92%
|2.15%
|1301
|1.18
|1.16
|1.04
|37,895
|70,066
|127,658
|170,937
|203,905
|201,891
|176,366
|-
| align="left" |{{BHU}}
|787
|0.04%
|0.00978%
|20.3
|2.05
|1.58
|1.18
|177
|348
|591
|797
|874
|803
|654
|-
| align="left" |{{IND}}
|1,428,628
|73.7%
|17.5%
|473.4
|1.46
|1.23
|1.10
|376,325
|623,103
|1,056,576
|1,454,607
|1,670,491
|1,676,035
|1,529,850
|-
| align="left" |{{MDV}}
|521
|0.03%
|0.00647%
|1738.2
|2.68
|2.76
|1.85
|74
|136
|279
|515
|570
|543
|469
|-
| align="left" |{{NEP}}
|30,897
|1.59%
|0.384%
|204.1
|1.05
|1.17
|1.09
|8,483
|13,420
|23,941
|31,577
|37,401
|38,189
|33,770
|-
| align="left" |{{PAK}}
|240,486
|12.4%
|2.98%
|300.2
|2.05
|2.09
|1.91
|37,542
|66,817
|142,344
|249,949
|367,808
|453,262
|487,017
|-
| align="left" |{{SRI}}
|21,894
|1.13%
|0.272%
|347.2
|0.68
|0.50
|0.35
|7,971
|13,755
|18,778
|22,000
|21,815
|19,000
|14,695
|- class=sortbottom
!South Asia
!'''1,938,407'''
!'''100%'''
!24.094%
!'''377.5'''
!-
!-
!-
!476,220
!800,335
!1,390,946
!1,974,898
!2,376,939
!2,488,455
!2,353,676
|- class=sortbottom
| colspan="15" |Population of South Asian countries in 1950, 1975, 2000, 2025, 2050, 2075 and 2100 projection from the United Nations has been displayed in table. The given population projections are based on medium fertility index. With India and Bangladesh approaching [[Sub-replacement fertility|replacement rates]] fast, population growth in South Asia is facing steep decline and may turn negative in mid 21st century.<ref name="UN WPP 2019" /><ref name="UN WPP 2019 2" />
|}

===Languages===
{{Main|Languages of South Asia}}
{{See also|Hindustani-speaking world}}[[File:South Asian Language Families.png|thumb|right|Ethno-linguistic distribution map of South Asia]]<imagemap>
File:States of South Asia by language.png|thumb|400px|A clickable map of the official language or lingua franca spoken in each state/province of South Asia excluding the Maldives. Indo-Aryan languages are in green, Iranic languages in dark green, Dravidian languages in purple, Tibeto-Burman languages in red, and Turkic languages in orange.

rect 30 70 355 230 [[w:Provinces of Afghanistan#UN Regions]]
rect 10 130 430 305 [[w:Pashtunistan]]
rect 185 435 330 585 [[w:Sindh]]
rect 215 590 450 695 [[w:Gujarat]]
rect 90 320 275 500 [[w:Balochistan, Pakistan]]
rect 375 270 515 430 [[w:Punjab]]
rect 445 255 670 565 [[w:Hindi belt]]
rect 320 480 900 720 [[w:Hindi belt]]
rect 430 50 710 255 [[w:Kashmir]]
rect 980 345 1075 510 [[w:Bhutan]]
rect 670 380 920 500 [[w:Nepal]]
rect 900 540 1070 685 [[w:Bengal]]
rect 985 360 1250 640 [[w:Northeast India]]
rect 550 805 740 1070 [[w:Telugu states]]
rect 410 690 660 845 [[w:Maharashtra]]
rect 760 660 980 850 [[w:Odisha]]
rect 460 830 550 1100 [[w:Karnataka]]
rect 430 1100 550 1380 [[w:Kerala]]
rect 550 1070 655 1160 [[w:Tamil Nadu]]
rect 660 1140 760 1220 [[w:Sri Lankan Tamils]]
rect 650 1220 780 1520 [[w:Sinhalese people]]
</imagemap>There are numerous languages in South Asia. The spoken languages of the region are largely based on geography and shared across religious boundaries, but the written script is sharply divided by religious boundaries. In particular, Muslims of South Asia such as in Afghanistan and Pakistan use the Arabic alphabet and Persian [[Nastaʿlīq script|Nastaliq]]. Till 1952, Muslim-majority Bangladesh (then known as East Pakistan) also mandated only the Nastaliq script, but after that adopted regional scripts and particularly Bengali, after the [[Bengali language movement|Language Movement]] for the adoption of Bengali as the official language of the then East Pakistan. Non-Muslims of South Asia, and some Muslims in India, on the other hand, use scripts such as those derived from [[Brahmi script]] for Indo-European languages and non-Brahmi scripts for [[Dravidian languages]] and others.{{sfn|Bhatia|2008|pp=122–127}}{{sfn|Pandharipande|2008|pp=419–423}}

The [[Nagari script]] has been the ''[[primus inter pares]]'' of the traditional South Asian scripts.<ref name=george>{{cite book |first1=George |last1=Cardona |first2=Dhanesh |last2=Jain |date=2003 |title=The Indo-Aryan Languages |publisher=Routledge |pages=75–77 |isbn=978-0-415-77294-5}}</ref> The [[Devanagari]] script is used for over 120 South Asian languages,<ref name=devasilusa>[http://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=script_detail&key=Deva Devanagari (Nagari)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702003440/http://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=script_detail&key=Deva |date=2 July 2017 }}, Script Features and Description, [[SIL International]] (2013), United States</ref> including [[Hindi]],<ref>[http://www.omniglot.com/writing/hindi.htm Hindi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528075558/http://www.omniglot.com/writing/hindi.htm |date=28 May 2012 }}, Omniglot Encyclopedia of Writing Systems and Languages</ref> [[Marathi language|Marathi]], [[Nepali language|Nepali]], [[Pali]], [[Konkani language|Konkani]], [[Bodo language|Bodo]], [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]], and [[Maithili language|Maithili]] among other languages and dialects, making it one of the most used and [[List of writing systems by adoption|adopted writing systems]] in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/devanagari.htm|title=Devanagari script|publisher=Omniglot|first=David|last=Templin|access-date=5 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401062015/http://www.omniglot.com/language/articles/devanagari.htm|archive-date=1 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The Devanagari script is also used for classical Sanskrit texts.<ref name=devasilusa/>

The largest spoken language in this region is [[Hindustani language]], followed by Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, and Punjabi.{{sfn|Bhatia|2008|pp=122–127}}{{sfn|Pandharipande|2008|pp=419–423}} In the modern era, new syncretic languages developed in the region such as [[Urdu]] that are used by the Muslim community of [[northern South Asia]] (particularly Pakistan and northern states of India).<ref>
Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (2008), [http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/srf/srf_symcretism_2008.pdf Urdu Literary Culture: The Syncretic Tradition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026133552/http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/srf/srf_symcretism_2008.pdf |date=26 October 2012 }}, Shibli Academy, Azamgarh</ref> The Punjabi language spans three religions: Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism. The spoken language is similar, but it is written in three scripts. The [[Sikhs|Sikh]] use [[Gurmukhi alphabet]], [[Muslim Punjabi]]s in [[Pakistan]] use the [[Nastaliq script]], while [[Hindu Punjabi]]s in India use the [[Gurmukhi]] or [[Nāgarī script]]. The Gurmukhi and Nāgarī scripts are distinct but close in their structure, but the Persian Nastaliq script is very different.<ref name="Bright1996p395">{{cite book|first1=Peter T.|last1=Daniels|first2=William|last2=Bright|title=The World's Writing Systems |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ospMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA395 |year=1996|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-507993-7|page=395}}</ref>

[[Sino-Tibetan]] languages are spoken across northern belts of the region in the [[Himalayas|Himalayan]] areas, often using the [[Tibetan script]].<ref name="BRILL">{{cite book |last1=Zielser |first1=B |last2=Turin |first2=M |title=Himalayan Languages and Linguistics: Studies in Phonology, Semantics, Morphology and Syntax |date=21 April 2011 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-19448-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5MoDCJP3VPUC |access-date=19 February 2023}}</ref> These languages are predominantly spoken in Bhutan and Nepal as well as parts of Burma and northern India in the state of [[Sikkim]] and the [[Ladakh]] region.<ref name="Walter de Gruyter">{{cite book |last1=Saxena |first1=A |title=Himalayan Languages: Past and Present |date=2004 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-017841-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gdqy7PKHUXQC |access-date=12 January 2022}}</ref> The national language of Bhutan is [[Dzongkha]], while [[Lepcha language|Lepcha]], [[Limbu language|Limbu]], [[Gurung]], [[Magar language|Magar]], [[Rai languages|Rai]], [[Newar language|Newari]], [[Tamang language|Tamang]], [[Tshangla]], [[Thakali language|Thakali]], and [[Sikkimese language|Sikkimese]] are also spoken in Bhutan, Nepal and Sikkim, and [[Ladakhi language|Ladakhi]] is spoken in Ladakh.<ref name="Walter de Gruyter"/> Both [[Buddhism]] and [[Bon]] are often predominant in areas where these languages are present.<ref name="Walter de Gruyter"/><ref name="BRILL"/> Some areas in [[Gilgit-Baltistan]] also speak [[Balti language]], however speakers write with the [[Urdu alphabet|Urdu script]].<ref name="BRILL"/> The Tibetan script fell out of use in Pakistani [[Baltistan]] hundreds of years ago upon the region's adoption of [[Islam]].<ref name="BRILL"/>

English, with British spelling, is commonly used in urban areas and is a major economic [[lingua franca]] of South Asia (see also [[South Asian English]]).{{sfn|Bhatia|Baumgardner|2008|pp=391–394}}

===Religions===
{{Main|Religion in South Asia}}

{{Further|Religion in Bangladesh|Religion in Bhutan|Religion in India|Religion in Nepal|Religion in Pakistan|Religion in Sri Lanka}}[[File:Religious Diversity in South Asia (2).png|thumb|Religious Diversity in South Asia by National Subdivision]]
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Religion in British India 1871–1872 Census (includes modern-day India, Bangladesh, most of Pakistan and coastal Myanmar)<ref>{{cite journal| url = https://www.jstor.org/stable/2339124 | title = The Census of British India of 1871–72 | journal = Journal of the Statistical Society of London | publisher = Journal of the Statistical Society of London Vol. 39, No. 2 | pages = 413 | date = June 1876| volume = 39 | issue = 2 | jstor = 2339124 }}</ref>
|label1 = [[Hinduism]]
|value1 = 73.07
|color1 = darkorange
|label2 = [[Islam]]
|value2 = 21.45
|color2 = green
|label3 = [[Buddhism and Jainism]]
|value3 = 1.49
|color3 = gold
|label4 = [[Sikhism]]
|value4 = 0.62
|color4 = chartreuse
|label5 = [[Christianity]]
|value5 = 0.47
|color5 = blue
|label6 = Others
|value6 = 2.68
|color6 = Magenta
|label7 = Religion not known
|value7 = 0.22
|color7 = black
}}

In 2010, South Asia had the world's largest population of [[Hindus]],<ref name="pewforum.org" /> about 510 million [[Muslims]],<ref name="pewforum.org" /> over 27 million Sikhs, 35 million Christians and over 25 million [[Buddhists]].<ref name="Pew Research 2012" /> Hindus make up about 68 per cent or about 900 million and Muslims at 31 per cent or 510 million of the overall South Asia population,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/future-of-the-global-muslim-population-regional-asia|title=Region: South Asia|access-date=1 January 2017|date=27 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229210603/http://www.pewforum.org/2011/01/27/future-of-the-global-muslim-population-regional-asia/|archive-date=29 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> while Buddhists, Jains, Christians, and Sikhs constitute most of the rest. The Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, and Christians are concentrated in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan, while the Muslims are concentrated in Afghanistan (99%), Bangladesh (90%), Pakistan (96%), and Maldives (100%).<ref name="pewforum.org" /> With all major religions practised in the subcontinent, South Asia is known for its religious diversity and one of the most religiously diverse regions on earth.

