Karnobat Municipality is located in the southeastern part of the Republic of Bulgaria and is included in the administrative-territorial boundaries of Burgas region. It borders Sungurlare municipality to the north, Aytos and Kameno municipalities to the east, Sredets municipality to the south and Straldzha municipality to the west. The administrative center of the municipality is Karnobat and includes 30 settlements with a population of 28,000. In its geographical position the municipality occupies a significant place in the transport and communication system of the country. Important transport corridors to the east and west, as well as connections with the northern and southern part of Bulgaria, pass through its territory. Both borders, where there is a customs post with Turkey – Malko Tarnovo and Lesovo are 130 km away. The Rishki Pass connects the municipality with Northern Bulgaria. The relief is mostly flat, cut off from the valleys of the rivers Mochuritsa and Rusokastrenska. The average altitude of the municipality is 217 m.

The economic activities concentrated in the municipality of Karnobat are agriculture, forestry and fishing, the processing industry using local resources, machine building and warehousing, trade and car repair. The enterprises operating on the territory of Karnobat municipality are mainly micro-enterprises with up to 9 employees, their number remains relatively unchanged in the last three years. The small enterprises are 61.9, the medium ones and 3 are the enterprises with over 250 employees.

Karnobat municipality is among the few municipalities in Bulgaria where the problem of unemployment is insignificant. There are only 800 unemployed registered with the Labor Office – mostly people with extremely low qualifications. The trend towards increasing unemployment and deepening labor market problems to find suitably qualified staff and to create new jobs is worrying. But under good working conditions such as pay and social benefits, young people will stay in the city. In addition to secondary schools, we also have a vocational high school in agriculture and light industry, where young people are trained in these sectors.

On the territory of the municipality there are natural conditions suitable for the development of plant and animal husbandry – favorable climate, soils (reeds) and relief. The municipality has a long tradition and experience in the development of agriculture. The most commonly used for permanent use are the fields, followed by meadows and pastures. The soils are suitable for growing crops, fruit growing and viticulture. The main driving force in Karnobat is the processing industry, which is developing on the basis of strong agriculture. Approximately 540,000 decares of agricultural land are cultivated. The territory of the municipality is cultivated with wheat, barley, industrial crops such as coriander, sunflower, rapeseed, but also many perennial crops. The vineyards are already 26 thousand decares. Fruits are also grown: peaches, apricots, cherries, apples, almonds. Vegetable production is also well developed by growing onions, onions and garlic. Animal husbandry is also developed, with the development of sheep breeding, pig breeding, cows, birds, rabbits and bees. Livestock in the municipality has a very good potential for development. There is an Institute of Agriculture, which performs genetically selective and biotechnological and agrotechnical research. Structurally defining sectors for the municipality are the food industry, machine building and clothing. The capacities are concentrated mainly in the town of Karnobat, in the industrial zone of the town. Enterprises specializing in the food industry mainly build their facilities near raw materials. The food industry includes the production of alcohol, canned vegetables and fruits (in recent years with limited fruit production), flour and bakery products, dairy products, meat products, freshwater fish, there are several workshops for green crops. Larger companies direct part of their production to exports. Mechanical engineering is represented by the following companies: to equip electrical equipment for western cars, to produce tillage machines and drive axles for carpentry production. There is a production of waste bins and metal barrels of 200 liters. Production of medium-heavy metal structures of welding type for all sectors of the economy. The textile industry is traditional for the municipality of Karnobat. It is represented by two companies specializing in the production of men’s shirts and women’s blouses. In the last few years, the following production facilities have been opened: Fruit dryer with main activity and salt packaging plant in various packages.

In 2013, it built the Swordson sanitary ware factory, which has so far created 100 jobs. There are also large transport companies in the city. Starting a new business, in addition to creating new jobs, drives and diversifies the municipality’s economy and uses local production. It will be positive if the focus of enterprises on the food industry is maintained. An important sector is public services.

Karnobat is located near major tourist centers located on the Black Sea coast. Its tourist potential is expressed in pure and preserved nature, historical, architectural and cultural landmarks, museums, traditional livelihoods and crafts, etc., suitable for cultural, cognitive and eco tourism. The most famous landmark in the municipality is the medieval Byzantine fortress Markeli, which is visited by an average of 2000 tourists a year.

It is an episcopal center and one of the centers for Christianization of Northeastern Thrace. The Turkish bath, also called Sinam bey hammam, was built in the third quarter of the 15th century. This is one of the earliest Ottoman-Turkish monuments, built on today’s Bulgarian lands, the only one from the 15th century on the territory of today’s southeastern Bulgaria. The clock tower (“Sahat”), built in 1875. In the town of Karnobat is an expression of the economic prosperity of the craftsmen of the town – a trade group in the third quarter of the 19th century. The tower was built in the center of the Turkish part of the city. The construction was done by Tryavna craftsmen, and the materials used are from Karnobat. The Municipality of Karnobat differs in terms of the ethnic structure of the country and the Burgas region. In percentage terms, the Bulgarian ethnic group is below the national average. The share of the Turkish ethnic group is higher than the national average. The Roman ethnic group has a higher percentage than the national and regional average. The water supply of the population is carried out by Vodosnabdyavane EAD – Burgas. All settlements in the municipality are supplied with water, except for the village of San Stefano. Most industrial plants use water for technological and drinking needs from the city’s water supply network, some of which have their own drilling wells.

The maintenance of electricity and electricity distribution, as well as the supply of electricity is performed by ENV Bulgaria. All settlements in the municipality are electrified. In October 2008, the construction of a route for the supply of blue fuel began. The three national mobile operators MTel, Globul and Vivatel provide 100% signal coverage on the territory of the municipality. This provides a full range of services.