Introduction Bulgaria consists of 28 districts that serve administrative and control function. The districts are divided into municipalities that are the basic units of self-government. Location The district is situated in the Southwestern part of Bulgaria and borders Greece, Macedonia, and four other districts. The location of the district is favorable for crossborder cooperation. Territory The area of the district is 6449 sq. km. It is the third largest in Bulgaria after the Burgas and Sofia districts and comprises 5.8 % of the country's territory.

The municipalities in the district are: 1. Bansko 2. Blagoevgrad  3. Belitsa 4. Gotse Delchev 5. Garmen 6. Kresna 7. Petrich 8. Razlog 9. Sandanski 10. Satovcha 11. Simitli 12. Strumyani 13. Hadzhidimovo 14. Yakorouda

Climate
The climate varies from temperate continental to Mediterranean in the southernmost parts.

Natural resources
Timber, thermal springs (about 40% of the total output of the country), coal, construction materials - marble, granite.

Land usage
Arable land – 38.8 %. Forested land – 52 %

Population
345 000 (4.3 % of Bulgaria's total)

Population structure
The age structure in the region is more favorable than the average for the country. Population decreases two times slower than Bulgaria’s average (-0.26% for the region). The quality of life, according to a UN survey, is the third best in the country, due to a developed infrastructure and lack of pollutants in the environment. The ethnic structure is close to the average for the country – Bulgarian 79.5 %, Turkish 9.4 %, Gypsy – 4.2 %. The urban population is 56.6 % of the entire population.

Literacy
Near 100 % above the age of 15.

Religions
Eastern Orthodox Christianity (79,0 %), Islam (18,8 %).

Economic data
The region is characterized with diversified branch structure:

• Food and tobacco processing industries
  Those are the pillars of local industry; The local companies specialize in processing of animal products, fruit, vegetables, tobacco, and liquor production. This branch of the industry has high export potential.
• Textile industry
  Foreign investors have helped the development of many companies that produce ready-made clothing.
• Timber and furniture industries
  The easy access to local resources provides the companies from this industrial branch with  high perspectives for development. There are foreign market demands for this industrial branch, therefore increasing the interest of foreign investors.
• Iron processing and machinery industry
  The past decade brought a decrease in the volume and intensity of those industries. The companies specialize mainly in the production of metal parts and constructions. Radio-electronic equipment and other electronic communication components are also being manufactured.
• Construction materials industry
  The terrain characteristics are suitable for the extraction of certain minerals, used in construction. Marble is extracted at numerous locations in the municipalities of Sandanski, Koprivlen, Petrich and Strumyani.
• Other well developed are the tourism, pharmaceuticals, plastics, paper, and shoe production.

Education
The Southwestern University and the American University in Bulgaria are situated in Blagoevgrad. Annually the city draws around 10,000 students from the country and abroad. The number of schools in the district is 182.