[[Indian religions]] are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent; namely [[Hinduism]], [[Jainism]], [[Buddhism]], and [[Sikhism]].<ref name = EB>Adams, C. J., [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-38030/classification-of-religions Classification of religions: Geographical] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214003036/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-38030/classification-of-religions |date=14 December 2007 }}, [[Encyclopædia Britannica]], 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2010; Quote: "Indian religions, including early Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, and sometimes also Theravāda Buddhism and the Hindu- and Buddhist-inspired religions of South and Southeast Asia".</ref> The Indian religions are distinct yet share terminology, concepts, goals and ideas, and from South Asia spread into East Asia and southeast Asia.<ref name="EB"/> Early Christianity and Islam were introduced into coastal regions of South Asia by merchants who settled among the local populations. Later [[Sindh]], [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan]], and parts of the [[Punjab region]] saw conquest by the [[Ummayad|Arab caliphates]] along with an influx of Muslims from Persia and Central Asia, which resulted in spread of both Shia and Sunni Islam in parts of northwestern region of South Asia. Subsequently, under the influence of Muslim rulers of the Islamic sultanates and the Mughal Empire, Islam spread in South Asia.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Alberts |editor1-first=Tara |editor2-last=Irving |editor2-first=D. R. M. |title=Intercultural Exchange in Southeast Asia: History and Society in the Early Modern World |date=2013 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-0-85772-283-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Lisa|last=Balabanlilar|title=Imperial Identity in Mughal Empire: Memory and Dynastic Politics in Early Modern Central Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PS6PrH3rtkC|year=2012|publisher=I.B. Tauris|isbn=978-1-84885-726-1|pages=1–2, 7–10|access-date=27 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610154458/https://books.google.com/books?id=7PS6PrH3rtkC|archive-date=10 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> About [[Islam in South Asia|one-third of the world's Muslims are from South Asia]].{{sfn|Ruffle|2013|p=193}}<ref name="pew2Apr2015">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/muslims/pf_15-04-02_projectionstables74/|title=10 Countries With the Largest Muslim Populations, 2010 and 2050|date=2 April 2015|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|access-date=7 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207115222/http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/muslims/pf_15-04-02_projectionstables74/|archive-date=7 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="dip8Jan2016">{{Cite magazine |last=Pillalamarri |first=Akhilesh |date=8 January 2016 |title=How South Asia Will Save Global Islam |url=https://thediplomat.com/2016/01/how-south-asia-will-save-global-islam/ |magazine=The Diplomat |access-date=7 February 2017 |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208040252/https://thediplomat.com/2016/01/how-south-asia-will-save-global-islam/ |archive-date=8 February 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! rowspan = "2" | Country
! rowspan = "2" | State religion
! colspan="8" |Religious population as a percentage of total population
|-
! [[Buddhism]]
! Christianity
! [[Hinduism]]
! [[Islam]]
! [[Kiratism]]
! [[Sikhism]]
! Others
! Year reported
|-
| {{flag+link|Religion in|AFG}}
| Islam
| –
| –
| –
| [[Islam in Afghanistan|99.7%]]
| –
| –
| 0.3%
| 2019<ref name="AfgCIA">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/afghanistan/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104184342/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/afghanistan/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 January 2021 |title=CIA The World Factbook – Afghanistan |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |access-date=27 March 2012 }}</ref>
|-
| {{flag+link|Religion in|BGD}}
| Islam
| [[Buddhism in Bangladesh|0.6%]]
| [[Christianity in Bangladesh|0.4%]]
| [[Hinduism in Bangladesh|9.5%]]
| [[Islam in Bangladesh|90.4%]]
| –
| –
| –
| 2011<ref name="বাংলাদেশ">{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/256513.pdf |script-title=bn:জানুন |language=bn |trans-title=Bangladesh |publisher=US department of States |access-date=16 October 2019 }}</ref>
|-
| {{flag+link|Religion in|BHU}}
| [[Vajrayana]] Buddhism
| [[Buddhism in Bhutan|74.8%]]
| [[Christianity in Bhutan|0.5%]]
| [[Hinduism in Bhutan|22.6%]]
| 0.1%
| –
| –
| 2%
| 2010<ref name="IndCIA">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bhutan/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111035155/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bhutan |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 January 2021 |title=CIA The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |access-date=27 March 2012 }}</ref><ref name="pew2010">[http://www.pewforum.org/files/2012/12/globalReligion-tables.pdf Pew Research Center – Global Religious Landscape 2010 – religious composition by country] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213072625/http://www.pewforum.org/files/2012/12/globalReligion-tables.pdf |date=13 December 2016 }}.</ref>
|-
| {{flag+link|Religion in|IND}}
| {{N/A}}
| [[Buddhism in India|0.7%]]
| [[Christianity in India|2.3%]]
| [[Hinduism in India|79.8%]]
| [[Islam in India|14.2%]]
| –
| [[Sikhism in India|1.7%]]
| 1.3%
| 2011<ref name="Census2011religion">{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS |title=C −1 Population by religious community – 2011 |publisher=[[Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner]] |access-date=25 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150825155850/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS |archive-date=25 August 2015}}</ref><ref>Ahmadiyyas are considered a sect of Islam in India. Other minorities are 0.4 [[Jainism|Jains]] and 0.23% irreligious population.</ref>
|-
| {{flag+link|Religion in the|Maldives}}
| Islam
| –
| –
| –
| [[Islam in Maldives|100%]]
| –
| –
| –
|<ref name="MdvCIA">{{cite web |url=http://www.themaldives.com/Maldives/Maldives_Religion.htm |title=religion |publisher=Maldives |access-date=23 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928220750/http://www.themaldives.com/Maldives/Maldives_Religion.htm |archive-date=28 September 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=EmoryLaw>{{cite web |url=http://www.law.emory.edu/ifl/legal/maldives.htm |title=Maldives |publisher=Law.emory.edu |date=21 February 1920 |access-date=23 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130211221153/http://www.law.emory.edu/ifl/legal/maldives.htm |archive-date=11 February 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>
[http://countrystudies.us/maldives/7.htm Maldives – Religion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207024431/http://countrystudies.us/maldives/7.htm |date=7 December 2010 }}, ''countrystudies.us''
</ref>
|-
| {{flag+link|Religion in|NEP}}
| {{N/A}}
| [[Buddhism in Nepal|8.21%]]
| [[Christianity in Nepal|1.76%]]
| [[Hinduism in Nepal|81.2%]]
| [[Islam in Nepal|5.09%]]
| 3.17%
| –
| 0.57%
| 2021<ref>{{cite book|title=National Population and Housing Census 2021|date=2021|publisher=National Statistics Office|location=Kathmandu|page=29|url=https://censusnepal.cbs.gov.np/results/files/result-folder/Caste%20Ethnicity_report_NPHC_2021.pdf|access-date=23 August 2025}}</ref>
|-
| {{flag+link|Religion in|PAK}}
| Islam
| –
| [[Christianity in Pakistan|1.59%]]
| [[Hinduism in Pakistan|1.85%]]
| [[Islam in Pakistan|96.28%]]
| –
| –
| 0.07%
| 2010<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Population by Religion|url=http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//tables/POPULATION%20BY%20RELIGION.pdf|journal=Pakistan Burau of Statistics, Government of Pakistan|pages=1|access-date=3 October 2022|archive-date=29 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329204115/http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/tables/POPULATION%20BY%20RELIGION.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| {{flag+link|Religion in|Sri Lanka}}
| [[Theravada]] Buddhism
| [[Buddhism in Sri Lanka|70.2%]]
| [[Christianity in Sri Lanka|6.2%]]
| [[Hinduism in Sri Lanka|12.6%]]
| [[Islam in Sri Lanka|9.7%]]
| –
| –
| 1.4%
| 2011<ref name="2011census">{{cite web |title=Census of Population and Housing 2011 |url=http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/index.php?fileName=SriLanka&gp=Activities&tpl=3 |publisher=Department of Census and Statistic |access-date=16 October 2019 |archive-date=6 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200106095548/http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/CPH2011/index.php?fileName=SriLanka&gp=Activities&tpl=3 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|}

===Largest urban areas===
{{Update section|date=February 2026}}
South Asia is home to some of the most populated urban areas in the world. According to the 2023 edition of ''Demographia World Urban Areas'', the region contains 8 of the world's 35 megacities (urban areas over 10 million population):<ref name="demographia1">{{cite web |url=http://www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf |title=Demographia World Urban Areas |last=Cox |first=Wendell |author-link=Wendell Cox |date=June 2020 |publisher=[[Demographia]] |access-date=28 March 2021}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left"
! Rank
! Urban Area
! State/Province
! Country
! class="unsortable" | Skyline
! Population<ref name="demographia1" />
! Area (km2)<ref name="demographia1"/>
! Density (/km2)<ref name="demographia1"/>
|-
||1||[[Delhi]]
|[[National Capital Region (India)|National Capital Region]]||{{Country|India}}||[[File:Skyline of Cannaught Place, New Delhi.jpg|center|100x100px]]||31,190,000||2,344||13,307
|-
||2||[[Mumbai]]
|[[Maharashtra]]||{{Country|India}}||[[File:R16f3ncq53gc1.jpg|center|100x100px]]||25,189,000||1,046||24,073
|-
||3||[[Kolkata]]
|[[West Bengal]]|||{{Country|India}}|| ||21,747,000 ||1,352 ||16,085
|-
||4||[[Karachi]]
|[[Sindh]]||{{Country|Pakistan}}||[[File:Sadar Neighborhood Karachi.jpg|center|100x100px]]||20,249,000 ||1,124 ||18,014
|-
||5||[[Dhaka]]
|[[Dhaka Division]]||{{Country|Bangladesh}}||[[File:Dhaka Skyline at Night.jpg|center|100x100px]] |||19,134,000||619||30,911
|-
||6||[[Bangalore]]
|[[Karnataka]]||{{Country|India}}||[[File:Ubcity2.jpg|center|100x100px]]||15,257,000||1,743||8,753
|-
||7||[[Lahore]]
|[[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]]||{{Country|Pakistan}}||[[File:Eye Of Lahore (Minar e Pakistan) evening.jpg|center|100x100px]]||13,504,000||945||14,285
|-
||8||[[Chennai]]
|[[Tamil Nadu]]||{{Country|India}}||[[File:Chennai skyline.JPG|center|100x100px]]||11,570,000||1,225||9,444
|-
||9||[[Hyderabad]]
|[[Telangana]]||{{Country|India}}||[[File:High Rise buildings in Madhapur from Golkonda hill.jpg|center|100x100px]]||9,797,000 ||1,689||5,802
|-
||10||[[Ahmedabad]]
|[[Gujarat]]||{{Country|India}}||[[File:SG Highway Skyline.jpg|center|100x100px]]||8,006,000||505||15,852
|}

=== Migration ===
{{See also|Immigration to Bangladesh|Immigration to India|Immigration to Pakistan}}
[[Peopling of India|Ancient migrations into South Asia]] shaped the region's unique demographics, and later migrations often corresponded with conquest, as with the [[Britons in India|British diaspora in India]].

