The Nizhny Novgorod region is situated in the center of European part of Russia, at the confluence of the Oka and the Volga rivers, and here is the crossover point of two major thoroughfares: the second Pan-European (Berlin-Yekaterinburg) thoroughfare and the interregional thoroughfare joining north-west and south of Russia. The total area of the region is 76 600 square kilometers, its population density amounts to 43.6 people per square km. The population of the region amounts to 3.3 million inhabitants.

The basic sector of the regional economy is industry. 90% of industrial enterprises in the region specialize in high-degree manufacturing. Manufacturing output in the region is the 6th large in Russia.

The Nizhny Novgorod region is a leader in the production of buses, trucks and special automotive vehicles. 19% of steel-pipe and 14.6% of newspaper works in Russia are situated in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

The Nizhny Novgorod region is a large commercial centre in Russia. Trade activities account for one fifth of the regional economy. (The region is number 12 among Russian regions in the trade activities rating list).