[3] Aghstafa District was created on 24 January 1939 as an independent administrative unit out of the larger Qazakh region of Azerbaijan.

The district is located in the northwestern part of the country, between Qabirri basin and Lesser Caucasus mountain range, and Ganja-Gazakh lowlands and Ceyrançöl highlands.

Ganja, Qazakh and Qarayazi lowlands make up most of the district's area, whilst its southwestern and northeastern parts comprise lesser mountain sites.

[4] The region is rich with bentonite, sand, raw cement material (volcanic ash) and other resources which are considered a core of the Aghstafa economy.

In the 1990s, the caravan route was re-established within the TRACECA project initiated by Heydar Aliyev administration.

Then Aghstafa gained importance when it became a transit route on the Baku-Tbilisi railroad built in 1881.

[4] During the first nine months of 2013, the cost of total product output in Aghstafa region was AZN 90.9 million, an increase of 8.0 percent in comparison with the same period last year.

The volume of investments directed to fixed assets increased 2.7 times and amounted to more than 68.7 million manat.

Seventy-seven families (223 people) from Nagorno-Karabakh and other territories temporarily settled in Aghstafa region.

[7] More than 26,4 percent of the population (about 23,100 persons) consists of young people and teenagers aged 14–29.

[8] There are 39 libraries, 13 culture houses, one musical school, three museums, a painting gallery and 25 clubs in the region.

According to the 2017's information, the population of the city where located 300 meters above sea level on the right bank of Aghstafa River, is 86529 people.

There are minerals such as saw stone, bentonite clay, pebble, sand, cement raw material, etc.

[9] Several important archaeological sites in Aghstafa District belong to the prehistoric Shulaveri–Shomu culture.