South Asia comprises eight countries—Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Mal-dives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka—and has a combined population of over 1.4 billion people.It is the second fastest growing region within
Asia after East Asia and the Pacific. Yet, regional growth outcomes are not equitably shared es-pecially vis-à-vis the least developed countries in the region. While South Asia region has rec-orded significant development progress, it is
still home to approximately half of the world’s poor who are living on less than $1.25 a day