Economy
Map
South Asia
Your Guides
My name is Asha and this is my friend Hanu. We’re here to take you through our home, South Asia.
Our economies in South Asia used to be weak, but in recent years, they’ve started to grow quickly. India is the second fastest growing economy in the world, behind China.
The biggest industries in South Asia are agriculture and manufacturing, especially textiles, which is an official word for products like clothing and rugs. Take a look at the labels on the clothes you’re wearing. Chances are a big part of your closet started out somewhere in South Asia.
But even though South Asian economies are growing quickly, millions of people are still living in poverty. Lots of people who live in the cities are working in factories, earning just enough to survive. Some of these factories use child labor or even make children work as slaves.
In more rural areas, people aren’t benefiting from the growing economy at all. They are farming to grow enough food to feed their families.