Bagpipes are common in North Africa, the Middle East and India. Although they were once common in China, they appear to have died out. There is no reference to bagpipes in modern lists of Chinese instruments.

Indian bagpipes are very simple, with a mouth-blown bag and a single chanter, with no drones. Bagpipes from the Arabic world, in North Africa and the Middle East, are only slightly more elaborate. They have a mouth-blown bag, a double chanter and no drones.