Donetsk region is created on the 2nd of July 1932. It is a large industrial region, which is situated in a steppe zone of the south-eastern Ukraine. On the East it boarders with the Russian Federation, on the South – with Mediterranean basin. The length of the region from North to South is 240 km, from East to West – 170 km. The area – 26.5 thousands square kilometers or 4.4% of the Ukrainian territory.
Donetsk oblast is the biggest one for its population in Ukraine. Here lives near 5 million people (10% of the Ukrainian population); 90 nationalities. The density of population is 187 people per 1square kilometer, 90 % of the population lives in towns. There are 28 towns and 17 districts of oblast importance, 21 inner town districts, 134 settlements and 1122 villages in the administrative territorial structure. The largest cities are the following: oblast centre – Donetsk with the population 1075.3 thousands people, Makiivka, Mariupol’, Gorlivka, Kramatorsk.
Archaeological openings prove that oblast is one of those regions of Ukraine, which were inhabited in the paleolith epoch. According to the decree of Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers dated 26.07.2001 №878 “About the confirmation of the historical places of Ukraine” there determined historical populated places of Donetsk oblast: the town Artemivsk – 1571 year, the town Gorlivka – 1779 year, the city Donetsk – 1869 year, the town Kramatorsk – 1860 years, the town Makiivka – the end of the XVII century, the town Mariupol’ – 1780 year, the town Slovjanogirsk – 1538-1539 years, the town Slovjansk – 1645 year.
 The climate is roughly continental, the summer – heat and dry, the winter is comparatively cold with unstable snow cover.

Typically there are strong winds of the south-eastern and eastern directions, in summer – high air temperature and pouring rains. The quantity of precipitations per year – 524 millimeters.
The interior region consists of almost all elements of  Mendeleyev’s table. The main mineral resources are the following: stone coal (reserves are 25 milliards tones), rock salt, limestones, potassium salt, mercury, asbestos, graphite. The oblast is rich for its generous black earth.
There are marvelous places and healing fields in oblast. Slovjansk salt lakes and springs of mineral waters have balneological importance. National values form protected areas – Khomut Steppe and Svjatogirya, Azov Seaside. Unique natural healthful characteristics exist in salt mine in Soledari Town, where speleteological health resort is created.  
Presence of fuel and power and mineral-raw resources created conditions for the development of the industrial complex with a high concentration of heavy industries, scientific and social infrastructure branches.

Economical potential of the oblast consists of 822 industrial enterprises, 16 thousands small and near 600 house enterprises of all property kinds, over 500 specialized building organizations, 2132 farms.
Donetsk region gives the fifth part of the national industrial amount of production. The oblast takes the first and the leading places for the main industrial and house kinds of production in Ukraine.
Donetsk oblast as one of the biggest objects of foreign-economical activity of Ukraine permanently increases its potential. The region takes the third place for its foreign trade circulation in Ukraine, export forms 70 %.
Oblast export-import operations of the enterprises and organizations accomplish with the partners from more than 120 world countries. In the international cooperation are involved regions of Europe, CIS, South-Eastern Africa. Nowadays Donetsk oblast signs the agreements about the cooperation with 12 regions of far and close foreign countries, and 6 its towns cooperate with 26 towns of 15 world countries.
 Enterprises and organizations’ interests of industrial, commercial, agro-industrial, scientific and technical, insurance and bank-financial branches in Ukraine and abroad are represented by Donetsk Commercial and Industrial chamber. Annually best enterprises and entrepreneurs in different nominations are given regional reward “Gold Mercury”. !37 banks and bank institutions, 17 insurance companies and 24 exchange markets serve for the oblast economy.