Western world

The Western World or the Occident, is made up of the countries of the Western Hemisphere, Western Europe, as well as the technologically advanced countries of the East that have been influenced tremendously by the United Kingdom or other Western European nations.

Geographically, parts of Africa are Western, but culturally speaking, they have been influenced more by Islam, leaving South Africa as the only "western" nation in that continent.

Characteristics
Western nations generally have higher standards of living than Eastern ones. Because the Americas were settled by Europeans, three major ethnic groups populate most of the geographical Western Hemisphere today: English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Around the world, all Western nations are relatively similar in terms of language, all using the Latin alphabet, culture, traditions, religion, and customs. The most cultural diversity in the West is in countries such as Italy and Germany, of Western Europe, which in some ways are not western at all as they have not influenced as many places abroad as the Atlantic countries of Europe (England, Spain, France, Portugal).

Countries of the Occident
United States of America (current leader of Occidental affairs) United Kingdom (former leader up until 1776) France Spain Portugal Switzerland Italy Germany Ireland Canada Mexico Australia Argentina Chile Brazil Venezuela New Zealand South Africa Denmark Colombia The Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg

Controversy over Capital
The capital of the Occident could be looked at as being three possible choices: The historical capital, London, the political capital, Washington DC (the home of the dumbest chimpanzee in the world), or the Vatican City, a tiny country landlocked in Italy, which is the easternmost part of the Occident but is the religious capital for evangelical conservatives.