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With the core seven countries, the area covers about 4.48 million km² (1.7 million mi²), which is 10% of the Asian continent or 2.4% of the world's land surface area.[90][91][92] They account for about 34% of Asia's population (or over 16.5% of the world's population) and are home to a vast array of peoples.[90][91][92] Country Area (km²) Population (2009–2012) Density (per km²) Nominal GDP (2009 / 2012) Nominal GDP per capita (2011) Capital Currency Government Official languages Coat of arms Bangladesh 147,570 152,518,015[93] 899 $153.58 billion $899 Dhaka Taka Unitary parliamentary democracy Bengali Coat of arms of Bangladesh Bhutan 38,394 697,000[93] 18 $1.488 billion $2,121 Thimphu Ngultrum Indian rupee Constitutional monarchy Dzongkha Emblem of Bhutan India 3,287,240 1,210,193,422[94] 382[94] $1.247 trillion[95] $1,592 New Delhi Indian rupee Parliamentary democracy federal republic Hindi English Emblem of India Maldives 298 396,334[93] 1,330 $1.944 billion $5,973 Malé Rufiyaa Republic Dhivehi Coat of arms of Maldives Nepal 147,181 26,620,080[93] 200 $19.921 billion $743 Kathmandu Nepalese rupee Democratic republic Nepali Coat of arms of Nepal Pakistan 796,095 180,440,000[93] 225 $230.525 billion $1,410 Islamabad Pakistani rupee Parliamentary democracy Federal republic Urdu English Coat of arms of Pakistan Sri Lanka 65,610 20,277,597[93] 319 $64.914 billion $3,139 Sri Jayawardanapura Kotte Sri Lankan rupee Democratic socialist republic Sinhala Tamil Coat of arms of Sri Lanka Countries and territories from extended definitions country or region Area (km²) Population (2009) density (per km²) GDP(nominal) (2009) GDP per capita (2011) Capital Currency Government Official languages Coat of Arms Afghanistan 652,230 29,150,000[96] 52 $34.55 billion $621 Kabul Afghani Islamic republic Pashto Dari Emblem of Afghanistan British Indian Ocean Territory 60 3,500 59 N/A N/A Diego Garcia US Dollar British Overseas Territory English Coat of arms of the British Indian Ocean Territory (Shield).svg Burma 676,578 48,137,141 71 $53.140 billion $854 Naypyidaw Myanma kyat Constitutional republic Burmese State seal of Myanmar.svg China - Tibet Autonomous Region 1,228,400 2,740,000 2 $9.6 billion $2,558 Lhasa Chinese yuan Autonomous region of China Tibetan, Mandarin Chinese National Emblem of the People's Republic of China.svg Regional groups of countries Name of country/region, with flag Area (km²) Population* Population density (per km²) Capital or Secretariat Currency Countries included Official languages Coat of Arms Core Definition (above) of South Asia 4,482,388 1,596,000,000 400.1 N/A N/A Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka N/A N/A UN subregion of South Asia 6,778,083 1,702,000,000 270.77 N/A N/A Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka N/A N/A SAARC 4,637,469 1,626,000,000 350.6 Kathmandu N/A Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka English SAARC Logo.svg Demographics Total population of South Asia is about 1.70 billion.[97] Ethnic groups This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2011) Main article: South Asian ethnic groups Ethno-linguistic families of South Asia. South Asia, which consists of the nations of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, is ethnically diverse, with more than 2,000 ethnic entities with populations ranging from hundreds of millions to small tribal groups. South Asia has been invaded and settled by many ethnic groups over the centuries - including various Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, Austroasiatic and Iranian groups - and amalgamation of Dravidian, Indo-Aryan and native societies has produced composite cultures with many common traditions and beliefs. But, the traditions of different ethnic groups in South Asia have diverged throughout earlier times, sometimes giving rise to strong local traditions such as the distinct South Indian culture. Other ethnic groups, successively streaming in later mainly from Central Asia e.g. Sakas, Kushans, Huns etc. influenced pre-existing South Asian cultures. Among the last of these new arrivals were the Arabs followed by the Turks, the Pashtuns and the Moghuls. However, Arab influence remained relatively limited in comparison to that of the Turks, Pashtuns and Moghuls, who brought in much cultural influence and contributed to the birth of Urdu, a syncretic language of combined Indo-Persian heritage,[98][99] which is widely spoken today. Ethnic Englishmen and other Britons are now practically absent after their two centuries long colonial presence, although they have left an imprint of western culture in the elite society. Languages Main article: Languages of South Asia The largest spoken language in this region is Hindi, its speakers numbering almost 422 million,[100] the second largest spoken language is Bengali, with about 210 million speakers.