# Travel Destinations > Indian Sub-Continent >  indian subcontinent

## jabame.yumeko

Asia's Indian subcontinent is made up at least of Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. Some uses of the phrase, which is frequently but not always used synonymously with the term South Asia, may also cover Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, and other regions.


Many historical authors referred to the area as simply "India," using the term to refer generally to the areas south and southeast of the Indus River. Until the British raj (18581947), when "India" started to refer to a distinct political entity that later became a nation-state in its own right, many historians continued to use the term to refer to the entire Indian subcontinent in discussions of history. Thus, the phrase "Indian subcontinent" serves to distinguish between the historical geographical area formerly known as India and the contemporary nation of the same name. With 1.8 billion inhabitants, the Indian subcontinent is one of the most densely populated regions on the planet.

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