Contemporary immigration to South Asian countries often takes a uniquely regional form; for example, most [[Immigration to India|migrants in India]] are from other South Asian countries,<ref>[https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/india-migration-country-profile Origins of World's Largest Migrant Population, India Seeks to Leverage Immigration] [[Migration Policy Institute]]</ref> and 97% of [[Bangladeshis in India|Bangladeshi migrants in India]] live in the Bangladesh-bordering regions of India ([[East India]] and [[Northeast India]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nanda |first=Aswini Kumar |date=December 2005 |title=Immigration from Bangladesh to India Based on Census Data |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/011719680501400405 |journal=Asian and Pacific Migration Journal |language=en |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=487–499 |doi=10.1177/011719680501400405 |issn=0117-1968|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==== Diaspora ====
{{Excerpt|South Asian diaspora|paragraphs=1|files=0}}

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of South Asia}}

{{See also|:Category:Culture of South Asia}}

===Sports===
{{Main|Sport in South Asia|South Asian physical culture}}

[[File:Cricket in Kunar Province.jpg|thumb|196x196px|An [[Afghan soldier]] playing cricket. Afghan refugees who lived in Pakistan and India brought the sport back to Afghanistan, and it is now one of the most popular sports in the country.<ref name=":3" />]]

[[Field hockey]] has been the official national sport of many South Asian nations, additionally these countries collectively claim the majority of medals in [[field hockey at the Summer Olympics]]. However, [[cricket]] is the [[Cricket in South Asia|most popular sport]] in South Asia,<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 December 2006 |title=South Asia's cricket obsession |work=BBC News |language=en-GB |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6171549.stm |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> with 90% of the sport's worldwide fans being in the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{Cite news |title=India constitutes 90 percent of one billion cricket fans: ICC research |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/sports/india-constitutes-90-percent-of-one-billion-cricket-fans-icc-research/articleshow/64760726.cms |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref> There are also [[Traditional games of South Asia|traditional games]], such as [[kabaddi]] and [[kho-kho]], which are played across the region and officially at the [[South Asian Games]] and [[Asian Games]];<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 October 2016 |title=Indian Traditional Games for Children, Traditional Games of Tamilnadu for Kids, Old Ancient Tamil Games of Tamil Nadu |url=https://www.parentcircle.com/9-indian-traditional-games-for-children/article |access-date=4 November 2022 |website=ParentCircle |language=en-gb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=OCA » Ancient tag game of kho kho catching on fast |url=https://ocasia.org/news/231-ancient-tag-game-of-kho-kho-catching-on-fast.html |access-date=4 November 2022 |website=ocasia.org |archive-date=4 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104231940/https://ocasia.org/news/231-ancient-tag-game-of-kho-kho-catching-on-fast.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[https://olympics.com/en/news/kabaddi-asian-games-history-winners-champions-list Kabaddi at Asian Games: Indian men and women rule the roost] https://olympics.com/ Rahul Venkat</ref> the leagues created for these traditional sports (such as [[Pro Kabaddi League]] and [[Ultimate Kho Kho]]) are some of the most-watched sports competitions in the region.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Khosla |first=Varuni |date=17 January 2023 |title=Ultimate Kho Kho S1 claims total reach of 41 million viewers from India |language=en |work=mint |url=https://www.livemint.com/sports/news/ultimate-kho-kho-s1-claims-total-reach-of-41-million-viewers-from-india-11673930091871.html |url-status=live |access-date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119051136/https://www.livemint.com/sports/news/ultimate-kho-kho-s1-claims-total-reach-of-41-million-viewers-from-india-11673930091871.html |archive-date=19 January 2023 |quote="He also said that UKK is now among the top-5 non-cricketing leagues in India, after Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) and Indian Super League being the first two..."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Taneja |first=Nidhima |date=27 January 2023 |title=Pro kabaddi, kho-kho leagues chase IPL viewership. India rediscovering regional sports |language=en-US |work=ThePrint |url=https://theprint.in/feature/pro-kabaddi-kho-kho-leagues-chase-ipl-viewership-india-rediscovering-regional-sports/1337725/ |access-date=8 August 2023}}</ref>

===Cinema===
{{Excerpt|South Asian cinema|paragraphs=2|files=0|templates=0|references=0}}

===Music===
{{Main|Music of South Asia}}

===Cuisine===
{{Main|South Asian cuisine}}

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of South Asia}}

{{Further|Economy of Afghanistan|Economy of Bangladesh|Economy of Bhutan|Economy of India|Economy of the Maldives|Economy of Nepal|Economy of Pakistan|Economy of Sri Lanka}}
[[File:BackBay skyline.jpg|thumb|Mumbai is the financial capital of India with GDP of $400 billion<ref>{{Cite news |title=India needs its own $1 trillion states; Is Mumbai the answer? |work=Financial Express |language=en |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/india-needs-its-own-1-trillion-states-is-mumbai-the-answer/1540497/ |access-date=24 January 2022}}</ref>|right|upright=1.25]]
[[File:GDP per capita development in South Asia.png|thumb|GDP per capita development in South Asia from 1950 to 2022]]

India is the largest economy in the region (US$4.18 trillion) and makes up almost 82% of the South Asian economy; it is the [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|world's 4th largest]] in nominal terms and the [[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|world's 3rd largest]] by purchasing power adjusted exchange rates (US$17.64 trillion).<ref name="IMF">{{cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2018/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=82&pr.y=15&sy=2017&ey=2018&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=subject&ds=.&br=1&c=512%2C556%2C513%2C514%2C558%2C564%2C524%2C534&s=NGDPD%2CPPPGDP&grp=0&a=|title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects|website=International Monetary Fund}} Outlook Database, October 2018</ref> India is the member of [[G-20 major economies]] and [[BRICS]] from the region. It is the fastest-growing major economy in the world and one of the world's fastest registering a growth of 7.2% in FY 2022–23.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dhoot |first=Vikas |date=31 May 2023 |title=India's GDP expanded 6.1% in 2022-23's last quarter |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/gdp-grows-61-in-march-quarter-72-in-fy23/article66915856.ece |access-date=1 September 2023 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

India is followed by Bangladesh, which has a GDP of ($446 billion). It has the fastest GDP growth rate in Asia. It is one of the emerging and growth-leading economies of the world, and is also listed among the [[Jim O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of Gatley#Next Eleven|Next Eleven]] countries. It is also one of the fastest-growing middle-income countries. It has the [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|world's 33rd largest]] GDP in nominal terms and is the [[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|25th largest]] by purchasing power adjusted exchange rates ($1.476 trillion). Bangladesh's economic growth was 6.4% in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ventura |first=Luca |date=18 July 2023 |title=Global Finance Magazine – Countries with Highest GDP Growth 2022 |url=https://www.gfmag.com/global-data/economic-data/countries-highest-gdp-growth |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=Global Finance Magazine |language=en}}</ref> The next one is Pakistan, which has an economy of ($340 billion). Next is [[Sri Lanka]], which has the 2nd highest GDP per capita and the 4th largest economy in the region. According to a [[World Bank]] report in 2015, driven by a strong expansion in India, coupled with favourable oil prices, from the last quarter of 2014 South Asia became the fastest-growing region in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2015/04/13/south-asia-cheap-oil-reform-energy-pricing|title=South Asia, now the fastest-growing region in the world, could take greater advantage of cheap oil to reform energy pricing|access-date=16 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417182523/http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2015/04/13/south-asia-cheap-oil-reform-energy-pricing|archive-date=17 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

