South Asia
- This article deals with the geopolitical region in Asia. For geophysical treatments, see Indian subcontinent.
The definition of continental subregions in use by the United Nations. 
Map of South Asia (see note)
South Asia or Southern Asia is a southern geopolitical region of the Asian continent comprising territories on and in proximity to the Indian subcontinent & the Iranian Plateau. It is surrounded by (from west to east) Western Asia, Central Asia, Eastern Asia, and Southeastern Asia. The terms with cardinal directions are often equated with the Indian subcontinent, but they are not synonymous.
Definitions and usage
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South Asia consists of the following territories:
The United Nations subregion of Southern Asia includes the above plus Afghanistan and Iran. The term is also sometimes used to describe the whole of Asia south of the former Soviet Union.
The term Indian subcontinent aptly describe those regions which geophysically lie on the Indian Plate, bordered on the north by the Eurasian Plate. Geopolitically, however, South Asia or Southern Asia subsume the Indian subcontinent: it also includes territories found external to the Indian Plate and in proximity to it. Afghanistan, for instance, is sometimes grouped in this region due to sociopolitical ties to neighbouring Pakistan, and because it was a part of the Indian Maurya and Mughal empires.
Demography and history
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, and have a greater affinity with Europe than with most other regions of Asia, excepting the Iranian Plateau and the Caucasus. Persian, Arab and Turkish cultural traditions from the west also form an integral part of Islamic South Asian culture, but have been radically adapted to form a Muslim culture distinct from what is found in the Middle East.
South Asia ranks among the world's most densely-populated regions. About 1.6 billion people live there — about a quarter 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 Dwaraka region and the Indus River Valley. The region was at its most prosperous before the 18th century, when the Mughal Empire held sway in the north; European colonialism led to a new conquering of the region, by Portugal and Holland, and later Britain and to a lesser degree France. Most of the region gained independence from Europe in the late 1940s.
See also
- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
- History of South Asia
- Indology
- Desi
- Islamic conquest of South Asia
