![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/South_Asia_non_political%252C_with_rivers.jpg/640px-South_Asia_non_political%252C_with_rivers.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Indian subcontinent
Physiographical region in South Asia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Indian subcontinent?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The Indian subcontinent[note 7] is a physiographical region in Southern Asia, mostly situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geographically, it spans the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, the British Indian Ocean Territory (United Kingdom), India,[note 1] Maldives,[note 2] Nepal,[note 3] Pakistan,[note 4] and Sri Lanka.[note 2][1][2][3][4] Although the terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are often used interchangeably to denote the region,[5] the geopolitical term of South Asia frequently includes Afghanistan, which is not considered a part of the subcontinent, while excluding the British Indian Ocean Territory which is geologically associated with the subcontinent.[6]Apart from Maritime Southeast Asia, Maritime South Asia is the only subregion of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere: the British Indian Ocean Territory and two out of 26 atolls of Maldives lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere.
Indo-Burma
Range Topographic map of the subcontinent and surrounding regions (in red)
| |
![]() Geopolitical coverage of the subcontinent | |
Area | 4,440,000 km2 (1,710,000 sq mi) |
---|---|
Population | c. 1.9 billion |
Countries | |
Dependencies | |
Languages | |
Time zones | List:
|
Largest cities |
Geologically, the subcontinent originates from Insular India, an isolated landmass that rifted from the supercontinent of Gondwana during the Cretaceous and merged with the landmass of Eurasia nearly 55 million years ago, forming the Himalayas.[7] It is one of the most populated regions in the world, holding roughly 20–25 percent of the global population. Geographically, the peninsular region in Southern Asia is located below the Third Pole, delineated by the Himalayas in the north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Indo-Burman Ranges in the east.[8] The neighboring geographical regions around the subcontinent include the Tibetan Plateau to the north, the Indochinese Peninsula to the east, the Iranian Plateau to the west, and the Indian Ocean to the south.