Economic Integration in South Asia

1

South Asia in a Globalizing World Economy and the Alternative Vision

Introduction

South Asia is the home of about 23 per cent of the world’s population. Before the recent admission of Afghanistan to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), seven countries were originally included in the regional group of countries called ‘South Asia’—Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Later on, Afghanistan also became a member of SAARC. However, in this study, the primary focus is on the original seven countries, given that consistent data on Afghanistan is not available. These eight countries vary vastly in terms of area, population and density of population as well as in terms of the levels of underdevelopment, ...