[7] For local government purposes, East Sussex comprises a non-metropolitan county, with five districts, and the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove.

Where the downs reach the sea, they form high cliffs such as the Seven Sisters, where eroded dry valleys create an undulating skyline.

[8] The county does not contain large rivers, but its largest are the Rother, which forms part of the boundary with Kent, the Cuckmere, and the Ouse, which rises in West Sussex and flows through Lewes before reaching the English Channel at Newhaven.

The area's position on the coast has also meant that there were many invaders, including the Romans and later the Normans, following the defeat of the English army by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

In 1997, Brighton and Hove became a self-administered unitary authority; it was granted city status in 2000, whilst remaining part of the ceremonial county of East Sussex.

The area of East Sussex County Council's jurisdiction is divided into five local government districts.

To the north lie parallel valleys and ridges, the highest of which is the Weald itself (the Hastings beds and Wealden Clay).

The area contains significant reserves of shale oil, totalling 4.4 billion barrels of oil in the Wealden basin according to a 2014 study, which then Business and Energy Minister Michael Fallon said "will bring jobs and business opportunities" and significantly help with UK energy self-sufficiency.

[13] East Sussex, like most counties by the south coast, has an annual average total of around 1,750[14] hours of sunshine per year.

To the east of Beachy Head lie the marshlands of the Pevensey Levels, formerly flooded by the sea but now enclosed within a deposited beach.

At Bexhill the land begins to rise again where the sands and clays of the Weald meet the sea; these culminate in the sandstone cliffs east of Hastings.

The highest point in the county is Ditchling Beacon on the South Downs, which has a maximum elevation of 248 m (814 ft)[15] and is classed as a Marilyn.

The original towns and villages tended to be where its economy lay: fishing along the coast and agriculture and iron mining on the Weald.

Industry today tends to be geared towards tourism, particularly along the coastal strip where towns such as Bexhill-on-Sea, Eastbourne, and Hastings are located.

Away from the coast are former market towns such as Hailsham, Heathfield and Uckfield; Crowborough is a centre for the Ashdown Forest.

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex (Brighton & Hove has a separate table) at current basic prices published Archived 4 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine (pp.

Measured by the number of registered companies, East Sussex is not a major manufacturing or industrial area of the United Kingdom.

[22] There were 1,720 agricultural holdings in East Sussex (excluding Brighton and Hove) in 2022, with a total farmed area of 108,825 hectares.

There are castles at Bodiam, Herstmonceux, Lewes and Pevensey; and defence works such as the Martello towers and Eastbourne Redoubt.

The main roads through the county are those part of the radial pattern from London: the A21 from Kent to Hastings; the A22 from Surrey to Eastbourne; and the A23 from Gatwick to Brighton.

[citation needed] Bus routes serve all the main areas of settlement and many of the villages in the county.

Southern is the key operator for the county, operating services along the West Coastway and East Coastway routes, as well as trains from Brighton, Eastbourne, Seaford and Hastings to London Victoria, and to a lesser extent London Bridge, which is also where trains to/from Uckfield go.

A number of independent boarding schools that also cater to day students are located in the county, including Brighton College and Roedean.

[30] The coastal towns of Brighton and Hove, Bexhill-on-Sea, Hastings and Eastbourne attract many day trippers during the summer to visit the beaches.

The tower has never achieved forecast visitor numbers and in June 2023 the company operating it owed Brighton and Hove Council £48 million.

[32] Other important tourist attractions within East Sussex include Ashdown Forest, Drusillas Zoo Park near Alfriston and Michelham Priory.

Seaford Rugby Club claims the distinction of playing its home games below sea level.

[40] The hilly nature of the Downs presents a good challenge for cyclists and there are at least eight cycling clubs in East Sussex.

Four of these (2 in Brighton and Hove, one in Eastbourne and one in Crowborough) are public courses; the remainder private, semi-private or resorts.