The Eastern Region was part of the British Colony, one of the three administrative areas of the then Gold Coast until independence. The other two administrative areas were Ashanti and Northern Territories. The administrative areas were divided into Districts and the Districts were also divided into native authorities. Native authorities during the colonial regime corresponded to what were known as states or traditional areas and were headed by paramount chiefs (Census Office 1962).

The Districts in the Colony that were located in the Eastern Region were the Akwapem-New Juaben and Birim which respectively had two and four native authorities. These Districts still belong to the Eastern Region of today but other areas have been added at different times after independence. There are 33 districts in the region today.

Akans are the dominant inhabitants and natives of Eastern region and Akan, Ewe, Krobo, Hausa and English are the main spoken languages. The Eastern region is the location of the Akosombo dam and the economy of the Eastern region is dominated by its high-capacity electricity generation.