South Asia

South Asia is a big part of Asia.

It sits in the south of the continent. High mountains sit at the top of this land.

The blue ocean is at the bottom.

Many people live in this area. It has one quarter of all people on Earth. This makes it a very busy place.

Many different lands are here. You can find India and Pakistan. There is also Nepal and Bhutan.

Other places include Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Bangladesh is also part of this group.

It is a place with many stories. You can see it on a map.

South Asia is a large part of Asia.

It covers about 10% of the Asian continent. The area is 5.2 million square kilometers big.

Most of this land is a peninsula. This means it is partly surrounded by water. The Indian Ocean is to the south. Great mountains sit to the north. These include the Himalayas and the Karakoram.

Many people live here. There are 2.04 billion people in South Asia. That is one quarter of all people on Earth. It is the most crowded region in the world.

Many different countries make up this area. You will find India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. There is also Nepal and Bhutan. The Maldives and Sri Lanka are also here.

South Asia has a very long history. People lived in the Indus Valley 9,000 years ago.

Many different religions began here. These include Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. People also follow Islam, Christianity, and many others. It is a place with many different cultures and stories.

South Asia is a large and busy part of the Asian continent.

It covers about 10% of the land in Asia. The region is mostly a peninsula, which means it is surrounded by water on many sides. To the south, the vast Indian Ocean meets the land. To the north, huge mountain barriers rise high into the sky. These include the Himalayas, the Karakoram, and the Pamir Mountains.

This land sits on the Indian Plate. Long ago, this plate collided with Eurasia to help shape the area.

Many people call this region home. There are about 2.04 billion people living in South Asia today. This is a huge number because it is one-fourth of all people on Earth. Because so many people live there, it is the most crowded region in the world.

You can see this density in big cities with many buildings.

The region is also very diverse in its beliefs. It has the world's largest groups of Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains. Many people also follow Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity.

Life in South Asia has a very long history. Settled life began near the Indus River Basin about 9,000 years ago.

This eventually grew into the Indus Valley Civilisation. Later, people known as Aryans moved into the area from the northwest. They spoke an early form of Sanskrit. They passed down their stories and hymns through spoken words. These special texts are called the Vedas. They were taught from teacher to student for many centuries.

Over many years, different groups shaped the land. Muslim armies arrived from Central Asia and founded the Delhi Sultanate. Later, the Mughal Empire ruled for two hundred years.

This empire left behind beautiful architecture. Eventually, the British East India Company and then the British Crown ruled much of the region. In 1947, the British Indian Empire was divided. This created the independent nations of India and Pakistan.

Later, in 1971, Bangladesh became its own nation too.

Today, South Asia is made of several different countries. These include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives.

These nations work together through a group called SAARC. This group was started in 1985 to help them cooperate. Even though the countries are separate, they share a deep history. You can see this in the many languages spoken across the land.

From the high mountains to the warm coasts, it is a place of many connections.

South Asia is a major subregion located in the southern part of the Asian continent.

It is a vast area covering approximately 5.2 million square kilometers. This represents about 10% of the total land surface of Asia. The region is largely a peninsula resting on the Indian Plate. This tectonic plate collided with Eurasia roughly 50 million years ago. This massive collision helped shape the current landscape of the continent.

Geographically, South Asia is defined by very distinct natural boundaries. To the north, it is blocked by massive mountain barriers. These include the Himalayas, the Karakoram, and the Pamir Mountains. To the south, the region meets the Indian Ocean. It shares borders with several other Asian subregions. It borders East Asia to the northeast and Central Asia to the northwest. West Asia lies to the west, while Southeast Asia is to the east. Interestingly, Southeast Asia and Maritime South Asia are the only Asian subregions that sit partly in the Southern Hemisphere.

Human life in this region has a deep and complex history. Settled life first emerged about 9,000 years ago. This happened along the western margins of the Indus River Basin. Over time, this grew into the Indus Valley Civilisation during the third millennium BCE.

Later, new influences arrived from the northwest. Indo-Aryan-speaking people began entering the subcontinent between 3,900 and 3,000 years ago. This process likely involved many small-scale migrations rather than a single event. These groups brought a predecessor to the Sanskrit language. This cultural blending combined new outside features with existing Harappan influences.

The Vedic period left a unique mark on South Asian culture. The Aryans were nomadic horse-herding tribes known as an elite group. They composed sacred ritual texts called the Vedas in Sanskrit. These texts, including the Rig Veda, were composed orally. Teachers passed them down to students in an unbroken line. This method acted like a "tape-recording" of the era. It even preserved the musical tones of the original words. The Rig Veda is the earliest extant text composed in Sanskrit. It was composed around 1500 BCE, before the widespread use of iron.

As centuries passed, many different powers shaped the political landscape. Muslim armies from Central Asia arrived and founded the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th century. This connected the region to the cosmopolitan networks of medieval Islam. Later, the Mughal Empire began its rule in 1526. The Mughals provided two centuries of relative peace. They left behind a legacy of luminous architecture.

Eventually, the British East India Company began expanding its rule. This turned much of South Asia into a colonial economy. By 1858, the British Crown took direct control of the region.

The modern political map was created through a major change in 1947. The British Indian Empire was partitioned into two independent dominions. These were the Hindu-majority Dominion of India and the Muslim-majority Dominion of Pakistan. This partition caused an unprecedented migration and a large loss of life. During this time, hundreds of local princes became legally independent. Most eventually merged their domains into either India or Pakistan. Later, in 1971, East Pakistan seceded to become the new nation of Bangladesh.

Today, South Asia is one of the most significant regions on Earth. It has a population of about 2.04 billion people. This means South Asia contains 25% of the entire world's population. It is both the most populous and most densely populated region globally. The region is also incredibly diverse in its religious beliefs. It holds the world's largest populations of Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains. It also contains massive populations of Muslims, Christians, and Buddhists.

To help with regional cooperation, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established in 1985.