Eastern world

The Eastern world, also known as the East or historically the Orient, is an umbrella term for various cultures, social structures, nations and philosophical systems, and what it covers depends on the context. It most often includes Asia, the Mediterranean region and the Arab world, especially in pre-modern settings and in modern discussions of Orientalism. It is usually set against the Western world. The regions grouped under it are varied, share no single heritage and have never historically defined themselves collectively. The term first had a literal geographic meaning, the eastern part of the Old World, but the boundary between east and west is now more cultural and historical than geographical. Australia and New Zealand, founded as British settler colonies, are normally counted as Western, while the Central Asian nations of the former Soviet Union are grouped with the East. Countries such as the Philippines may be seen as Western in some respects because of historical influence from the United States and Western Europe.