The Shire of East Pilbara is the largest shire in the world, comprising an area of over 379,571 square kilometres (larger than the State of Victoria).

The major industries in the shire are mining, pastoralism and tourism. The main town sites within East Pilbara(S) are Newman, Marble Bar, Telfer and Nullagine. The shire also contains numerous indigenous communities, the largest being Jigalong, Punmu and Parnngurr. Indigenous communities are also located in Nullagine (Irrungadji community) and Marble Bar (Pipunya and Goodabinya communities).

East Pilbara(S) is home to Western Australia's largest and most remote national park, Rudall River National Park. The park is located 50kms from Telfer where visitors can explore desert dunes, salt lakes and mountain ranges. Marble Bar, 200kms South-East of Port Hedland, is reputed to be the hottest town in the world, once recording over 160 consecutive days over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius).

The Shire of East Pilbara is also home to the biggest single-pit, open-cut iron ore mine in the world, Mount Whaleback. The mine, located just outside of Newman, was established in 1968 and is more than 5km long and nearly 1.5km wide, providing a unique tourist attraction for the region.

There is a significantly high proportion of males to females from ages 20 through to 60 years of age. This is indicative of the male dominated mining and construction industries which are the major attractions for working and living in the region. This also accounts for the proportion of 20 to 60 year old males being nearly double that of the WA average.  

The proportion of workers engaged for 49 hours or more has dramatically increased over the last decade, from 43% to 79%. The long hours of work are indicative of life in the resource and construction sectors with tight production and construction deadlines. The long working hours also negatively impact on the ability of workers to contribute to volunteer services such as service clubs, ambulance, fire and emergency services, as well as sporting and recreation clubs.

The number of New Residential Building Approvals have steadily increased between 2000-01 and 2006-07 before a decrease the following year. The spike in the number of approvals in 2006-07 was due to new land releases in Newman, facilitated by LandCorp.