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Revision as of 22:35, 3 April 2008

This article is about the region in Asia. For geophysical treatments, see Indian subcontinent.

South Asia

Map of South Asia
Countries 7 to 10 (see page)
Territories 1 or 2 (see page)
GDP
GDP per capita
Languages Assamese/Asomiya, Bengali, Bodo, Burmese, Chinese, Dari[1], Dhivehi, Dogri, Dzongkha, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Manipuri, Nepali, Oriya, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Urdu, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Sinhala, Siraiki, Tamil, Telugu, Tibetan, and others
Time Zones UTC +8:00 (Tibet, PRC) to UTC +3:30 (Iran)
Largest Cities Colombo, Dhaka, Diego Garcia, Kabul, Karachi, Kathmandu, Lhasa, Malé, Mumbai, Tehran, Thimpu, and Yangon
UN Subregion of Southern Asia.
Indian-Subcontinental border as defined by Indian plate

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

Definitions and usage

South Asia consists of the following countries and territories:

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

The United Nations also includes Iran, but not Tibet or Burma, as part of Southern Asia:[20]

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

Controversy over the definition

The definition of South Asia can vary greatly from person to person. Most sources accept Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Chagos Islands, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka as South Asian. Most of the controversy originates over Afghanistan, Iran, and Tibet. Afghanistan and Tibet are often considered South Asian by several universities' departments of South Asian studies, especially those referenced above, but this definition is by no means universal. Another controversy grows over Iran, as Iran is considered South Asian by the UN, but few of those departments above. The G8's definition of the Greater Middle East further obfuscates matters by including both Pakistan and Afghanistan. See: Middle East and Greater Middle East. Controversial race researcher Richard Lynn has defined Southern Asia as "from Bangladesh in the east through India, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, the Gulf states, the near East, and Turkey".[21]

Territory and region data

Name of country/region, with flag Area
(km²) 		Population Population density
(per km²) 		Capital GDP (Total) GDP (Per capita) Currency Government Official languages Coat of Arms
 Afghanistan (see above) 647,500 31,889,923 46 Kabul $32.4 billion $1,490 Afghan afghani Islamic republic Dari (Persian), Pashto [1]
 Bangladesh 144,000 150,448,340 1045 Dhaka $331.9 billion $2,245 Taka Parliamentary republic Bengali
 Bhutan 47,000 672,425 45 Thimphu $4.39 billion $5,477 Ngultrum, Indian rupee Constitutional monarchy Dzongkha File:Bhutan emblem.png
 British Indian Ocean Territory 60 3,500 58.3 Diego Garcia Pound sterling British Overseas Territory English File:British Indian Ocean Territory coat of arms.svg
 India 3,287,590 1,128,808,000 329 New Delhi $4042.268 billion $3690 Indian rupee Federal republic, Parliamentary democracy Hindi, English and 20 other official languages
 Iran (see above) 1,648,195 71,208,000 42 Tehran $610 billion $8,887 Iranian rial Islamic republic Persian, Constitutional status for regional languages [22]
 Maldives 298 298,842 1,105 Malé $2.569 billion $7,675 Rufiyaa Republic Dhivehi File:Maldives National Emblem.svg
 Myanmar (see above) 676,578 55,400,000 75 Yangon $93.77 billion $1,691 Myanmar kyat Military Junta Burmese; Jingpho, Shan, Karen, Mon, (Spoken in Myanmar's Autonomous States.) File:Myanmar coa.png
   Nepal 147,181 28,901,790 184 Kathmandu $41.18 billion $1,500 Nepalese rupee Interim government Nepali
 Pakistan 880,940 162,423,000 206 Islamabad $427.3 billion $2577.12 Pakistani rupee Islamic Republic Urdu, English, Balochi, Pashto, Punjabi, Siraiki, Sindhi[23]
 Sri Lanka 65,610 19,668,000 310 Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte $86.72 billion $4,600 Sri Lankan rupee Democratic Socialist Republic Sinhala, Tamil
Tibet Autonomous Region, PRC (see above) 1,228,400 2,740,000 2.2 Lhasa CNY 29.01 billion CNY 10,322 Chinese yuan Autonomous region of China Tibetan, Chinese

Demography and history

History

Further information: History of South Asia
Map of South Asia in native languages.