[101] Urdu is also a major language spoken in the subcontinent, especially in Pakistan, and is similar linguistically to Hindi; Hindi and Urdu together make up Hindustānī. Other languages of this region fall into a few major linguistic groups: the Dravidian languages:Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and the Indo-Aryan languages, a sub-branch of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. The other great sub-branch of Indo-Iranian, the Iranian languages, also have significant minority representation in South Asia, with Pashto and Balochi being widely spoken along the northwestern fringes of the region, in modern-day Pakistan. Many Tibeto-Burman ethnic groups, who are speakers of their language-group, are found in northeast India, Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan. Dzongkha a member of this linguistic group, is the national language of Bhutan. There are as many as 24 Tibeto-Burman languages spoken in Bhutan. Other small groups, speaking Austroasiatic languages, are also present in South Asia. English is another language which dominates South Asia, especially as a medium of advanced education and government administration. Most of South Asia writes using various abugidas of Brāhmī origin while languages such as Urdu, Pashto, and Sindhi use derivatives of the Perso-Arabic script. Not all languages in South Asia follow this strict dichotomy though. For example, Kashmiri is written in both the Perso-Arabic script and in the Devanagari script. The same can be said for Punjabi, which is written in both Shahmukhi and Gurmukhī. Dhivehi is written in a script called Tāna that shows characteristics of both the Arabic alphabet and of an abugida. Religions Temple at the birthplace of Gautama Buddha in Lumbini, Nepal Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal Akshardham temple in Delhi, India Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district, India Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, India Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan Se Cathedral in Old Goa, India Palitana temples in Bhavnagar district, India Paradesi Synagogue in Kochi, India Lotus Temple in Delhi, India Indian religions are the religions that originated in South Asia; namely Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.[102][103] Although Indian religions are connected through the history of South Asia, they constitute a wide range of religious communities, and are not confined to the Indian subcontinent.[102] Arabs traders brought the Abrahamic religion of Islam to South Asia, first in the present day Kerala, Sri Lanka and the Maldive Islands. Later Sindh, Balochistan, and parts of the Punjab region saw conquest by the Arab caliphates along with an influx of Muslims from further west, which resulted in spread of Islam in parts of Western region of South Asia. Subsequently, Muslim Mughal conquerors and further emigration and immigration furthered it throughout the Indo-Gangetic plains, further east towards Bengal, and deep south up to the Deccan.[104] Afghanistan[105] Islam (99%), Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity (1%) Bangladesh[106] Islam (89.5%), Hinduism (9.5%), Buddhism (0.7%), Christianity (0.32%) Bhutan[107] Buddhism (75%), Hinduism (25%) Burma[108] Theravada Buddhism (89%), Islam (4%), Christianity (Baptist and Roman Catholic) (4%), Animism (1%), Others (including Hinduism) (2%) India[107][109] Hinduism (80.5%), Islam (13.5%), Christianity (2.3%), Sikhism (1.9%), Buddhism (0.8%), Jainism (0.4%), Others (0.6%) Maldives[110] Sunni Islam (100%) (One must be a Sunni Muslim to be a citizen on the Maldives[111][112]) Nepal[113] Hinduism (81.3%), Buddhism (9.0%), Islam (4.4%), Kirat (3.1%), Christianity (1.4%), Others (0.8%) Pakistan[114] Islam (96.28%), Hinduism (1.85%), Christianity (1.59%), Ahmaddiyya (0.22%) Sri Lanka[115] Theravada Buddhism (70.19%), Hinduism (12.61%), Islam (9.71%), Christianity (7.45%). Further information: Religion in Bangladesh, Religion in Bhutan, Religion in India, Religion in Nepal, Religion in Pakistan and Religion in Sri Lanka Economy Further information: Economy of Bangladesh, Economy of India, Economy of Nepal, Economy of Pakistan and Economy of Sri Lanka South Asia is the poorest region in the world after Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the UN's Multidimensional Poverty Index, just over a quarter of the world's MPI poor people live in Africa, while a half live in South Asia. The study also found there are more poor people in eight Indian states than in the 26 poorest African countries.[116] According to the index, 55 per cent of people in South Asia are MPI-poor and in sub-Saharan Africa, 64.5 per cent of people are MPI-poor.[116] And according to the poverty data of World Bank, more than 40% of the population in the region lived on less than the International Poverty Line of $1.25 per day in 2005, compared to 50% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa.