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South Asia
Subregion of the Asian continent / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethnic-cultural terms. As commonly conceptualised, South Asia consists of the countries Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka,[6] with Afghanistan also often included.[7]
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| Area | 5,134,641 km2 (1,982,496 sq mi) |
|---|---|
| Population | 1.94 billion (2022)[1] |
| Population density | 362.3/km2 (938/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | $15.1 trillion (2022)[2] |
| GDP (nominal) | $4.47 trillion (2022)[3] |
| GDP per capita | $2,350 (nominal) (2022) $8,000 (PPP) (2022)[4] |
| HDI |  0.641 (2019)(medium)[5] |
| Ethnic groups | Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Dravidian, Sino-Tibetan, Austroasiatic, Turkic etc. |
| Religions | Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Irreligion |
| Demonym |
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| Countries | |
| Dependencies | |
| Languages | Official languages (national level) Other official languages (provincial/regional level) |
| Time zones | |
| Internet TLD | .af, .bd, .bt, .in, .io, .lk, .mv, .np, .pk |
| Calling code | Zone 8 & 9 |
| Largest cities | |
| UN M49 code | 034 – Southern Asia142 – Asia001 – World |
Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian subcontinent and defined largely by the Indian Ocean in the south, and the Himalayas, Karakoram, and Pamir mountains in the north.[citation needed] The Amu Darya, which rises north of the Hindu Kush, forms part of the northwestern border.[citation needed] On land (clockwise), South Asia is bounded by Western Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic cooperation organization in the region which was established in 1985 and includes all eight nations comprising South Asia.[8] The core countries of South Asia have a total area of 4.4 million km2 (1.7 million sq mi), which is 10% of the Asian continent.[6] The population of the region, under the broader definition, is about 1.9 billion[1] or about one-fourth of the world's population, making it both the most populous and the most densely populated geographical region in the world.[9]
In 2022, South Asia had the world's largest populations of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, and Zoroastrians.[10] South Asia alone accounts for 90.47% of Hindus, 95.5% of Sikhs, and 31% of Muslims worldwide, as well as 35 million Christians and 25 million Buddhists.[11][12][13][14]