Pirin Macedonia (region)
It covers an area of about 6,798 km2 which is 10.18% of the geographical region Macedonia. One of the regional centers is Blagoevgrad, also known as Gorna Dzumaya, the old name of the city. The region is bordering with Kyustendil Province and Sofia Province on the north, Pazardzhik Province and Smolyan Province on the east, Greece on the south and Republic of Macedonia on the west. The population is estimated around 325.000 people.
Skopje
Skopje is a medium city at European level. Being the capital and largest city in the Republic of Macedonia, Skopje concentrates a large share of the national economy. The Skopje Statistical Region, which encompasses the City of Skopje and some neighbouring municipalities, produces 45,5% of the Macedonian GDP. In 2009, the regional GDP per capita amounted to US$6,565, or 155% of the Macedonian GDP per capita. This figure is, however, smaller than the one of Sofia (US$10,106), Sarajevo (US$10,048) or Belgrade (US$7,983), but higher than the one of Tirana (US$4,126).