While [[Economy of East Asia|in East Asia]], regional trade accounts for 50% of total trade, it accounts for only a little more than 5% in South Asia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 October 2018 |title=Realizing the Promise of Regional Trade in South Asia |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/10/09/realizing-the-promise-of-regional-trade-in-south-asia |access-date=23 October 2019 |publisher=[[World Bank]]}}</ref> Certain parts of South Asia are significantly wealthier than others; the four Indian states of [[Maharashtra]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Gujarat]], and [[Karnataka]] are projected to account for almost 50% of India's GDP by 2030, while the five [[South India|South Indian states]] comprising 20% of India's population are expected to contribute 35% of India's GDP by 2030.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 June 2023 |title=Southern states to contribute 35% of India's $7 trillion economy by 2030 |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/southern-states-to-contribute-35-of-indias-7tn-economy-by-2030/articleshow/100862819.cms |access-date=6 September 2023 |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:#ececec;"
! rowspan="2" |Country <ref name="CIA Names" /><ref name="UN_Names" /><ref name="Europa" />
! colspan="5" |GDP
! rowspan="2" |Inflation
! colspan="2" |HDI
|-
! data-sort-type="number" | [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|Nominal GDP]] (million US$) (2025)<ref>{{cite web |date=22 April 2025 |title=WEO Database, April 2025. Report for Selected Countries and Subjects: World, European Union |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2025/April|access-date=22 October 2024 |website=IMF.org |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]]}}</ref>
! [[List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita|GDP per capita]] (2025)
! [[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|GDP (PPP)]] (in millions) (2025)
! [[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|GDP (PPP) per capita]] (2025)
! [[Economic growth|GDP growth]] (2025)
! [[Human Development Index|HDI]] ([[List of countries by Human Development Index|Rank]]) (2025)
! [[List of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI|Inequality-adjusted HDI]] ([[List of countries by inequality-adjusted Human Development Index|Rank]]) (2025)
|-
|{{Country|Afghanistan }}
| align="right" |17,152 (2023)
| align="right" |''$409 (2023)''
| align="right" |''$72,512 (2022) (0.33)''
| align="right" |''$2,093 (2022)''
| align="right" |''2.3% (2023)''
| align="right" |''5.6% (2020)''
| align="right" |{{Increase}}0.496 ([[List of countries by Human Development Index|181nd]]) (''low'')
| align="right" |{{Increase}}0.321 ([[List of countries by inequality-adjusted Human Development Index|156th]]) (''low'')
|-
|{{Country|Bangladesh}}
| align="right" |467,218
| align="right" |$2,689
| align="right" |$1,783,420 (8.20%)
| align="right" |$10,265
| align="right" |3.9%
| align="right" |8.48%
| align="right" |{{Increase}}0.685 ([[List of countries by Human Development Index|130th]]) (''medium'')
| align="right" |{{Increase}}0.482 ([[List of countries by inequality-adjusted Human Development Index|113th]]) (''low'')
|-
|{{Country|Bhutan}}
| align="right" |3,422
| align="right" |$4,302
| align="right" |$14,106 (0.06%)
| align="right" |$17,735
| align="right" |8.5%
| align="right" |3.8%
| align="right" |{{Increase}}0.698 ([[List of countries by Human Development Index|125th]]) (''medium'')
| align="right" |{{Increase}}0.478 ([[List of countries by inequality-adjusted Human Development Index|115th]]) (''low'')
|-
|{{Country|India}}
| align="right" |4,187,017
| align="right" |$2,878
| align="right" |$17,647,050 (81.22%)
| align="right" |$12,132
| align="right" |6.5%
| align="right" |2.10%
| align="right" |{{Increase}}0.685 ([[List of countries by Human Development Index|130th]]) (''medium'')
| align="right" |{{Increase}}0.475 ([[List of countries by inequality-adjusted Human Development Index|120th]]) (''low'')
|-
|{{Country|Maldives}}
| align="right" |7,480
| align="right" |$18,207
| align="right" |$15,030 (0.07%)
| align="right" |$36,585
| align="right" |4.5%
| align="right" |4.6%
| align="right" |{{Increase}}0.766 ([[List of countries by Human Development Index|93rd]]) (''high'')
| align="right" |{{Increase}}0.602 ([[List of countries by inequality-adjusted Human Development Index|88th]]) (''medium'')
|-
|{{Country|Nepal}}
| align="right" |46,080
| align="right" |$1,458
| align="right" |$180,640 (0.83%)
| align="right" |$6,140
| align="right" |4.5%
| align="right" |5.0%
| align="right" |{{Increase}}0.622 ([[List of countries by Human Development Index|145th]]) (''medium'')
| align="right" |{{Increase}}0.437([[List of countries by inequality-adjusted Human Development Index|126st]]) (''low'')
|-
|{{Country|Pakistan}}
| align="right" |373,072 (2024)
| align="right" |$1,484 (2024)
| align="right" |$1,671,868 (7.69%)
| align="right" |$6,951
| align="right" |2.7%
| align="right" |7.5%
| align="right" |{{Increase}}0.544 ([[List of countries by Human Development Index|168th]]) (''low'')
| align="right" |{{Increase}}0.364([[List of countries by inequality-adjusted Human Development Index|138th]]) (''low'')
|-
|{{Country|Sri Lanka}}
| align="right" |98,963 (2024)
| align="right" |$4,325 (2024)
| align="right" |$342,604 (2024) (1.57%)
| align="right" |$14,455 (2023)
| align="right" |3.5%
| align="right" |-0.7%
| align="right" |{{Increase}}0.776 ([[List of countries by Human Development Index|89th]]) (''high'')
| align="right" |{{Increase}}0.630 ([[List of countries by inequality-adjusted Human Development Index|80th]]) (''medium'')
|-
!'''South Asia'''<ref>Individual country percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding. Afghanistan not included in 2022 totals due to year mismatch. World Economic Outlook also does not count Afghanistan in the South Asia subtotals.</ref>
! ''' 5,200,404 (100%)'''
! '''$2,632'''
! '''$21,727,230 (100%)'''
! '''$11,045'''
! '''-'''
! '''-'''
! {{Increase}}0.672 (''medium'')
!-
|}

=== Poverty ===
According to the World Bank's 2011 report, based on 2005 ICP PPP, about 24.6% of the South Asian population was below the international poverty line of $1.25/day.<ref>{{cite web |title=Poverty & Equity Data Portal |url=http://povertydata.worldbank.org/poverty/region/SAS |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215193607/http://povertydata.worldbank.org/poverty/region/SAS |archive-date=15 February 2015 |access-date=6 June 2015 |publisher=World Bank}}</ref> Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka had the lowest number of people below the poverty line, with 2.4%, 1.5% and 4.1% respectively.

According to the 2023 MPI (multidimensional poverty index) report by the UN, around 20% of South Asians are poor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=25 Countries Halved Multidimensional Poverty Within 15 Years, but 1.1 Billion Remain Poor {{!}} United Nations Development Programme |url=https://www.undp.org/press-releases/25-countries-halved-multidimensional-poverty-within-15-years-11-billion-remain-poor |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=UNDP |language=en}}</ref>

51.7% of Afghanistan's population was under the MPI poverty threshold in 2019,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Half of Afghans suffer from multidimensional poverty: gov't |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-03/31/c_137938494.htm |access-date=1 September 2023 |work=Xinhua News Agency}}</ref> while 24.1% of Bangladesh's population was under the threshold in 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 December 2021 |title=24.1% Bangladeshis multidimensionally poor: Report |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/241-bangladeshis-multidimensionally-poor-report-340777 |access-date=1 September 2023 |work=The Business Standard |language=en}}</ref> India lifted 415 million people from MPI-poverty from 2005/06 to 2019/21; 16.4% of India's population was MPI-poor in 2019/2021, compared to 55.1% in 2005/2006.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=11 July 2023 |title=UN praises 'remarkable' India as 415 million exit poverty levels in 15 years |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-poverty-levels-415-million-15-years-united-nations-101689054752864.html |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref> 10% of India's population was under the international poverty line of $2.15/day in 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kumar |first=Manoj |date=17 July 2023 |title=One-tenth of India's population escaped poverty in 5 years – government report |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/india/one-tenth-indias-population-escaped-poverty-5-years-government-report-2023-07-17/ |access-date=1 September 2023}}</ref>

{{sort under}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sort-under"
! rowspan="2" |Country <ref name="CIA Names">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2142.html |title=Field Listing :: Names |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |access-date=28 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701201536/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2142.html |archive-date=1 July 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="UN_Names">{{cite web |url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/9th-uncsgn-docs/UNGEGN%20WG%20Country%20Names%20Document%20-%20August%202009.pdf |title=UNGEGN List of Country Names |publisher=United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names |year=2007 |access-date=28 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728144159/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/9th-uncsgn-docs/UNGEGN%20WG%20Country%20Names%20Document%20-%20August%202009.pdf |archive-date=28 July 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Europa">{{cite web |url=http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-5000500.htm#fn-tw1 |title=List of countries, territories and currencies |publisher=Europa |date=9 August 2011 |access-date=10 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807122658/http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-5000500.htm#fn-tw1 |archive-date=7 August 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>
! colspan="4" |[[List of countries by percentage of population living in poverty|Population below poverty line]] (at $1.9/day)
! rowspan="2" |[[Global Hunger Index]] (2021)<ref name="Archived copy">{{cite web |url=https://www.globalhungerindex.org/ranking.html |title=Global Hunger Index Scores by 2021 GHI Rank |website=Global Hunger Index |access-date=2 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225183607/https://www.globalhungerindex.org/ranking.html |archive-date=25 February 2022 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
! rowspan="2" |Population under-nourished (2015)<ref name="fao.org">{{cite web|title=Regional Overview of Food Insecurity Asia and the Pacific - Towards a Food Secure Asia and the Pacific |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |year=2015 |url=http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4624e.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924011158/http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4624e.pdf|archive-date=24 September 2015|access-date=3 June 2015}}</ref>
! rowspan="2" |[[Life expectancy]] (2023) (global rank)
! colspan="3" |Global wealth report (2019)<ref name="CS 2019-1">{{Cite web|title=Global wealth report|url=https://www.credit-suisse.com/about-us/en/reports-research/global-wealth-report.html|access-date=25 October 2019|website=[[Credit Suisse]]|date=October 2019}}</ref><ref name="CS 2019-2">{{Cite web|title=Global wealth report 2019|url=https://www.credit-suisse.com/media/assets/corporate/docs/about-us/research/publications/global-wealth-report-2019-en.pdf|access-date=25 October 2019|website=[[Credit Suisse]]}}</ref><ref name="CS 2019-3">{{Cite web|title=Global wealth databook 2019|url=https://www.credit-suisse.com/media/assets/corporate/docs/about-us/research/publications/global-wealth-databook-2019.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191023104250/https://www.credit-suisse.com/media/assets/corporate/docs/about-us/research/publications/global-wealth-databook-2019.pdf|archive-date=23 October 2019|access-date=25 October 2019|website=[[Credit Suisse]]|date=October 2019}}</ref>
|- style="background:#ececec;"
! [[World Bank]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population) {{!}} Data|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.NAHC?locations=CO&view=map&year_high_desc=true|access-date=26 August 2017|publisher=World Bank}}</ref> (year)
! [[Multidimensional Poverty Index|2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index Report]] (MPI source year)<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://hdr.undp.org/content/2022-global-multidimensional-poverty-index-mpi |title=2022 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) |author=United Nations |date=17 October 2022 |publisher=United Nations |language=en}}</ref>
! Population in [[Extreme poverty]] (2022)<ref>{{Cite web|title=World Poverty Clock|url=https://worldpoverty.io/|access-date=27 February 2022|website=worldpoverty.io|language=en}}</ref>
! [[The World Factbook|CIA Factbook]] (2015)<ref name="CIA Factbook">{{cite web|title=The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2046.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151109070125/https://www.cia.gov/Library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2046.html|archive-date=9 November 2015|access-date=23 August 2016|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref>
! data-sort-type="number" | [[List of countries by total wealth|Total national wealth]] in billion USD (global rank)
! [[List of countries by wealth per adult|Wealth per adult]] in USD
! data-sort-type="number" | [[List of countries by wealth per adult|Median wealth per adult]] in USD (global rank)
|-
|'''{{Country|Afghanistan}}'''
| align="right" |54.5% (2016)
| align="right" |55.91% (2015–16)
| align="right" |18%
| align="right" |36%
| align="right" |28.3 (103rd)
| align="right" |26.8%
| align="right" |66.03 (178th)
| align="right" |25 (116th)
| align="right" |1,463
| align="right" |640 (156th)
|-
|'''{{Country|Bangladesh}}'''
| align="right" |24.3% (2016)
| align="right" |24.64% (2019)
| align="right" |4%
| align="right" |31.5%
| align="right" |19.1 (76th)
| align="right" |16.4%
| align="right" |74.67 (105th)
| align="right" |697 (44th)
| align="right" |6,643
| align="right" |2,787 (117th)
|-
|'''{{Country|Bhutan}}'''
| align="right" |8.2% (2017)
| align="right" |37.34% (2010)
| align="right" |4%
| align="right" |12%
| align="right" |No data
| align="right" |No data
| align="right" |72.97 (120th)
| align="right" |No Data
| align="right" |No Data
| align="right" |No Data
|-
|'''{{Country|India}}'''
| align="right" |21.9% (2011)
| align="right" |16.4% (2019–21)
| align="right" |3%
| align="right" |29.8%
| align="right" |27.5 (101st)
| align="right" |15.2%
| align="right" |72.00 (131st)
| align="right" |12,614 (7th)
| align="right" |14,569
| align="right" |3,042 (115th)
|-
|'''{{Country|Maldives}}'''
| align="right" |8.2% (2016)
| align="right" |0.77% (2016–17)
| align="right" |4%
| align="right" |16%
| align="right" |No data
| align="right" |5.2%
| align="right" |81.04 (43rd)
| align="right" |7 (142nd)
| align="right" |23,297
| align="right" |8,555 (74th)
|-
|'''{{Country|Nepal}}'''
| align="right" |25.2% (2010)
| align="right" |17.50% (2019)
| align="right" |8%
| align="right" |25.2%
| align="right" |19.1 (76th)
| align="right" |7.8%
| align="right" |70.35 (146th)
| align="right" |68 (94th)
| align="right" |3,870
| align="right" |1,510 (136th)
|-
|'''{{Country|Pakistan}}'''
| align="right" |24.3% (2015)
| align="right" |38.33% (2017–18)
| align="right" |5%
| align="right" |12.4%
| align="right" |24.7 (94th)
| align="right" |22%
| align="right" |67.65 (164th)
| align="right" |465 (49th)
| align="right" |4,096
| align="right" |1,766 (128th)
|-
|'''{{Country|Sri Lanka}}'''
| align="right" |4.1% (2016)
| align="right" |2.92% (2016)
| align="right" |5%
| align="right" |8.9%
| align="right" |16 (65th)
| align="right" |22%
| align="right" |77.48 (73rd)
| align="right" |297 (60th)
| align="right" |20,628
| align="right" |8,283 (77th)
|}

