Vas is the westernmost county of Hungary. The gateway to the West: Szombathely, its county seat is 240 kilometres from Budapest, 130 kilometres from Graz, 140 kilometres from Vienna, 150 kilometres from Bratislava, 220 kilometres from Zagreb and only 270 kilometres from Ljubljana. For this reason, the relative geographical position of the county – mostly due to developed foreign and domestic “neighbouring regions” – is decisive, even though Vas is the third smallest county in the country after Komárom-Esztergom and Nógrád. Its economic, transport, tourism, cultural and civil relations with Austria and Slovenia give it a much stronger role than its “official” macroeconomic potential.

The county is one of the smallest in the country in terms of area and population, with 3.6% of the country’s territory shared by 2.6% of the population. The same proportion has a similar weight in national employment, while the proportion of registered enterprises is somewhat lower, at 2.4%. The industrial export ratio is 121.7% of the national average, and the ratio of overnight stays spent in tourist accommodation is outstandingly high, at 5.8%.

In term of gross domestic production, the county is much stronger compared to its average statistical weight within the country, it is firmly in the 14th place, while it ranks 5th in the gross domestic production per capita.