Asia, South

This entry discusses the state of journalism and challenges facing the profession in eight South Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Almost 90% of the South Asian population lives in three countries—India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. These three countries dominate the media landscape as well. The population of South Asia, around 1.95 billion, is almost 25% of the global population. Almost two thirds of the population in South Asia lives in rural areas. Much of South Asia has relatively low rates of literacy, although the literacy rate is over 90% in both Sri Lanka and Maldives.

South Asia also accounts for nearly 30% of the global population living below the poverty line. These factors (rural-urban divide, low literacy, and poverty) have ...