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

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

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

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

Ethnic groups

South Asia, which consists of the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives, is ethnically diverse, with more than 2,000 ethnic entities with populations ranging from the hundreds of millions to small tribal groups. South Asia has been invaded and settled by many ethnic groups over the centuries including various Dravidian, Indo-Aryan and Iranian groups. The amalgamation of Dravidian, Indo-Aryan and local tribal cultures over the centuries created common culture, traditions and beliefs. The Vedic Sanskrit language and Vedic religion combined Indo-Aryan, Dravidian and local tribal beliefs to give rise to the Indian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. As a consequence, they share many similar cultural practices, festivals, and traditions. Throughout time, the traditions of different ethnic groups in South Asia have diverged, sometimes giving rise to strong local traditions, such as South Indian culture, or at other times, influenced by external cultures, especially in the northwestern parts of South Asia, and in Bangladesh, where Turks and Pathans have had much influence and brought the religion of Islam to the Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun, Baloch, Kashmiri and Bengali peoples[citation needed]. The largest spoken language in this region is Hindi, numbering almost 300 million[citation needed]. The second largest spoken language of this region is Bengali numbering 240 million[citation needed].

Languages

Most of the ethnic groups in this region fall into a few major linguistic groups: the Dravidian languages and the Indo-Aryan languages, a sub-branch of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. Many Tibeto-Burman groups are found in northeast India, Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan. Other small groups speaking Austro-Asiatic languages are also present in South Asia.

Religions

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

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Afghanistan". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. December 13, 2007. Cite error: The named reference "AfgCIA" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b CIA - The World Factbook
  3. ^ a b South Asia: Data, Projects, and Research [1]
  4. ^ a b MAPS SHOWING GEOLOGY, OIL AND GAS FIELDS AND GEOLOGICAL PROVINCES OF SOUTH ASIA [2] Includes Afghanistan and Bhutan
  5. ^ a b Center for South Asia Studies: University of California, Berkeley [3]
  6. ^ a b Center for South Asia Outreach UW-Madison [4]
  7. ^ Department of South Asia Studies: University of Pennsylvania [5]
  8. ^ Afghanistan-Tajikistan Bridge Links Central, South Asia [6] Refers to Afghanistan as South Asian and Tajikistan as Central Asian
  9. ^ University of Washington Jackson School of International Studies: The South Asia Center http://jsis.washington.edu/advise/catalog/soasia-b.html
  10. ^ Syracruse University: The South Asia Center http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/moynihan/programs/sac/
  11. ^ a b Center for South Asian Studies
  12. ^ a b http://www.brandeis.edu/registrar/catalog/one-subject.php?subject_id=6550 this sources admits in certain contexts that Tibet and Afghanistan are South Asian
  13. ^ a b http://www.britac.ac.uk/institutes/SSAS/about.htm Tibetan and Afghan flag shown
  14. ^ a b Organization - Center for South Asian Studies - Oscar
  15. ^ a b University of Hawaii at Manoa | South Asia Collection
  16. ^ a b Rutgers, SAS South Asian Studies: - Home
  17. ^ The 2007 Middle East & Central Asia Politics, Economics,and Society Conference University of Utah "Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East & Central Asia" May 2006, International Monetary Fund Middle East Network Information Center (MENIC), University of Texas at Austin Afghanistan Profile, National Geographic (accessed 20 January 2006) Afghanistan, Middle East Institute (accessed 20 January 2006)
  18. ^ South Asian Studies at Emory
  19. ^ Tibet - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
  20. ^ Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings, United Nations website
  21. ^ Race Differences in Intelligence by Richard Lynn pg 79, 2006
  22. ^ ICL - Iran - Constitution
  23. ^ "Population by Mother Tongue" (PDF). Population Census Organization, Government of Pakistan. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  24. ^ Bangladesh : AT A GLANCE
  25. ^ The Association of Religion Data Archives | National Profiles
  26. ^ http://www.censusindia.net/religiondata/presentation_on_religion.pdf
  27. ^ CIA - The World Factbook
  28. ^ Maldives - maldives religion
  29. ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Burma
  30. ^ NEPAL
  31. ^ http://www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/pco/statistics/other_tables/pop_by_religion.pdf
  32. ^ http://www.statistics.gov.lk/census2001/population/ds_div/t001b.htm

See also

Other subregions in Asia

Template:Countries of South Asia

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