Africa :

Though of many varied origins, African culture, especially Sub-Saharan African culture has been shaped by European colonialism, and, especially in North Africa, by Arab and Islamic culture.

Americas :

The culture of the Americas has been strongly influenced by peoples that inhabitated the continents before Europeans arrived; people from Africa (the United States especially has a large African-American population, most of whom are descended from former slaves), and the immigration of Europeans, especially Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, German, Irish, Italian and Dutch.

Asia :

Despite the great cultural diversity of Asian nations, there are, nevertheless, several transnational cultural influences. Though Korea, Japan, and Vietnam are not Chinese-speaking countries, their languages have been heavily influenced by Chinese and Chinese writing. Thus, in East Asia, Chinese writing is generally agreed to exert a unifying influence. Religions, especially Buddhism and Taoism have had an impact on the cultural traditions of East Asian countries (see section on Eastern religion and philosophy, below). There is also a shared social and moral philosophy that derives from Confucianism.

Hinduism and Islam have for hundreds of years exerted cultural influence on various peoples of South Asia. Similarly, Buddhism is pervasive in Southeast Asia.

Oceania :

Much of Australia's culture is derived from European and American roots, but distinctive Australian features have evolved from the environment and Aboriginal culture. New Zealand's culture has derived from European roots, however there is an original New Zealand culture that has derived from the Maori, New Zealand's indigenous peoples.

Europe :

European culture also has a broad influence beyond the continent of Europe due to the legacy of colonialism. In this broader sense it is sometimes referred to as Western culture. This is most easily seen in the spread of the English language and to a lesser extent, a few other European languages. Dominant influences include ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and Christianity, although religion has declined in Europe.

Middle East and North Africa :

Persia (Iran) has and had for many centuries the biggest influence on Middle Eastern culture. The Persian culture heavily influenced the culture and language of Turks and most other regional countries and later on, Islamic countries and created what is now known as the "Islamic Architecture" which borrows many of it's aspects from Persian style of architecture. Perhaps the defining characteristic of the other countries of Middle East and North Africa is Islam and variations of the Arabic language, though this region is also home to Israel and Judaism, and significant Christian minorities. Further, several groups which are adherents to Islam do not consider themselves Arab.