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Map of South Asia Regional overview
South Asia is perhaps the most diverse region on the planet. Bordered to the north by the Himalayas and to the south by the Indian Ocean, it includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Maldives and Afghanistan. It covers a diversity of ecosystems from lush tropical forest to harsh, dry desert. It is also the world's most populous region, with over 1 billion people living in India alone. Never unified as a single nation, the movements of peoples over thousands of years has resulted in strong commonalities between some cultures. Yet there remains a huge diversity of languages, religions and outlooks across the sub-continent.
The peoples of South Asia have endured great suffering, not least from a long history of colonisation by Western powers. Today the shadow of war continues to hang over the region. Conflict has ravaged Afghanistan for many decades, while India and Pakistan threaten to destroy each other with atomic weapons and guerillas in Nepal are a continuing threat. Finding solutions to these conflicts is a priority, but much of this violence can be seen to stem from the regions social inequalities.
There is extremely uneven distribution of wealth across South Asia, along with unequal gender relations, environmental degradation and low commitment to human development in areas such as health and education. As a result, more than half of the world's poorest people live in South Asia. Further it has the lowest average GDP of any of the world's major geographic regions.
Despite pervasive poverty, the nations of South Asia are also characterised by sophisticated industry and science sectors; thousands of years of profound artistic, religious and cultural development; an extensive middle class; and widespread, enviable tolerance of diversity and democratic institutions. There is little doubt that South Asia holds the potential within its borders to overcome its many problems.