Asia

The largest continent on earth, Asia stretches from its boundary with Europe at the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It reaches from Africa and Oceania to the south all the way to the Arctic Ocean in the north.

Asian culture is shaped by four major influences: Chinese, Indian, European and Islamic. The Chinese influence is in eastern Asia and it is primarily the source of Confucianism. The Indian influence is primarily through Hinduism and Buddhism, which has spread more to other countries than Hinduism has. Islam remains the dominant religion in southwest Asia, and also eastern and northern Africa. The Russian Orthodox church has an influence in the Russian western parts of Siberia.