=== Stock exchanges ===
The major stock exchanges in the region are [[National Stock Exchange of India|National Stock Exchange]] (NSE) of India with market capitalisation of $5.70 trillion ([[List of stock exchanges|5th largest in the world]]), [[Bombay Stock Exchange]] (BSE) of India with market capitalisation of $5.30 trillion ([[List of stock exchanges|7th largest in the world]]), [[Dhaka Stock Exchange]] (DSE) of Bangladesh, [[Colombo Stock Exchange]] (CSE) of Sri Lanka, and [[Pakistan Stock Exchange]] (PSX) with market capitalisation of $72 billion.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.psx.com.pk/ |title=Company Profile |website=Pakistan Stock Exchange |access-date=30 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630185944/https://www.psx.com.pk/ |archive-date=30 June 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Economic data is sourced from the [[International Monetary Fund]], current as of April 2017, and is given in US dollars.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2015/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=83&pr.y=16&sy=2015&ey=2015&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=193,273,223,156,924,922,132,184,134,534,536,136,158,112,111,542&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP&grp=0&a=|title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects|website=International Monetary Fund|access-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010173821/http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2015/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=83&pr.y=16&sy=2015&ey=2015&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=193%2C273%2C223%2C156%2C924%2C922%2C132%2C184%2C134%2C534%2C536%2C136%2C158%2C112%2C111%2C542&s=NGDPD%2CPPPGDP&grp=0&a=|archive-date=10 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Education==
{{See also|History of education in the Indian subcontinent}}[[File:Durbar High School 6.jpg|thumb|[[Durbar High School]], oldest secondary school of [[Nepal]], established in 1854 CE]]
[[File:Sri Lanka Photo159.jpg|thumb|Lower class school in Sri Lanka]]
[[File:College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan-min.jpg|thumb|College of Natural Resources, Royal University of Bhutan]]

One of the key challenges in assessing the quality of education in South Asia is the vast range of contextual difference across the region, complicating any attempt to compare between countries.<ref name=SZ13>{{cite web |last=Brinkmann |first=Suzana |title=Improving Education Quality in South Asia (I) |url=https://www.unicef.org/rosa/media/6991/file/Improving%20Education%20Quality%20in%20South%20Asia%20(I)_30Aug_019_Web.pdf.pdf |year=2018 |publisher=UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia |location=Kathmandu |page=13}}</ref> In 2018, 11.3 million children at the primary level and 20.6 million children at the lower secondary level were out-of-school in South Asia, while millions of children completed primary education without mastering the foundational skills of basic numeracy and literacy.<ref name=ESAFS>[https://www.unicef.org/rosa/what-we-do/education#:~:text=Education%20is%20a%20basic%20human,are%20out%2Dof%2Dschool. Education: South Asia], UNICEF</ref>

According to UNESCO, 241 million children between six and fourteen years or 81 per cent of the total were not learning in Southern and Central Asia in 2017. Only sub-Saharan Africa had a higher rate of children not learning. Two-thirds of these children were in school, sitting in classrooms. Only 19% of children attending primary and lower secondary schools attain a minimum proficiency level in reading and mathematics.<ref name=MoreT>[http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/fs46-more-than-half-children-not-learning-en-2017.pdf ''More than One-Half of Children and Adolescents are not learning worldwide''], Fact Sheet No.46, UNESCO Institute for Statistics September 2017</ref><ref name=SZ3>{{cite web |last=Brinkmann |first=Suzana |title=Improving Education Quality in South Asia (I) |url=https://www.unicef.org/rosa/media/6991/file/Improving%20Education%20Quality%20in%20South%20Asia%20(I)_30Aug_019_Web.pdf.pdf |year=2018 |publisher=UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia |location=Kathmandu |page=3}}</ref> According to a citizen-led assessment, only 48% in Indian public schools and 46% of children in Pakistan public schools could read a class two level text by the time they reached class five.<ref>[http://aserpakistan.org/report ASER Pakistan] (2015). Annual Status of Education Report (Facilitated by SAFED). ASER Centre [http://www.asercentre.org//p/289.html ASER India] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200903005918/http://www.asercentre.org//p/289.html |date=3 September 2020 }} (2016). Annual Status of Education Report (Facilitated by Pratham). ASER Centre</ref><ref name=SZ3/> This poor quality of education in turn has contributed to some of the highest drop-out rates in the world, while over half of the students complete secondary school with acquiring requisite skills.<ref name=SZ3/>

In South Asia, classrooms are teacher-centred and rote-based, while children are often subjected to corporal punishment and discrimination.<ref name=ESAFS/> Different South Asian countries have different education structures. While by 2018 India and Pakistan has two of the most developed and increasingly decentralised education systems, Bangladesh still had a highly centralised system, and Nepal is in a state of transition from a centralised to a decentralised system.<ref name=SZ13/> In most South Asian countries children's education is theoretically free; the exceptions are the Maldives, where there is no constitutionally guaranteed free education, as well as Bhutan and Nepal, where fees are charged by primary schools. But parents are still faced with unmanageable secondary financial demands, including private tuition to make up for the inadequacies of the education system.<ref name=Oxfam4>[https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/120598/pi-girls%27-education-south-asia-192305-en.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y Girls' Education in South Asia], page 4, Education and Gender Equality Series, Programme Insights, Oxfam GB. February 2006</ref>

The larger and poorer countries in the region, like India and Bangladesh, struggle financially to get sufficient resources to sustain an education system required for their vast populations, with an added challenge of getting large numbers of out-of-school children enrolled into schools.<ref name=SZ13/> Their capacity to deliver inclusive and equitable quality education is limited by low levels of public finance for education,<ref name=ESAFS/> while the smaller emerging middle-income countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Bhutan have been able to achieve universal primary school completion, and are in a better position to focus on quality of education.<ref name=SZ13/>

Children's education in the region is also adversely affected by natural and human-made crises including natural hazards, political instability, rising extremism and civil strife that makes it difficult to deliver educational services.<ref name=ESAFS/> Afghanistan and India are among the top ten countries with the highest number of reported disasters due to natural hazards and conflict. The precarious security situation in Afghanistan is a big barrier in rolling out education programmes on a national scale.<ref name=SZ13/>

According to UNICEF, girls face incredible hurdles to pursue their education in the region,<ref name=ESAFS/> while UNESCO estimated in 2005 that 24 million girls of primary-school age in the region were not receiving any formal education.<ref>[https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/report/2006/literacy-life Global Monitoring Report 2006: Literacy for Life], UNESCO, Paris</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/120598/pi-girls%27-education-south-asia-192305-en.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |title=Girls' Education in South Asia |date=February 2006 |publisher=Oxfam GB |series=Education and Gender Equality Series, Programme Insights |page=1}}</ref> Between 1900 and 2005, most of the countries in the region had shown progress in girls' education with Sri Lanka and the Maldives significantly ahead of the others, while the gender gap in education has widened in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Bangladesh made the greatest progress in the region in the period increasing girls' secondary school enrolment from 13 per cent to 56 per cent in ten years.<ref name=ERC>{{cite book |last1=Unterhalter |first1=Elaine |last2=Rajagopalan |first2=Rajee |last3=Challender |first3=Chloe |year=2005 |title=A Scorecard on gender equality and girls' education in Asia 1990–2000 |publisher=UNESCO |location=Bangkok |isbn=92-9223-041-7}}</ref><ref name=Oxfam2>{{cite web |url=https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/120598/pi-girls%27-education-south-asia-192305-en.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |title=Girls' Education in South Asia |date=February 2006 |publisher=Oxfam GB |series=Education and Gender Equality Series, Programme Insights |page=2}}</ref>

With about 21 million students in 700 universities and 40 thousand colleges India had one of the largest higher education systems in the world in 2011, accounting for 86 per cent of all higher-level students in South Asia. Bangladesh (two million) and Pakistan (1.8 million) stood at distant second and third positions in the region. In Nepal (390 thousand) and Sri Lanka (230 thousand) the numbers were much smaller. Bhutan with only one university and Maldives with none hardly had between them about 7000 students in higher education in 2011. The gross enrolment ratio in 2011 ranged from about 10 per cent in Pakistan and Afghanistan to above 20 per cent in India, much below the global average of 31 per cent.<ref name=Tilak>Jandhyala B.G. Tilak, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/24372963?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents Higher Education in South Asia: Crisis and Challenges], page 5, Social Scientist, Vol. 43, No. 1/2 (January–February 2015)</ref>
[[File:IOE,Central Campus.jpg|thumb|244x244px|[[Institute of Engineering]], [[Pulchowk Campus]], [[Nepal]]]]
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="2"| Parameters
!Afghanistan|| Bangladesh|| Bhutan || India || Maldives || Nepal || Pakistan || Sri Lanka
|-
| colspan="2" |Primary School Enrollment<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.NENR|title=School enrollment, primary (% net) {{!}} Data|publisher=World Bank|access-date=26 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701185547/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.NENR|archive-date=1 July 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
|29%||90%||85%||92%||94%||96%||73%||98%
|-
| colspan="2" |Secondary School Enrollment<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.SEC.ENRR/countries|title=Gross enrolment ratio, secondary, both sexes (%) – Data|publisher=World Bank|access-date=3 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150516152545/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.SEC.ENRR/countries|archive-date=16 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
|49%||54%||78%||68%||N/A||72%||45%||96%
|}

