How many countries are in South Asia?

YearMaps maps 8 countries and territories in South Asia: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives. Definitions of South Asia vary; this list follows a common convention.

What is the largest country in South Asia?

India is the largest by area at 3.29M km². India has the largest population, about 1.46 billion.

What is the largest city in South Asia?

Mumbai is the largest city recorded for South Asia, with a metropolitan population of about 18.98 million.

What is the highest mountain in South Asia?

Mount Everest is the highest summit recorded for South Asia in YearMaps, at 8,848 m.

What is the largest lake in South Asia?

Hinakud Dam is the largest lake recorded in South Asia, at about 729 km².

What is the tallest dam in South Asia?

Tehri Dam is the tallest dam recorded in South Asia, at 260 m.

Map of South Asia — Countries, Cities & Geography

Interactive Map of South Asia

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About South Asia

South Asia is the southern sub-region of Asia that is defined in both geographical and ethnic-cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's population. As commonly conceptualised, the modern states of South Asia include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, with Afghanistan also often included, which may also be classified as part of Central Asia. South Asia borders East Asia to the northeast, Central Asia to the northwest, West Asia to the west and Southeast Asia to the east. Southeast Asia and Maritime South Asia are the only subregions of Asia that lie partly within the Southern Hemisphere. The British Indian Ocean Territory and two out of 26 atolls of the Maldives in South Asia lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere. Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian subcontinent and is bounded by the Indian Ocean in the south, and the Himalayas, Karakoram, and Pamir Mountains in the north.

Settled life emerged on the Indian subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus River Basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE. By 1200 BCE, an archaic form of Sanskrit, an Indo-European language, had diffused into India from the northwest, with the Dravidian languages being supplanted in the northern and western regions. By 400 BCE, stratification and exclusion by caste had emerged within Hinduism, and Buddhism and Jainism had arisen, proclaiming social orders unlinked to heredity.

In the early medieval era, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism became established on South Asia's southern and western coasts. Muslim armies from Central Asia intermittently overran the plains of northern India, eventually founding the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th century, and drawing the region into the cosmopolitan networks of medieval Islam. The Islamic Mughal Empire, in 1526, ushered in two centuries of relative peace, leaving a legacy of luminous architecture.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia: South Asia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Visiting South Asia

South Asia, also known as the Indian subcontinent (or "the subcontinent"), is a triangular landmass bordered by the Himalayas in the north, the Indian Ocean in the south, and the Ganges and Indus river valleys in east and west. Home to 2.08 billion people, South Asia has the world's tallest mountains, and is the origin of some of the world's oldest civilisations and the wellspring of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sanamahism, Sikhism, and Jainism.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: South Asia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Countries in South Asia

Ranked by population. Each links to that country's own map.

Countries in South Asia
#	Country	Population	Area	Capital
1	India	1.46 billion	3.29M km²	New Delhi
2	Pakistan	255.22 million	881,913 km²	Islamabad
3	Bangladesh	175.69 million	147,570 km²	Dhaka
4	Afghanistan	43.84 million	652,230 km²	Kabul
5	Nepal	29.62 million	147,181 km²	Kathmandu
6	Sri Lanka	21.76 million	65,610 km²	Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
7	Bhutan	796,682	38,394 km²	Thimphu
8	Maldives	529,676	298 km²	Malé

Largest Cities in South Asia

Top 15 of 338 recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.

Largest Cities in South Asia
#	Name	Population	Region	Role
1	Mumbai	18.98 million	Maharashtra	Admin-1 capital
2	Delhi	15.93 million	Delhi	Populated place
3	Kolkata	14.79 million	West Bengal	Admin-1 capital
4	Dhaka	12.80 million	Dhaka	National capital
5	Karachi	12.13 million	Sind	Admin-1 capital
6	Chennai	7.16 million	Tamil Nadu	Admin-1 capital
7	Bangalore	6.79 million	Karnataka	Admin-1 capital
8	Lahore	6.58 million	Punjab	Admin-1 capital
9	Hyderabad	6.38 million	Andhra Pradesh	Admin-1 capital
10	Ahmedabad	5.38 million	Dadra and Nagar Haveli	Populated place
11	Haora	4.84 million	West Bengal	Populated place
12	Pune	4.67 million	Maharashtra	Populated place
13	Chittagong	4.53 million	Chittagong	Admin-1 capital
14	Surat	3.84 million	Dadra and Nagar Haveli	Populated place
15	Kabul	3.28 million	Kabul	National capital

Highest Mountains in South Asia

Top 15 of 29 recorded. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries.

Highest Mountains in South Asia
#	Name	Elevation	Feet	Region
1	Mount Everest	8,848 m	29,029 ft	Asia
2	K2	8,611 m	28,251 ft	Asia
3	Kanchenjunga	8,586 m	28,169 ft	Asia
4	Dhaulagiri	8,172 m	26,811 ft	Asia
5	Nanga Parbat	8,125 m	26,657 ft	Asia
6	Nanda Devi	7,817 m	25,646 ft	Asia
7	Batura Mustagh I	7,795 m	25,574 ft	Asia
8	Tirich Mir	7,708 m	25,289 ft	Asia
9	Gangkar Punsum	7,570 m	24,836 ft	Asia
10	Nowshak	7,492 m	24,580 ft	Asia
11	Nun	7,135 m	23,409 ft	Asia
12	Shahi Kangri	6,934 m	22,749 ft	Asia
13	Kangju Kangri	6,725 m	22,064 ft	Asia
14	Shah Fuladi	5,048 m	16,562 ft	Asia
15	Sikaram	4,755 m	15,600 ft	Asia

Major Dams in South Asia

Top 15 of 70 recorded. Ranked by structural height.

Major Dams in South Asia
#	Name	Height	River	Capacity	Completed
1	Tehri Dam	260 m	Bhagirathi	2,400 MW	2006
2	Bhakra Dam	226 m	Sutlej	1,325 MW	1963
3	Idukki Dam	169 m	Periyar	780 MW	1976
4	Sardar Sarovar Dam	163 m	Narmada	1,450 MW	2017
5	Ranjit Sagar Dam (Thein Dam)	160 m	Ravi	600 MW	2001
6	Mangla Dam	147 m	Jhelum	1,500 MW	1967
7	Srisailam Dam	145 m	Krishna	1,670 MW	1980
8	Baglihar Dam	143 m	Chenab	900 MW	2008
9	Tarbela Dam	143 m	Indus	4,888 MW	1976
10	Cheruthoni Dam	138 m	Periyar / Idukki	780 MW	1976
11	Pong Dam (Maharana Pratap Sagar)	133 m	Beas	396 MW	1974
12	Nagarjuna Sagar Dam	124 m	Krishna	816 MW	1967
13	Lower Subansiri Dam	116 m	Subansiri	2,000 MW	2024
14	Salal Dam	113 m	Chenab	690 MW	1987
15	Koyna Dam	103 m	Koyna	1,960 MW	1964

Largest Lakes in South Asia

Top 15 of 25 recorded. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake.

Largest Lakes in South Asia
#	Name	Surface Area	Type
1	Hinakud Dam	729 km²	Reservoir
2	Karnaphuli Reservoir	518 km²	Reservoir
3	Tarbela Dam	404 km²	Reservoir
4	Tungabhadra	380 km²	Reservoir
5	Pangong Tso	379 km²	High-Altitude Endorheic Salt Lake
6	Gandhi Sagar Dam	367 km²	Reservoir
7	Nagarjuna Sagar Dam	356 km²	Reservoir
8	Vembanad Lake	317 km²	Brackish Lagoon & Backwaters
9	Sambhar Salt Lake	269 km²	Endorheic Salt Lake
10	Kolleru Lake	231 km²	Freshwater Deltaic Wetland
11	Gobind Sagar Reservoir	214 km²	Reservoir
12	Stanley Reservoir	157 km²	Reservoir
13	Loktak Lake	136 km²	Freshwater Lake with Phumdis
14	Pulicat Lake	127 km²	Coastal Lagoon
15	Bhadra Reservoir	122 km²	Reservoir

Ports in South Asia

Top 15 of 52 recorded. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on.

Ports in South Asia
#	Name	Channel Depth	Class	Sea	Max Vessel
1	Azhikal (Azhikkal)	56.7 m	Very Small	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	medium vessels
2	Cuddalore	56.7 m	Very Small	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	large vessels
3	Beypore	53 m	Very Small	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	medium vessels
4	Bhavnagar	53 m	Small	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	medium vessels
5	Port Blair	53 m	Small	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	medium vessels
6	Panaji	53 m	Very Small	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	medium vessels
7	Belekeri	49.4 m	Very Small	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	medium vessels
8	Mongla	49.4 m	Small	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	medium vessels
9	Chittagong	49.4 m	Minor	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	medium vessels
10	Magdalla	45.7 m	Very Small	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	medium vessels
11	Okha	42.1 m	Very Small	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	large vessels
12	Mandvi	42.1 m	Very Small	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	large vessels
13	Calcutta	42.1 m	Major	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	medium vessels
14	Quilon (Kollam)	42.1 m	Very Small	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	medium vessels
15	Haldia Port	42.1 m	Very Small	Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal	large vessels

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Asia

Top 15 of 60 recorded. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Asia
#	Name	Inscribed	Type	Criteria
1	Kathmandu Valley	1979	Cultural	(iii) (iv) (vi)
2	Sagarmatha National Park	1979	Natural	(vii)
3	Buddhist Ruins of Takht-i-Bahi and Neighbouring City Remains at Sahr-i-Bahlol	1980	Cultural	(iv)
4	Mohenjo-daro	1980	Cultural	(ii) (iii)
5	Taxila	1980	Cultural	(iii) (vi)
6	Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore	1981	Cultural	(i) (ii) (iii)
7	Historical Monuments at Makli, Thatta	1981	Cultural	(iii)
8	Anuradhapura	1982	Cultural	(ii) (iii) (vi)
9	Polonnaruwa	1982	Cultural	(i) (iii) (vi)
10	Sigiriya	1982	Cultural	(ii) (iii) (iv)
11	Agra Fort	1983	Cultural	(iii)
12	Ajanta Caves	1983	Cultural	(i) (ii) (iii) (vi)
13	Ellora Caves	1983	Cultural	(i) (iii) (vi)
14	Taj Mahal	1983	Cultural	(i)
15	Chitwan National Park	1984	Natural	(vii) (ix) (x)

Largest Islands of South Asia

Top 9 of 9 recorded. Ranked by mapped area. An island divided between countries is listed under each, with the area of the whole island.

Largest Islands of South Asia
#	Name	Area	Type
1	Maldive Islands	126,735 km²	Island group
2	Sri Lanka	85,048 km²	Island
3	Andaman Islands	69,063 km²	Island group
4	Laccadive Islands	58,375 km²	Island group
5	Nicobar Islands	47,593 km²	Island group
6	Great Nicobar	3,721 km²	Island
7	N. Andaman	3,576 km²	Island
8	Middle Andaman	2,789 km²	Island
9	S. Andaman	2,380 km²	Island

Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of South Asia

Top 15 of 40 recorded. Ranked by mapped area. Covers mountain ranges, deserts, plateaus, named glaciers, plains, basins, peninsulas and capes. One that crosses a border is listed under every country it lies in, with the area of the whole feature.

Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of South Asia
#	Name	Area	Type	Region
1	Asia	46.28M km²	Continent	Asia
2	India	3.27M km²	Pen/cape	Asia
3	Plateau of Tibet	3.05M km²	Plateau	Asia
4	Tarim Basin	423,249 km²	Basin	Asia
5	Baluchistan	394,613 km²	Geoarea	Asia
6	Deccan Plateau	367,154 km²	Plateau	Asia
7	Thar Desert	267,074 km²	Desert	Asia
8	Chota Nägpur Plateau	230,497 km²	Plateau	Asia
9	Eastern Ghats	193,459 km²	Range/mtn	Asia
10	Hindu Kush	180,675 km²	Range/mtn	Asia
11	Western Ghats	136,638 km²	Range/mtn	Asia
12	KARAKORAM Range	112,057 km²	Range/mtn	Asia
13	Pamirs	97,312 km²	Range/mtn	Asia
14	Vindhya Range	67,311 km²	Range/mtn	Asia
15	Satpura Range	64,077 km²	Range/mtn	Asia

South Asia: Quick Answers

How many countries are in South Asia?: YearMaps maps 8 countries and territories in South Asia: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives. Definitions of South Asia vary; this list follows a common convention.
What is the largest country in South Asia?: India is the largest by area at 3.29M km². India has the largest population, about 1.46 billion.
What is the largest city in South Asia?: Mumbai is the largest city recorded for South Asia, with a metropolitan population of about 18.98 million.
What is the highest mountain in South Asia?: Mount Everest is the highest summit recorded for South Asia in YearMaps, at 8,848 m.
What is the largest lake in South Asia?: Hinakud Dam is the largest lake recorded in South Asia, at about 729 km².
What is the tallest dam in South Asia?: Tehri Dam is the tallest dam recorded in South Asia, at 260 m.