[117] But in 2014, Acco to World bank ICP 2011 report based on PPP, South Asia's share of the world’s absolute poor was estimated at about 49 percent in 2005 but in 2011 it had declined to 29 percent due to record poverty decline in India[118]In 2014,Economists at both the Washington-based Center for Global Development and the Brookings Institution found that In India the number of people living on less than International poverty line of $1.25 a day fell from 393m of the country’s 1.2bn people to just over 100m[119]based on World Bank's 2011 ICP report,Even setting a poverty line equivalent to $1.78 in 2011 PPP dollars ($1.55 in 2005 PPP dollars), the Brookings researchers found that the number of people living in below poverty line had fallen to 148 million.[120][118] Sri Lanka has the highest GDP per capita in the region, while Afghanistan has the lowest. India is the largest economy in the region (US$ 1.97 trillion) and makes up almost 82% of the South Asian economy; it is the world's 10th largest in nominal terms and 3rd largest by purchasing power adjusted exchange rates. Pakistan has the next largest economy and the 5th highest GDP per capita in the region,[121] followed by Bangladesh and then by Sri Lanka which has the 2nd highest per capita and is the 4th largest economy in the region. According to a World Bank report in 2007, South Asia is the least integrated region in the world; trade between South Asian states is only 2% of the region's combined GDP, compared to 20% in East Asia. The Economist has blamed this on Indian neglect of its neighbors.[122] Governance India[123][124][125] and Pakistan[126][127] are the dominant political powers in the region. India is by far the largest country in the area covering around three-fourths the land area of the subcontinent.[citation needed] India has the largest population of around three times the combined population of the 6 other countries in the subcontinent.[128] India is also the World's largest democracy [129] India's annual defence budget for 2013-14 is $39.2 Billion [130] which is equal to the whole Pakistan's Federal budget of $39.3 billion for 2014-15.[131] Bangladesh is a unitary state and parliamentary democracy.[132] 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 U.S. 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.[133] Diplomacy among the countries of South Asia has been mainly driven by populist politics, with the centre-stage taken by India-Pakistan conflict ever since their independence in 1947, and then the creation of Bangladesh under tense circumstances in 1971. During the height of Cold war, the elite political leaders of Pakistan aligned with the US, while India played crucial role in forming the Non-Aligned Movement and while maintaining goodwill relations with the USSR. Pakistan's governance is one of the most conflicted in the region. The military rule and the unstable government in Pakistan has become a concern for the South Asian region. In Nepal, the governance has struggled to come in the side of democracy and it only showed signs in the recent past, basically in the 21st century, to support the democratic system. The political situation in Sri Lanka has been dominated by an increasingly assertive Sinhalese nationalism, and the emergence of a Tamil separatist movement under LTTE, which was suppressed recently. Burma's politics is dominated by a military Junta, which has sidelined the democratic forces led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Governance Index ranking for core countries Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (2012)[134] (global ranking of 202) 146 140 136 104 157 146 92 Corruption Perception Index (2014)[135] (global ranking of 175) 136 31 94 N/A 116 127 91 The Worldwide Governance Indicators (2012)[136] Government Effectiveness (percentile rank) 22.49 67.46 47.37 48.33 16.75 23.44 45.93 Rule of law (percentile rank) 19.43 59.24 52.61 38.39 26.54 18.96 52.13 Political stability and absence of violence/terrorism (percentile rank) 9 72.51 11.85 86.97 8.53 0.95 22.75 Voice and accountability (percentile rank) 34.12 38.86 58.29 32.23 27.96 23.70 29.86 Multidimensional Poverty Index (2013):[137] (global ranking of 114) 88 67 85 42 80 82 45 Health and nutrition There are 421 million MPI-poor people in eight Indian states alone - Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal - while there are 410 million in the 26 poorest African countries combined.[138] Roughly 42% of Indian children under age 5 suffer from malnutrition.[139] According to the World Bank, 70% of the South Asian population and about 75% of South Asia's poor live in rural areas and most rely on agriculture for their livelihood.[140] According to the Global Hunger Index, South Asia has one of the highest child malnutrition rates in the world.[141] In a latest report published by UNICEF in 2008 on global hunger shows that the actual number of child deaths was around 2.1 million.[142] As of 2008 India is ranked 66th on the global hunger index.[citation needed] The 2006 report stated that "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".[143] |
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