==Health and nutrition==
[[File:Babyimmunization.jpg|thumb|upright|Child getting vaccine in Bangladesh under the [[Expanded Programme on Immunization]] (EPI)]]

According to [[World Health Organization]] (WHO), South Asia is home to two out of the three countries in the world still affected by polio, Pakistan and Afghanistan, with 306 & 28 polio cases registered in 2014 respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.polioeradication.org/Infectedcountries/Afghanistan.aspx|title=GPEI|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706045955/http://www.polioeradication.org/Infectedcountries/Afghanistan.aspx|archive-date=6 July 2015}}</ref> Attempts to eradicate polio have been badly hit by opposition from militants in both countries, who say the program is cover to spy on their operations. Their attacks on immunisation teams have claimed 78 lives since December 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1151027 |title=Lost — The battle against polio |last1=Haider |first1=Sajjad |last2=Khan |first2=Shameen |newspaper=Dawn |date=31 December 2014 |access-date=4 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605081706/http://www.dawn.com/news/1151027 |archive-date=5 June 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[World Bank]] estimates that India is one of the highest ranking countries in the world for the number of children suffering from [[malnutrition]]. The prevalence of underweight children in India is among the highest in the world and is nearly double that of [[sub-Saharan Africa]] with dire consequences for mobility, mortality, productivity, and economic growth.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/0,,contentMDK:20916955~pagePK:146736~piPK:146830~theSitePK:223547,00.html|title= World Bank Report|access-date= 13 March 2009|publisher= The World Bank|year= 2009|quote= World Bank Report on Malnutrition in India|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081218015506/http://www.worldbank.org.in/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/INDIAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:20195738~menuPK:295591~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:295584,00.html|archive-date= 18 December 2008|url-status= live}}</ref>

[[File:PRT Farah visits Children's Supplemental Feeding Center in Farah City 130119-N-LR347-327.jpg|thumb|A weekly child examination performed at a hospital in [[Farah, Afghanistan]]]]

According to the World Bank, 64% of South Asians lived in rural areas in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Bank Open Data |url=https://data.worldbank.org/ |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=World Bank Open Data}}</ref> In 2008, about 75% of South Asia's poor lived in rural areas and most relied on agriculture for their livelihood<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/EXTSAREGTOPAGRI/0,,contentMDK:20750711~menuPK:452772~pagePK:34004173~piPK:34003707~theSitePK:452766,00.html|title=Agriculture in South Asia|publisher=World Bank|access-date=21 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706154611/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/EXTSAREGTOPAGRI/0,,contentMDK:20750711~menuPK:452772~pagePK:34004173~piPK:34003707~theSitePK:452766,00.html|archive-date=6 July 2008|url-status=dead }}</ref> according to the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation.

In 2021, approximately 330 million people in the region were malnourished.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hunger in Asia |url=https://www.compassion.com/poverty/hunger-in-asia.htm |access-date=1 September 2023 |website=Compassion International |language=en}}</ref> A 2015 report says that Nepal reached both the WFS target as well as MDG and is moving towards bringing down the number of undernourished people to less than 5% of the population.<ref name="fao.org" /> Bangladesh reached the MDG target with the National Food Policy framework{{snd}}with only 16.5% of the population undernourished. In India, the malnourished comprise just over 15 per cent of the population. While the number of malnourished people in the neighbourhood has shown a decline over the last 25 years, the number of under-nourished in Pakistan displays an upward trend. There were 28.7 million hungry in Pakistan in the 1990s{{snd}}a number that has steadily increased to 41.3 million in 2015 with 22% of the population malnourished. Approximately 194.6 million people are undernourished in India, which accounts for the highest number of people suffering from hunger in any single country.<ref name="fao.org" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1184959|title=India home to world's largest number of hungry people: report|newspaper=Dawn|date=29 May 2015|access-date=4 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150604142045/http://www.dawn.com/news/1184959|archive-date=4 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

The 2006 report stated, "the low status of women in South Asian countries and their lack of nutritional knowledge are important determinants of high prevalence of underweight children in the region." Corruption and the lack of initiative on the part of the government has been one of the major problems associated with nutrition in India. Illiteracy in villages has been found to be one of the major issues that need more government attention. The report mentioned that although there has been a reduction in malnutrition due to the [[Green Revolution]] in South Asia, there is concern that South Asia has "inadequate feeding and caring practices for young children."<ref name="southasiahunger">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6046718.stm|title='Hunger critical' in South Asia|work=BBC News|date=13 October 2006|access-date=4 January 2010|first=Geeta|last=Pandey|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112084920/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6046718.stm|archive-date=12 January 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Governance and politics==

===Systems of government===
{{See also|List of legislatures in South Asia|List of countries by system of government}}

{{sort under}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sort-under"
! Country
! Capital
! Form of government
! Head of state
! Head of government
! Legislature
! Official language
! class="unsortable" | Currency
! width="90px" class="unsortable" | Coat of arms / National Emblems
|-
| style="white-space:nowrap;" |{{Country|Afghanistan}}
|[[Kabul]]
|[[Unitary state|Unitary]] [[totalitarian state|totalitarian]] [[theocratic]] [[Islamic state|Islamic]] [[emirate]]
|[[Supreme Leader of Afghanistan|Supreme Leader]]
|[[Prime Minister of Afghanistan|Prime Minister]]
|None
|[[Pashto]] [[Dari]]
|'''؋''' [[Afghan afghani|Afghani]]
| style="text-align:center;" | [[File:Arms of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.svg|50x50px|link=Emblem of Afghanistan]]
|-
| style="white-space:nowrap;" |{{Country|Bangladesh}}
|[[Dhaka]]
|Unitary [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[republic]]
|[[President of Bangladesh|President]]
|[[Prime Minister of Bangladesh|Prime Minister]]
|[[Jatiya Sangsad]]
|[[Bengali language|Bengali]]
|'''৳''' [[Bangladeshi taka|Taka]]
| style="text-align:center;" |[[File:Coat of arms of Bangladesh.svg|50x50px|link=Coat of arms of Bangladesh]]
|-
|{{Country|Bhutan}}
|[[Thimphu]]
|Unitary parliamentary [[semi-constitutional monarchy]]
|[[Druk Gyalpo|King]]
|[[List of Prime Ministers of Bhutan|Prime Minister]]
|[[National Council (Bhutan)|National Council]] [[National Assembly (Bhutan)|National Assembly]]
|[[Dzongkha]]
|'''Nu.''' [[Bhutanese ngultrum|Ngultrum]]
| style="text-align:center;" |[[File:Emblem of Bhutan.svg|50x50px|link=Emblem of Bhutan]]
|-
|{{Country|India}}
|[[New Delhi]]
|[[Federal republic|Federal]] parliamentary republic
|[[President of India|President]]
|[[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]]
|[[Rajya Sabha]] [[Lok Sabha]]
|[[Hindi]] English
|'''₹''' [[Indian rupee|Rupee]]
| style="text-align:center;" |[[File:Emblem of India.svg|85x85px|link=Emblem of India]]
|-
|{{Country|Maldives}}
|[[Malé]]
|Unitary [[Presidential system|presidential]] republic
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"|[[President of the Maldives|President]]
|[[People's Majlis]]
|[[Maldivian language|Maldivian]]
|'''ރ''' [[Maldivian rufiyaa|Rufiyaa]]
| style="text-align:center;" |[[File:Emblem of Maldives.svg|56x56px|link=Emblem of Maldives]]
|-
|{{Country|Nepal}}
|[[Kathmandu]]
|Federal parliamentary republic under an [[Karki interim cabinet|interim government]]
|[[President of Nepal|President]]
|[[List of Prime Ministers of Nepal|Prime Minister]]
|[[National Assembly (Nepal)|National Assembly]] [[House of Representatives (Nepal)|House of Representatives]]
|[[Nepali language|Nepali]]
|'''रु''' [[Nepalese rupee|Rupee]]
| style="text-align:center;" |[[File:Emblem of Nepal.svg|57x57px|link=Emblem of Nepal]]
|-
|{{Country|Pakistan}}
|[[Islamabad]]
|Federal parliamentary [[Islamic republic]]
|[[President of Pakistan|President]]
|[[Prime Minister of Pakistan|Prime Minister]]
|[[Senate of Pakistan|Senate]] [[National Assembly of Pakistan|National Assembly]]
|[[Urdu]] English
|'''₨''' [[Pakistani rupee|Rupee]]
| style="text-align:center;" |[[File:State emblem of Pakistan.svg|57x57px|link=State emblem of Pakistan]]
|-
|{{Country|Sri Lanka}}
|[[Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]]
|Unitary [[Semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]] republic
|[[President of Sri Lanka|President]]
|[[Prime Minister of Sri Lanka|Prime Minister]]
|[[Parliament of Sri Lanka|Parliament]]
|[[Sinhala language|Sinhala]] [[Tamil language|Tamil]] English
|'''රු/₨''' [[Sri Lankan rupee|Rupee]]
| style="text-align:center;" |[[File:Emblem of Sri Lanka.svg|71x71px|link=Emblem of Sri Lanka]]
|}

{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| width = 220
| image1 = Glimpse of the new Parliament Building, in New Delhi.jpg
| caption1 = [[Parliament House, New Delhi|Sansad Bhavan]], New Delhi, India
| image2 = Parliament House, Islamabad by Usman Ghani.jpg
| caption2 = Parliament House, [[Islamabad]], Pakistan
| image3 = National Assembly (25967498804).jpg
| caption3 = [[Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban]], [[Dhaka]], Bangladesh
| image4 = The Parliament of Sri Lanka.jpg
| caption4 = [[Sri Lankan Parliament Building]], [[Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte]], Sri Lanka
}}

India is a [[Secular state|secular]] [[Federation|federative]] [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary republic]] with the [[Prime Minister of India|prime minister]] as head of government. With the most populous functional democracy in world<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/india-worlds-largest-democracy/10104.html |title=India: world's largest democracy |website=BBC Learning Zone Class Clips |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110114055717/http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/india-worlds-largest-democracy/10104.html |archive-date=14 January 2011}}</ref> and the world's longest written constitution,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/kids/Celebrate-the-supreme-law/article14011992.ece|title=Celebrate the supreme law|last=Krithika|first=R.|date=21 January 2016|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=24 July 2018|publisher=[[N. Ram]]|issn=0971-751X|oclc=13119119}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=India's Constitution|last=Pylee|first=Moolamattom Varkey|publisher=R. Chand & Company|year=1994|isbn=978-81-219-0403-2|edition=5th rev. and enl.|location=New Delhi|pages=3|oclc=35022507}}</ref> India has been stably sustaining the political system it adopted in 1950 with no regime change except that by a democratic election. India's sustained democratic freedoms are unique among the world's newer establishments. Since the [[Republic Day (India)|formation of its republic]] abolishing [[Government of India Act 1935|British law]], it has remained a democracy with civil liberties, an active Supreme Court, and a largely independent press.{{sfn|Metcalf|Metcalf|2006|p = 304}} India leads region in [[Democracy Index]]. It has a [[multi-party system]] in its internal regional politics{{sfn|Burnell|Calvert|1999|p = 125}} whereas alternative transfer of powers to alliances of Indian [[United Progressive Alliance|left-wing]] and [[National Democratic Alliance|right-wing]] political parties in national government provide it with characteristics of a [[Two-party system|two-party state]].<ref name="Political Parties in India">{{cite web|title = Political Parties in India|url = http://electionaffairs.com/parties/parties.html|publisher = electionaffairs.com|access-date = 7 August 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150707215933/http://electionaffairs.com/parties/parties.html|archive-date = 7 July 2015}}</ref> India has been facing notable internal religious conflicts and separatism however [[List of countries by Fragile States Index|consistently becoming more and more stable with time]].

