East London (Xhosa: eMonti; Afrikaans: Oos-Londen) is a city on the southeast coast of South Africa in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality of the Eastern Cape province. The city lies on the Indian Ocean coast, largely between the Buffalo River and the Nahoon River, and hosts the country's only river port. As of 2011, East London had a population of over 267,000 with over 755,000 in the metropolitan area.


The city was established in 1853 as a colonial port and rapidly became a major centre of the South African wool industry, with extensive docks and wharves. It has been administered by the municipality of East London since 1872. The city is commonly referred to as "EL" or "The City" by locals.

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