Štip is the largest urban agglomeration in the eastern part of North Macedonia, serving as the economic, industrial, entertainment and educational focal point for the surrounding municipalities.

As of the 2002 census, the Štip municipality alone had a population of about 47,796.

Štip is the largest textile production center in the country; Center of the fashion industry in North Macedonia, as well as the location of the sole public university in eastern North Macedonia, Goce Delčev University of Štip.

Štip boasts the largest festival of pop music in North Macedonia, called MakFest. It has been held every November in the cultural center, "Aco Šopov", for over two decades.

Another large cultural event in Štip is the "Štip Summer of Culture" (Macedonian: Штипско Културно Лето), which is a monthlong festival held from 1 July to 1 August, since 1987. The first known opera performance in North Macedonia was staged in Štip in 1925.

Veles is a city in the central part of the Republic of North Macedonia on the Vardar river. The city of Veles is the seat of Veles Municipality.

Veles (Vilazora) was initially the Paeonian city Bylazora from the period of early Classical Antiquity. The city's name was Βελισσός Velissos in Ancient Greek.

Under Turkish rule it became a township (kaza) called Köprülü in the Üsküp sanjak (one of the administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire). From 1877 to 1912 the sandjak was part of the Kosovo vilayet. It played an important part in Ottoman history, as it was where six Grand Viziers hailed, and is still known as Köprülü in Turkish. From 1929 to 1941, Veles was part of the Vardar Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. After World War II, the city was known as Titov Veles after Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito, but the 'Titov' was removed in 1996.

Through North Macedonia Veles is known as industrial center and recently, as a leader in the implementing of IT in the local administration in North Macedonia.

Veles is a place of poetry, culture, history and tradition, as well as a city with plentiful and precious cultural heritage and centuries old churches.

Veles is a municipality of 55,000 residents. The geographic location of the city of Veles makes it suitable for hiking and camping, especially at the west side of the city. One such location is the tranquil village Bogomila. Nearby there is the man made lake Mladost, which is known as the city's recreational centre.

Veles made international news in 2016 when it was revealed that a group of teenagers in the city were controlling over 100 websites producing fake news articles in support of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, which were heavily publicised on the social media site Facebook.