The foundation of Pakistan lies in the [[Pakistan movement]] which began in [[British Raj|colonial India]] based on [[Muslim nationalism in South Asia|Islamic nationalism]]. Pakistan is a [[Federal republic|federal]] [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[Islamic republic]] and was the world's first country to adopt [[Islamic republic]] system to modify its republican status under its otherwise secular constitution in 1956. Pakistan's governance is one of the most conflicted in the world. The [[Military coups in Pakistan|military rule and the unstable governments in Pakistan]] have become a concern for the South Asian region. Out of 22 appointed [[List of Prime Ministers of Pakistan|Pakistani Prime ministers]], none of them have ever been able to complete a full term in office.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title = No One Has Ever Completed a Term as Pakistan's PM|url = https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/07/25/no-one-has-ever-completed-a-term-as-pakistans-pm/|date = 25 July 2018|access-date = 18 October 2019|magazine=[[Foreign Policy]]}}</ref> The nature of [[Politics of Pakistan|Pakistani politics]] can be characterised as a [[multi-party system]].

The [[Unitary state|unitary]] [[semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]] constitutional republic of [[Sri Lanka]] is the oldest sustained democracy in Asia. Tensions between the [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] and the [[Sri Lankan Tamils|Tamils]] led to the emergence of the [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]], a separatist [[Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups|Sri Lankan Tamil militant group]] and the outbreak of the [[Sri Lankan civil war]]. The war, which ended in 2009, would undermine the country's stability for more than two and a half decades.<ref name="mod-defeat">{{cite news |title=LTTE defeated; Sri Lanka liberated from terror |date=18 May 2009 |url=http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090518_10 |work=Ministry of Defence |access-date=19 October 2019|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090521113622/http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090518_10 |archive-date=21 May 2009 }}</ref> Sri Lanka, however, has been leading the region in [[Human Development Index|HDI]] with per capita GDP well ahead of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Sri Lanka has a [[multi-party system]], and the political situation in Sri Lanka has been dominated by an increasingly assertive ideology of [[Sinhalese nationalism]].

[[Bangladesh]] is a [[Unitary state|unitary]] [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary republic]]. The law of Bangladesh defines it as Islamic<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/sections_detail.php?id=367&sections_id=24549%7CSection|title=2A. The state religion|access-date=18 March 2015}}</ref> as well as secular.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/sections_detail.php?id=367&sections_id=24560%7CSection|title=12.}}</ref> The nature of [[Politics of Bangladesh|Bangladeshi politics]] can be characterised as a [[multi-party system]]. Bangladesh is a [[unitary state]] and [[parliamentary democracy]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The world factbook-Bangladesh|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bangladesh/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110162611/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bangladesh |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 January 2021 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=6 June 2014}}</ref> Bangladesh also stands out as one of the few Muslim-majority democracies. "It is a moderate and generally secular and tolerant — though sometimes this is getting stretched at the moment — alternative to [[violent extremism]] in a very troubled part of the world", said [[Dan Mozena]], the US ambassador to Bangladesh. Although Bangladesh's legal code is secular, more citizens are embracing a conservative version of [[Islam]], with some pushing for [[sharia law]], analysts say. Experts say that the rise in conservatism reflects the influence of foreign-financed Islamic charities and the more austere version of Islam brought home by migrant workers in [[Persian Gulf]] countries.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gowen|first1=Annie|title=Bangladesh's political unrest threatens economic gains, democracy| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/bangladeshs-political-unrest-threatens-economic-gains-democracy/2014/03/22/baf1807c-a369-11e3-84d4-e59b1709222c_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=6 June 2014| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140702060029/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/bangladeshs-political-unrest-threatens-economic-gains-democracy/2014/03/22/baf1807c-a369-11e3-84d4-e59b1709222c_story.html|archive-date=2 July 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

By the 18th century, the Hindu [[Gorkha Kingdom]] achieved the [[unification of Nepal]]. Hinduism became the state religion and Hindu laws were formulated as national policies. A small oligarchic group of Gorkha region based [[List of Nepali political clans|Hindu Thakuri and Chhetri political families]] dominated the national politics, military and civic affairs until the abdication of the [[Rana dynasty]] regime and [[1951 Nepalese revolution|establishment of Parliamentary democratic system in 1951]], which was twice suspended by Nepalese monarchs, in 1960 and 2005. It was the last Hindu state in world before [[Republic Day (Nepal)|becoming a secular democratic republic]] in 2008. The country's modern development suffered due to the various significant events like the [[1990 Nepalese revolution]], 1996–2006 [[Nepalese Civil War]], [[April 2015 Nepal earthquake]], and the [[2015 Nepal blockade]] by India leading to the grave [[Nepal humanitarian crisis (2015-2017)|2015–2017 Nepal humanitarian crisis]]. There is also a huge turnover in the office of the [[List of prime ministers of Nepal|Prime Minister of Nepal]] leading to serious concerns of [[political instability]]. The country has been ranked one of the poor countries in terms of GDP per capita but it has one of the lowest levels of [[hunger]] problem in South Asia.<ref name="Archived copy"/> When the [[List of countries by Fragile States Index|stability of the country ensured as late as recent]], it has also made considerable progress in development indicators outpacing many other South Asian states.

[[Afghanistan]] has been a [[Unitary state|unitary]] [[Theocracy|theocratic]] [[Islamic state|Islamic]] [[emirate]] since 2021. Afghanistan has been suffering from one of the most unstable regimes on earth as a result of [[War in Afghanistan|multiple foreign invasions, civil wars, revolutions and terrorist groups]]. Persisting instability for decades have left the country's economy stagnated and torn and it remains one of the most poor and [[Least developed country|least developed countries]] on the planet, leading to the influx of Afghan refugees to neighbouring countries like [[Iran]].<ref name="AfgCIA"/>

[[Bhutan]] is a Buddhist state with a [[constitutional monarchy]]. The country has been ranked as the least corrupt and most peaceful country in the region, with the most economic freedom, in 2016.

[[Maldives]] is a unitary presidential republic with [[Sunni Islam]] strictly as the state religion.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Governance and stability
! colspan="2"| Parameters
!Afghanistan|| Bangladesh|| Bhutan || India || Maldives || Nepal || Pakistan || Sri Lanka
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Fragile States Index]]<ref name = "FSI 2020">{{cite web|title = Fragile States Index 2020|url = https://fundforpeace.org/2020/05/11/fragile-states-index-2020/ |publisher=[[Fund for Peace|The Fund for Peace]]|date = 11 May 2020|access-date = 25 September 2020}}</ref>
| 102.9
| 85.7
| 69.5
| 75.3
| 66.2
| 82.6
| 92.1
| 81.8
|-
| colspan="2" | [[Corruption Perceptions Index]] (2019)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.transparency.org/cpi2019?/news/feature/cpi-2019|title=Corruption Perceptions Index 2019|website=Transparency International|date=24 January 2020|access-date=4 March 2020|archive-date=12 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200512190641/https://www.transparency.org/cpi2019?%2Fnews%2Ffeature%2Fcpi-2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> (Global rank out of 179 countries)
| 16 (173rd) || 26 (146th) || 68 (25th) || 41 (80th) || 29 (130th) || 34 (113th) || 32 (120th) || 38 (93rd)
|-
| rowspan="4" | The Worldwide Governance Indicators (2015)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/#reports|title=Worldwide Governance Indicators|year=2015|publisher=World Bank|access-date=25 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705084108/http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/#reports|archive-date=5 July 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>
| Government Effectiveness
|8%|| 24% || 68% || 56% || 41% || 13% || 27% || 53%
|-
| Political stability and absence of violence/terrorism
|1%|| 11% || 89% || 17% || 61% || 16% || 1% || 47%
|-
| Rule of law
|2%|| 27% || 70% || 56% || 35% || 27% || 24% || 60%
|-
| Voice and accountability
| 16%|| 31% || 46% || 61% || 30% || 33% || 27% || 36%
|}

===Regional politics===
{{See also|War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts|South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation}}
{{Multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| width = 220
| image2 =
| caption2 = Indian soldiers in [[Batalik]] during the [[Kargil War]] (1999) between India and Pakistan
| caption4 = [[Sheikh Hasina]], Prime Minister of Bangladesh, with [[Narendra Modi]], Prime Minister of India, in New York (2019)
}}
[[File:India Pakistan China Disputed Areas Map.png|thumb|189px|Border disputes involving India against Pakistan and China have created complex geopolitical dynamics in South Asia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lou |first=Chunhao |date=3 July 2022 |title=Geopolitical "Entanglements" and the China-India-Pakistan Nuclear Trilemma |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25751654.2022.2156252 |journal=Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament |language=en |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=281–295 |doi=10.1080/25751654.2022.2156252 |issn=2575-1654|url-access=subscription }}</ref>]]

