Bieszczady County is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat

Powiat

A powiat is the second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture in other countries. The term powiat is most often translated into English as "county", although other terms are also sometimes used...

) in Subcarpathian Voivodeship

Subcarpathian Voivodeship

Podkarpackie Voivodeship , or Subcarpathian Voivodeship, is a voivodeship, or province, in extreme-southeastern Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów...

, in the extreme south-east of Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, on the border with Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

. It takes its name from the Bieszczady

Bieszczady Mountains

Bieszczady is the Polish name for a mountain range in the extreme south-east of Poland, extending into Ukraine and Slovakia...

 mountain range. The county was created on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. In 2002 the western part of the county was split off to form Lesko County

Lesko County

Lesko County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland, on the Slovak border. It was created in 2002 out of five gminas which previously made up the western part of Bieszczady County...

. The only town in Bieszczady County is now Ustrzyki Dolne

Ustrzyki Dolne

Ustrzyki Dolne is a town in south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine, with 9,383 inhabitants .Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship , it is the capital of Bieszczady County....

, the county seat, which lies 80 kilometres (50 mi) south-east of the regional capital Rzeszów

Rzeszów

Rzeszów is a city in southeastern Poland with a population of 179,455 in 2010. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River, in the heartland of the Sandomierska Valley...

.

The county covers an area of 1138.17 square kilometres (439.4 sq mi). As of 2006 its total population is 22,213, out of which the population of Ustrzyki Dolne is 9,478 and the rural population is 12,735. Its average population density of 19.5 persons per square kilometre (50.5 per square mile) makes it the least densely populated county in Poland.

The county includes the greater part of Bieszczady National Park

Bieszczady National Park

Bieszczady National Park is the third largest National Park in Poland, located in Subcarpathian Voivodeship in the extreme south-east corner of the country, bordering Slovakia and Ukraine....

 (Bieszczadzki Park Narodowy), and of the Polish part of the UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

-designated East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve

East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve

The East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve is a transboundary protected area, designated as an area of global importance under UNESCO's Programme on Man and the Biosphere. It is located in the Eastern Carpathians and includes parts of three countries: Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine...

.

Neighbouring counties

Bieszczady County is bordered by Lesko County

Lesko County

Lesko County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland, on the Slovak border. It was created in 2002 out of five gminas which previously made up the western part of Bieszczady County...

 to the west and Przemyśl County

Przemysl County

Przemyśl County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, south-eastern Poland, on the border with Ukraine. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998...

 to the north. It also borders Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

 to the east and south.

Administrative division

The county is subdivided into three gmina

Gmina

The gmina is the principal unit of administrative division of Poland at its lowest uniform level. It is often translated as "commune" or "municipality." As of 2010 there were 2,479 gminas throughout the country...

s (one urban-rural and two rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.

Gmina	Type	Area (km²)	Population (2006)	Seat
Gmina Ustrzyki Dolne Gmina Ustrzyki Dolne Gmina Ustrzyki Dolne is an urban-rural gmina in Bieszczady County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland...	urban-rural	477.7	17,623	Ustrzyki Dolne Ustrzyki Dolne Ustrzyki Dolne is a town in south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine, with 9,383 inhabitants .Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship , it is the capital of Bieszczady County....
Gmina Czarna Gmina Czarna, Bieszczady County Gmina Czarna is a rural gmina in Bieszczady County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, on the border with Ukraine...	rural	184.6	2,393	Czarna Czarna, Bieszczady County Czarna is a village in Bieszczady County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Czarna...
Gmina Lutowiska Gmina Lutowiska Gmina Lutowiska is a rural gmina in Bieszczady County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, on the border with Ukraine...	rural	475.9	2,197	Lutowiska Lutowiska Lutowiska is a village in Bieszczady County, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine.It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Lutowiska...

Rural landscape picture