The district of Oder-Spree is located in the eastern part of Brandenburg State (Germany). It borders Spree- Neisse in the south, the district of Dahme-Spreewald in the south-west, Berlin in the west, the district of Märkisch-Oderlandand and the city of Frankfurt an der Oder in the north, and Poland in the east on the Oder River. The district covers the area of 2,242.49 sq. km which is inhabited by approx. 192 thousand people (as of June 2004). The unemployment rate is approx. 19%. The seat of the Starost office is in Beeskow, which has approx. 9 thousand inhabitants. In economic terms, the district is divided into three sub-regions. In the vicinity of Berlin, the economy is closely linked to the urban area of the metropolis. The center is dominated by agriculture and tourism. In the border region, there is a metallurgical center in Eisenhüttenstadtthere (steel production).