The total area of 998,4 sq. km, encompasses the following territories:

• Agricultural lands – 347 477 decares*, including 158 588 decares of arable land
• Forest lands  - 543 450 decares
• Settlements and other urbanized areas – 19 893 decares
• Water territories – 9 631 decares
• Territories for extraction of mineral resources -  72 660 decares
• Transport and infrastructure territories – 4 305 decares
          * 1 decare = 0,1 hectare

Economic profile
The main industrial branches in the region are the tourism, textile industry, food processing industry, wood processing industry, production of medical equipment, and construction.
The food – processing industry plays a major role in the development of the economy in the municipality. The region has a tradition in the production of wine and alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, milk and diary products etc. The improvement of the agricultural sector in the region is expected to contribute for the growth of the food – processing industry.
The textile industry has played a major role for the development of the municipality for the past 10 years. This type of industry is characterized with the presence of foreign investors from Greece, France and Germany, who managed to establish privately owned companies or joint ventures in the territory of the municipality. A large number of those companies are competitive in the market and manufacture high quality clothing, knitwear and underwear. Due to relatively low initial investments, this branch of the industry is characterized as mobile and with uncertain perspectives for future development.
Although the pharmaceutical and medical industries have lost some of their influence on the regional economy, they still play a major role for the development of the market and the labor force. Due to the preliminary export character of this branch of the industry it is still one of the major exporters of locally-manufactured products to the international markets.

The dynamic growth of the construction in the municipality of Sandanski has led to the establishment of small and medium sized construction companies, operating mainly in the territory of the municipality. According to the future perspectives, this will be one of the industrial branches that will continue to grow and have influence on the labor market.
Metal-processing was one of the main industrial branches in the past of the region. Today the branch has an insignificant role on the development of the regional economic.
The Agriculture is well developed in all the settlements of the municipality and has a major role for its overall development. The agricultural lands are situated on an area of 348 477 decares* or about 35% of the total area of the municipality. The territory of the arable lands is 158 588 decares.  According to the data of the District Directorate of Agricultural and Forests, they are divided as follows:

The pastures cover an area of 176 000 decares and together with the arable land they form a total area of 334 588 decares of agricultural land.
Although, after 1990 there was a considerable decrease in the agricultural lands and the agricultural production, the agriculture still remains the main source of income for the people in the villages.

The tourism Industry has an important role for the development of the economy in the municipality, as well as a huge potential for expansion.  The town of Sandanski is well known as a modern spa resort which offers various treatment procedures for some lung and respiratory diseases.
The town of Sandanski is known as the best natural rehabilitation clinic for bronchial asthma in Europe. The resort is also recommended for treatment of various chronic non-specific pulmonary diseases, chronic rhinitis, sinusitis, neurological complaints, allergic skin diseases, some kidney and urological diseases.
The mineral springs located in the area are considered as valuable natural gifts. Due to their hydro-carbonic and sulphur content the springs are classified as IV class according to the Carstens - Alexandrov scale. Down the valley of the Strouma River there are more than 80 thermal springs which are grouped in 13 major deposits.
The historical town of Melnik, which is one of the most important monuments of the Bulgarian Medieval and National Revival period, is also situated here. Melnik is the smallest Bulgarian town, situated amongst the magnificent Melnik pyramids in the southwest foothills of the Pirin Mountains. Both the town and the closely located Rhozhen Monastery, built in the period XIII  XIV c., were declared as natural and a cultural-historical reserve.
In the territory of the municipality there are a large number of commercial and wholesale companies. There is a well developed distribution and storage network. In the last couple of years many commercial and shopping areas were constructed. The commercial activity is conducted according to the main principles of the market economy – free market relations, fair competitiveness and free pricing formation. The municipality of Sandanski has modern production premises, as well as highly qualified labor force, which makes the region extremely attractive for foreign investors.

Social environment
The population of the Municipality of Sandanski is 45 852 residents. The urban population in Sandanski (30 175) and Melnik (280) is 30 455 residents and the rural population is 15 397 residents. In July 2007 the rate of unemployment in the municipality was 4.30% and most of the longterm unemployed people are either not educated or above 50 years of age.

In the territory of the Municipality of Sandanski there are 12 Primary Schools, 2 Elementary, 5 High Schools of which 2 are technical schools (technical and agriculture), 1 rehabilitation High school, Swimming Boarding School and 1 private school for foreign languages and arts.