South Asia

[south ey-zhuh, ey-shuh]

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of South Asia¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

The son of Pakistani parents who emigrated to the UK, he has always spoken with pride about his heritage and the bond it gave him with fans in South Asia.

From BBC

Nepal's GDP per capita remained under $1,500, making it the second-poorest country in South Asia, behind only Afghanistan.

From BBC

Rumela Sen, a South Asia expert at Columbia University, said it was "worrying" to see "an unprecedented glorification of the army as a voice of sanity and stability".

From BBC

"Due to the open border, it is difficult to know the exact number of Nepali citizens working and living in India but is estimated to be around 1-1.5 million," says Jeevan Sharma, a political anthropologist of South Asia at The University of Edinburgh.

From BBC

Though Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are also India's close neighbours in South Asia, Delhi's relationship with Kathmandu is special because of historic people-to-people, economic and strategic ties.

From BBC