Hinterland - Definition and Overview

The hinterland is the rural territory associated with an urban area, often a port. The area from which products are delivered to a port for shipping elsewhere is that port's hinterland. Contrast foreland, the places to which a port ships.

The word has been borrowed from German, where it literally means the land behind (a city, a port or similar). In German this word also describes the part of a country where only few people live and where no infrastructure is.

By analogy, it is the area surrounding a service from which customers are attracted, also called the market area.

It was applied also to the surrounding areas of former European colonies in Africa, which, although not part of the colony itself, were influenced by the colony.

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