South Asia

American  

[south ey-zhuh, ey-shuh] / ˈsaʊθ ˈeɪ ʒə, ˈeɪ ʃə /

noun

1. the countries and land area of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, India, the Maldives, Nepal, and Pakistan.

---

Other Word Forms

• South Asian
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of South Asia

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

South Asia

Construction across mountains in South Asia is placing more workers in risky terrain that is being destabilized by warming temperatures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

India's monsoon is running well below average, while hotter and drier conditions are forecast from Central America and the Caribbean to parts of South America, South Asia, the Southwest Pacific, Europe and Africa.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

In a report last year, the World Bank found that Pakistan has lost economic ground compared with the rest of South Asia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026

But across Europe, East Asia and South Asia, the turn is toward nuclear power.

From Salon ● May 21, 2026

Almost forty species of cotton exist worldwide, of which four have been domesticated, two in the Americas, two in the Middle East and South Asia.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann