Ethnic groups in South Asia

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Ethnic groups in South Asia are ethnolinguistic groupings within the diverse populations of South Asia, including the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. [1] Afghanistan is variously considered to be a part of both Central Asia and South Asia, which means Afghans are not always included among South Asians, but when they are, South Asia has a total population of about 2.04 billion. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Contents

The majority of the population fall within three large linguistic groups: Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, and Iranic. These groups are also further subdivided into numerous sub-groups, castes and tribes. Indo-Aryans form the predominant ethnolinguistic group in India (North India, East India, West India, and Central India), Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. [11] Dravidians form the predominant ethnolinguistic group in southern India, the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka and a small pocket of Pakistan. [12] The Iranic peoples also have a significant presence in South Asia, the large majority of whom are located in Afghanistan and the northwestern and western parts of Pakistan. [13] [14]

Minority groups not falling within either large group mostly speak languages belonging to the Austroasiatic and Tibeto-Burman language families, and largely live around Ladakh and Northeast India, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The Andamanese (Sentinel, Onge, Jarawa, and Great Andamanese) live in some of the Andaman Islands and speak a language isolate, as do the Kusunda in central Nepal, [15] the Vedda in Sri Lanka, and the Nihali of Central India, who number about 5,000 people. The people of the Hunza Valley in Pakistan are another distinct population; they speak Burushaski, a language isolate.

The traditions of different ethnic groups in South Asia have diverged, influenced by external cultures, especially in the northwestern parts of South Asia and also in the border regions and busy ports, where there are greater levels of contact with external cultures. There is also a lot of genetic diversity within the region. For example, most of the ethnic groups of the northeastern parts of South Asia are genetically related to peoples of East or Southeast Asia. There are also genetically isolated groups who have not been genetically influenced by other groups, such as the Jarawa people of the Andaman Islands. The largest ethnolinguistic group in South Asia are the Indo-Aryans, numbering around 1 billion, and the largest subgroup are the native speakers of Hindi languages, numbering more than 470 million.

These groups are based solely on a linguistic basis and not on a genetic basis.

List of ethnic groups on the basis of language

South Asian language families South Asian Language Families.jpg
South Asian language families

Andamanese groups

Austroasiatic people

Austronesian people

Dravidian people

Indo-Aryan people

The extent of Indo-Aryan languages in South Asia Major Indo-Aryan languages.png
The extent of Indo-Aryan languages in South Asia

Iranic people

Nuristani people

Semitic people

Tai people

Tibeto-Burman people

Turkic people

Afro-Asian groups

European and Eurasian people

East Asian people

Chinese

Linguistic isolate groups

Diaspora

Many South Asian ethnic groups and nationalities have substantial diasporas.

See also Bangladeshi diaspora, Indian diaspora, Nepalese diaspora, Pakistani diaspora, Afghan diaspora, Bihari diaspora, Malayali diaspora, Punjabi diaspora, Sindhi diaspora, Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, Tamil diaspora, and Telugu diaspora.

Two (or possibly three) other people groups have ethnic and linguistic ties with the region:

See also

National demographics:

Related Research Articles

This is a list of notable persons by nationality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desi</span> People, cultures, and products of South Asia and their diaspora

Desi is a loose term used to describe the people, cultures, and products of the Indian subcontinent and their diaspora, derived from Sanskrit देश (deśá), meaning "land" or "country". Desi traces its origin to the people from the South Asian republics of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and may also sometimes include people from Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinduism in France</span> Overview of the presence, role and impact of Hinduism in France

Hinduism is a minority religion in France that is followed by more than 121,312 people in France, which is nearly 0.2% of the nation's population. Most of the Hindus in France are mainly from the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora and the Indian diaspora, though there are many Hindus from Nepal, Afghanistan, Mauritius and other nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of India</span> Overview of and topical guide to India

The following outline is provided as an overview of, and topical guide to, India:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethnic groups in the Middle East</span>

Ethnic groups in the Middle East are ethnolinguistic groupings in the "transcontinental" region that is commonly a geopolitical term designating the intercontinental region comprising West Asia without the South Caucasus, and also comprising Egypt in North Africa. The Middle East has historically been a crossroad of different cultures and languages. Since the 1960s, the changes in political and economic factors have significantly altered the ethnic composition of groups in the region. While some ethnic groups have been present in the region for millennia, others have arrived fairly recently through immigration. The largest socioethnic groups in the region are Egyptians, Arabs, Turks, Persians, Kurds, and Azerbaijanis but there are dozens of other ethnic groups that have hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions of members.

Asian people are the people of the continent of Asia. The term may also refer to their descendants. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an Asian is “a person of Asian descent”.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethnic groups in Asia</span> Ethnic group

The ancestral population of modern Asian people has its origins in the two primary prehistoric settlement centres – greater Southwest Asia and from the Mongolian plateau towards Northern China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of South Asia</span>

South Asia is home to several hundred languages, spanning the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It is home to the third most spoken language in the world, Hindi–Urdu; and the sixth most spoken language, Bengali. The languages in the region mostly comprise Indo-Iranic and Dravidian languages, and further members of other language families like Austroasiatic, and Tibeto-Burman languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian subcontinent</span> Physiographical region in South Asia

The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia, mostly situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it spans major landmasses from the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Although the terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are often used interchangeably to denote the region, the geopolitical term of South Asia frequently includes Afghanistan, which is not considered part of the subcontinent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Asia</span> Subregion in Asia

South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethnic-cultural terms. As commonly conceptualized, the modern states of South Asia include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. South Asia borders East Asia to the northeast, Central Asia to the northwest, West Asia to the west and Southeast Asia to the east. 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.

The Punjabi diaspora consists of the descendants of ethnic Punjabis who emigrated out of the Punjab region in the northern part of the South Asia to the rest of the world. Punjabis are one of the largest ethnic groups in both the Pakistani and Indian diasporas. The Punjabi diaspora numbers around the world has been given between 3-5 million, mainly concentrated in Britain, Canada, United States, Western Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian diaspora</span> Indian citizens and persons of Indian origin living abroad

Overseas Indians, officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and People of Indian Origin (PIOs) are Indians who reside or originate outside of India. According to the Government of India, Non-Resident Indians are citizens of India who currently are not living in India, while the term People of Indian Origin refers to people of Indian birth or ancestry who are citizens of countries other than India. Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) is given to People of Indian Origin and to persons who are not People of Indian Origin but married to Indian citizen or People of Indian Origin. Persons with OCI status are known as Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs). The OCI status is a permanent visa for visiting India with a foreign passport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamil Mauritians</span> Ethnic group

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamil Nadu diaspora</span>

The Tamil Nadu diaspora comprises people who have emigrated from South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, to other non-Tamil Indian states and other countries, and people of Tamil Nadu descent born or residing in other non-Tamil Indian states and other countries.

Bihari diaspora are the people from Bihar who resides outside of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinduism in South Asia</span> Overview of Hinduism in South Asia

Hinduism is the largest religion in South Asia with about 1.2 billion Hindus, forming just under two-thirds of South Asia's population. South Asia has the largest population of Hindus in the world, with about 99% of all global Hindus being from South Asia. Hinduism is the dominant religion in India and Nepal and is the second-largest religion in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan.

References

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  6. Sarwal, Amit (2012). Bridging Imaginations: South Asian Diaspora in Australia. Readworthy Publications. ISBN   978-81-935345-4-0.
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  8. https://study.com/academy/lesson/asian-ethnic-groups.html "South Asia is home to the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka."
  9. https://minorityrights.org/minorities/south-asians/ "In the UK the term South Asian usually refers to people from the Indian subcontinent."
  10. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.055159 "Individuals of South Asian (Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Indian, Maldivian, Nepalese, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan) ancestry account for almost a quarter of the world’s population, and the South Asian diaspora is one of the largest and most widespread across the globe."
  11. Chitta, Sridhar (7 January 2022). The Knowledge in the Vedas. StoryMirror Infotech Pvt Ltd. p. 173. ISBN   978-93-92661-61-7.
  12. Swan, Michael; Smith, Bernard (26 April 2001). Learner English: A Teacher's Guide to Interference and Other Problems. Cambridge University Press. p. 227. ISBN   978-0-521-77939-5 . Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  13. Kachru, Braj B.; Kachru, Yamuna; Sridhar, S. N. (27 March 2008). Language in South Asia. Cambridge University Press. p. 34. ISBN   978-1-139-46550-2.
  14. "Pakistan", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 24 January 2024
  15. D.E. Watters, Notes on Kusunda (a language isolate of Nepal), Kathmandu 2005
  16. Yasmin Saikia (9 November 2004). Fragmented Memories. Duke University Press. ISBN   0822333732.

16. Vij SB, Webb ML. Culturally competent occupational therapy practice for South Asians in the United States of America: A narrative review. Indian J Occup Ther 2022;54:4-9.

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