Hinterland
The hinterland is the rural territory associated with an urban area, often a port. The area from which products are delievered to a port for shipping elsewhere is that ports 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).
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, not being part of the colony itself, were influenced by them
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