East London is a popularly and informally defined part of London, capital of the United Kingdom, lying east of the ancient City and north of the River Thames.

East London comprises the whole of six modern London Boroughs – Tower Hamlets, Newham, Waltham Forest, Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge, Havering – and the greater part of a seventh, Hackney.

The East End of London is a subset of East London, consisting of areas close to the ancient City of London.

The Eastern (E) Postal District is a different subset of East London and there is also an “East” sub-region used in the London Plan for planning and progress-reporting purposes. The most recent (2011) iteration includes the seven boroughs north of the Thames with the addition of three boroughs south of the river.