Map of East London, South Africa

East London is a city in Eastern Cape, South Africa, with a population of about 478,676. It lies at 33.0153°S, 27.9116°E. East London is about 809 km (503 mi) south of Pretoria, the capital. The nearest city on our map is Mdantsane, 16 km to the northwest.

East London at a glance

Where is East London?

• The 11th largest city in South Africa by recorded population.
• The 2nd largest city in Eastern Cape on this site.
• Located in the Southern and Eastern hemispheres.
• Daylight ranges from about 9 h 58 min on the shortest day to 14 h 20 min on the longest day (around 21 June and 21 December).

Cities near East London

• Mdantsane — 16 km northwest
• Bhisho — 48 km northwest
• King William’s Town — 51 km west
• Stutterheim — 67 km northwest
• Butterworth — 79 km north
• Fort Beaufort — 122 km west
• Grahamstown — 132 km west
• Whittlesea — 138 km northwest
• Queenstown — 158 km northwest
• Mthatha — 179 km northeast

Largest cities in Eastern Cape

• Port Elizabeth — 1,050,078
• Uitenhage — 291,052
• Mdantsane — 205,504
• Mthatha — 164,848
• Bhisho — 137,287
• Queenstown — 118,599
• King William’s Town — 93,072
• Grahamstown — 91,548
• Graaff Reinet — 62,896
• Fort Beaufort — 58,419

Largest cities in South Africa

• Johannesburg — 9,418,183
• Cape Town — 4,772,846
• Durban — 3,338,026
• Pretoria — 2,112,693
• Soweto — 1,695,047
• Port Elizabeth — 1,050,078
• Pietermaritzburg — 839,327
• Benoni — 605,344
• Bloemfontein — 556,637
• Tembisa — 511,655

Map of South Africa and all its cities →

Sources: place names, coordinates, populations and time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0, data retrieved October 2026). Population figures are the latest values recorded in GeoNames; depending on the country they refer to the city proper, a municipality or a wider urban area, so they can differ from census or metro-area figures. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.