The regency lies on the eastern outskirts of Metropolitan Jakarta, just outside the Jabodetabek region, and is the site of considerable industrial activity (like factories).

Karawang Regency is divided into thirty districts (kecamatan) comprising 309 administrative villages (desa and Kelurahan).

Most of Karawang Regency consists of a broad coastal plain; it lies on the northern coast of Java and is the result of the deposition of sedimentary rocks formed by loose materials, especially marine sediments and volcanic alluvium.

While in the middle of the regency are hills mostly formed by sedimentary rocks, in the south there is a mountain (Sanggabuana) with a height of about 1,291 metres above sea level.

The regency is roughly equidistant from Jakarta and Bandung, and the two metropolitan areas have a combined home population of over 40 million people.

[6] Trans-Java main rail line runs across the central part of the Regency, with a stop at Karawang Station.