Polog planning region is situated in the northwest part of Macedonia, with an area of 2,416 km2. It covers the Polog valley, Mavrovo plateau, Bistra mountain range and the valley of the river Radika.

On a state level, the Polog region is one of the eight regions, which is composed of the following nine municipalities: Tetovo, Gostivar, Mavrovo and Rostushe, Zhelino, Tearce, Bogovinje, Vrapchishte, Jegunovce and Brvenica. On this territory, there are 184 settlements in which 304,125 citizens live. From 304,125 citizens 18.4% are Macedonians, 73.2% Albanians, 5.7% Turks, 1.6% Romas, 0.01% Vlachs, 0.32% Serbs, Bosnians 0.08% and 0.66% are other nationalities.

Natural resources

The region has great natural and artificial wealth. Polog planning region is rich in mineral resources that are found throughout its territory. Of great economic importance are the ore deposits of gray marble in Gostivar and dolomites in Jegunovce and Chajle. Other ores and minerals present in the region are: manganese, molybdenum, copper, arsenic, lead, chrome and marble.

Polog planning region has 170,310 ha of agricultural land of which 41,876 ha is arable land and 128,433 ha are pastures. Of the total arable land 30,565 ha are arable land and gardens, 10,244 ha grassland, 1,023 ha of orchards and only 44 ha are vineyards. Most of the agricultural area or even 75 percent in the Polog planning region are pastures; the remaining 25 percent is arable land. The region does not allow for intensive development of agricultural production, but it is known for products like Tetovo apple, Tetovo beans and cheese, which opens prospects for fostering and promoting products that would increase exports.

Tourism

The Polog planning region is a tourist pearl which abounds in natural beauty, historical and cultural monuments. Tourism as an industry is not sufficiently developed in the Polog planning region, but there is a lot of unused potential that represent an opportunity for investments and with its exploitation to make the region one of the biggest tourist destinations in the country and in Europe. The already existing ski centers „Mavrovo“ and „Popova Shapka“ offer the possibility to upgrade the development of ski tourism and an opportunity for promotion and visit of other natural beauties that this region possesses.

Economic characteristics

Wholesale and retail trade, as well as repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, are sectors of activity that are most present in the Polog planning region, with a total of 1,611 business entities registered and 22 percent share in the total economy. The second sector is the processing industry with a total of 905 business entities registered and 12.4 percent economic participation, and the construction sector with 651 business entities and 8.9 percent share. With this information the most important economic sectors are selected, such as production of building materials, processing and production of finished wood products, food processing, processing of plastic, aluminum processing and manufacturing of textile products.