India has been the [[regional power|dominant geopolitical power in the region]]{{sfn|Buzan|2004|p=71}}<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.twq.com/04winter/docs/04winter_perkovich.pdf |title=Is India a Major Power? |last=Perkovich |first=George |journal=The Washington Quarterly |issue=27.1 Winter 2003–04 |access-date=12 August 2020|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227014858/http://www.twq.com/04winter/docs/04winter_perkovich.pdf |archive-date=27 February 2008 }}</ref><ref name="Regions and powers">{{harvnb|Buzan|Wæver|2003|p=55}}</ref> and alone accounts for most part of the landmass, population, economy and military expenditure in the region.{{sfn|Ali|Aitchison|2005}} India is a [[G20|major economy]], member of [[G4 nations|G4]], has world's [[List of countries by military expenditures|third highest military budget]]<ref>{{Cite news|author=Shaurya Karanbir Gurung|title=India third largest military spender in world, after US and China|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/global-military-spending-saw-largest-increase-in-decade-in-2019-china-india-in-top-3-study/articleshow/75404166.cms|newspaper=The Economic Times|date=27 April 2020|access-date=12 August 2020}}</ref> and exerts strong [[Greater India|cultural]] and [[Regional hegemony|political influence]] over the region.<ref name="college">{{cite journal |last=Fussman |first=Gérard | title= History of India and Greater India |journal=La Lettre du Collège de France |issue=4 |pages=24–25 |year=2008–2009 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/lettre-cdf/756 |access-date=12 August 2020|doi=10.4000/lettre-cdf.756|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="ASAN">{{Cite journal |author=Deepa M. Ollapally |title=India's Evolving National Identity Contestation: What Reactions to the "Pivot" Tell Us|url=http://www.theasanforum.org/indias-evolving-national-identity-contestation-what-reactions-to-the-pivot-tell-us/|access-date=12 August 2020|language=en|journal=[[Asan Institute for Policy Studies#Asan Forum|The Asan Forum]]|volume=8|issue=4|issn=2288-5757|date=July–August 2020|orig-year=2014}}</ref> Sometimes referred as a [[great power]] or [[emerging superpower]] primarily attributed to its large and expanding economic and military abilities, India acts as fulcrum of South Asia.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Immanuel|last=Wallerstein|author-link=Immanuel Wallerstein|title=India: The In-Between Great Power|url=https://iwallerstein.com/india-the-in-between-great-power/|date=1 June 2017|access-date=12 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|first=Madhavi|last=Bhasin|title=India's Role in South Asia Perceived Hegemony or Reluctant Leadership?|url=https://silo.tips/downloadFile/india-s-role-in-south-asia-perceived-hegemony-or-reluctant-leadership|format=PDF|access-date=12 August 2020}}</ref>

[[Bangladesh]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Sri Lanka]] are [[middle power]]s with sizeable populations and economies with significant impact on regional politics.<ref name="balancing">{{cite web|url=https://www.clingendael.org/pub/2018/strategic-monitor-2018-2019/a-balancing-act/|title=A Balancing Act: The Role of Middle Powers in Contemporary Diplomacy |first1=Willem |last1=Oosterveld |first2=Bianca |last2=Torossian |work=Strategic Monitor 2018–2019 |publisher=[[Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael|Clingendael Institute]] |access-date=18 May 2019}}</ref>{{sfn|Buzan|2004|pp=71, 99}}

[[File:Bamboo Curtain.svg|left|thumb|166px|A 1959 map showing how most of Asia was communist (in red), with Pakistan (blue) being more aligned with capitalist powers than India.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |title=India and Pakistan: A tale of two economies |url=https://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/JlxwNQwWgLIGX3XQlhDbVP/India-and-Pakistan-A-tale-of-two-economies.html |work=Livemint}}</ref> The resulting [[Cold War in Asia|Cold War dynamics]] impacted South Asian geopolitics in the late 20th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rotter |first1=Andrew J. |editor1-last=Immerman |editor1-first=Richard H. |editor2-last=Goedde |editor2-first=Petra |chapter=South Asia |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Cold War |url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/34525/chapter-abstract/292917436?redirectedFrom=fulltext |access-date=11 September 2024 |year=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199236961.013.0013 |isbn=978-0-19-923696-1 | pages=211–229}}</ref>]]

During the [[Partition of India]] in 1947, subsequent violence and territorial disputes left relations between India and Pakistan sour and very hostile<ref>{{cite book |first=Stephen P. |last=Cohen |author-link=Stephen P. Cohen |year=2004 |title=The Idea of Pakistan|url=https://archive.org/details/ideaofpakistan00cohe |url-access=registration |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/ideaofpakistan00cohe/page/59 59] |isbn=978-0-8157-9761-6 |quote=American scholar Allen Mcgrath}}</ref> and [[Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts|various confrontations and wars]] which largely shaped the politics of the region and contributed to the [[Bangladesh Liberation War|emergence of Bangladesh]] as an independent country.<ref>{{cite book|title=Crossing the Frontiers of Conflict in the North East and Jammu and Kashmir: From Real Politik to Ideal Politik|author=V.K. Nayar|year=2005|page=198|publisher=Shipra Publications |isbn=978-81-7541-218-7|quote=Though Indian victory in the India- Pakistan War 1971 and the liberation of Bangladesh refurbished India's image}}</ref> With [[Yugoslavia]], India founded the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] but later entered an [[Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation|agreement]] with the former [[Soviet Union]] following Western support for Pakistan.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hanhimaki|2004|p=165}}</ref> Amid the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]], US sent its [[USS Enterprise (CVN-65)|USS ''Enterprise'']] to the Indian Ocean in what was perceived as a [[nuclear threat]] by India.<ref name=Santosh>{{cite book|last=Burne|first=Lester H.|title=Chronological History of U.S. Foreign Relations: 1932–1988|publisher=Routledge|year=2003|isbn=0-415-93916-X}}</ref> India's [[Smiling Buddha|nuclear test in 1974]] pushed Pakistan's nuclear program<ref>{{Citation | publisher = Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) and Pakistan Television (PTV) | title = Prime minister Secretariat Press Release | quote = India's so-called Peaceful Nuclear Explosion (PNE) is tested and designed to intimidate and establish "Indian hegemony in the subcontinent", most particularly Pakistan... | first = Zulfikar Ali | last = Bhutto | date = 18 May 1974 | url = http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Pakistan/Nuclear/chronology_1974.html | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110918040826/http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Pakistan/Nuclear/chronology_1974.html | archive-date = 18 September 2011 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> who conducted nuclear tests in [[Chagai-I]] in 1998, just 18 days after India's [[Pokhran-II|series of nuclear tests]] for [[thermonuclear weapon]]s.<ref name="Ministry of External Affairs, 1998">{{cite web|title=Official press release by India|url=http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/India/Indianofficial.txt|website=meadev.gov.in/|publisher=Ministry of External Affairs, 1998|access-date=12 August 2020}}</ref>

The [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet invasion of Afghanistan]] in 1979 accelerated efforts to form a union to restrengthen deteriorating regional security.<ref name="NIHCR in Islamabad">{{cite web|last=Muhammad|first=Jamshed Iqbal|title=SAARC: Origin, Growth, Potential and Achievements |url=http://www.nihcr.edu.pk/Latest_English_Journal/SAARC_Jamshed_Iqbal.pdf|work=National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research in Islamabad|access-date=11 November 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131111092347/http://www.nihcr.edu.pk/Latest_English_Journal/SAARC_Jamshed_Iqbal.pdf |archive-date=11 November 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> After agreements, the union, known as the [[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation]] (SAARC), was finally established in Dhaka in December 1985.<ref name="About SAARC">{{cite web |url=http://www.mohe.gov.af/saarc.afg/about%20us.html |title=About SAARC |website=SAARC Secretariat |access-date=11 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111090614/http://www.mohe.gov.af/saarc.afg/about%20us.html |archive-date=11 November 2013 }}</ref> However, deterioration of [[India–Pakistan relations|India-Pakistan ties]] have led India to emphasise more on sub-regional groups [[South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation|SASEC]], [[BIMSTEC]], and [[BBIN]].

[[Populism]] is a general characteristic of internal politics of India.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title = The Global Populist Surge Is More than Just a Western Story—Just Look at Asia|url = https://thediplomat.com/2016/12/the-global-populist-surge-is-more-than-just-a-western-story-just-look-at-asia/|date = 10 December 2016|access-date = 23 October 2019|magazine= [[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]]}}</ref>

====Regional groups of countries====
{{Update|part=section|date=October 2024|reason=Statistics need to be updated}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:#ececec;"
! Name
! [[List of countries and dependencies by area|Area]] (km2)
! [[List of countries and dependencies by population|Population]]
! [[List of countries and dependencies by population density|Population density]] (per km2)
! Capital or Secretariat
! class="unsortable" | Currency
! class="unsortable" | Countries
! [[Official language]]
|-
| [[#Definition|Core definition]] of South Asia
| style="text-align:right;" | 5,220,460
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,726,907,000
| style="text-align:right;" | 330.79
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[India]], [[Maldives]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], [[Sri Lanka]]
| {{n/a}}
|-
| [[United Nations geoscheme|UNSD definition]] of Southern Asia
| style="text-align:right;" | 6,778,083
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,702,000,000
| style="text-align:right;" | 270.77
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| [[Afghanistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[India]], [[Iran]], [[Maldives]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], [[Sri Lanka]]
| {{n/a}}
|-
| [[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation|SAARC]]
| style="text-align:right;" | 4,637,469
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,626,000,000
| style="text-align:right;" | 350.6
| style="text-align:center;" | [[Kathmandu]]
| {{n/a}}
| [[Afghanistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[India]], [[Maldives]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], [[Sri Lanka]]
| style="text-align:center;" | English
|-
| [[South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation|SASEC]]
| style="text-align:right;" | 3,565,467
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,485,909,931
| style="text-align:right;" | 416.75
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[India]], [[Maldives]], [[Myanmar]], [[Nepal]], [[Sri Lanka]]
| {{n/a}}
|-
| [[BBIN]]
| style="text-align:right;" | 3,499,559
| style="text-align:right;" | 1,465,236,000
| style="text-align:right;" | 418.69
| {{n/a}}
| {{n/a}}
| [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[India]], [[Nepal]]
| {{n/a}}
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Asia}}


* [[Genetics and archaeogenetics of South Asia]]
* [[List of tallest buildings and structures in the Indian subcontinent]]
* [[List of territorial disputes]]
* ''[[A Region in Turmoil|A Region in Turmoil: South Asian Conflicts since 1947]]'' by Rob Johnson

===Broader regions===
* [[Greater India]]
* [[Himalayan Rim]]
* [[Indo-Mediterranean]]
** [[India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor]]
* [[Indo-Pacific]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}{{Notelist}}

==References==

===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

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{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{Citation |last=Anthony |first= David W. |year= 2007 |title=The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World |publisher= Princeton University Press |ref=none}}
* {{Citation |last=Beckwith |first=Christopher I. |year=2009 |title=Empires of the Silk Road |publisher= Princeton University Press |ref=none}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [http://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar South Asia], The World Bank
* [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/ Digital South Asia Library], University of Chicago
* [http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/edan/southAsian.cfm South Asian and Himalayan Arts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006204801/http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/edan/southAsian.cfm |date=6 October 2017 }}, Freer and Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian
* [https://www.brookings.edu/topic/south-asia/ South Asia], Brookings Institution
* [https://www.adb.org/countries/subregional-programs/sasec South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation], Asia Development Bank

{{Geographic location
|Centre = South Asia
|North = Central Asia, East Asia
|Northeast = East Asia
|East = Southeast Asia
|Southeast = [[Bay of Bengal]] Indian Ocean
|South = Indian Ocean
|Southwest = [[Arabian Sea]]
|West = West Asia
|Northwest = Central Asia West Asia
}}{{South Asian topics}}{{Regions of Asia}}
{{GeoSouthAsia}}
{{Languages of South Asia}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Asia-Pacific]]
[[Category:Regions of Asia]]
[[Category:South Asia| ]]

Bharatpedia - User contributions [en]

South Asia