Originally part of Kyŏngsŏng county, Ŏrang was created in 1952 following the division of Korea.

The county is primarily mountainous, with many hills of more than 200 meters in height.

Ŏrang County is divided into 1 ŭp (town), 1 rodongjagu (workers' district) and 20 ri (villages): The local economy is dominated by agriculture and fishing, and is the chief centre of rice production in North Hamgyŏng.

[3] Ŏrang lies on the P'yŏngra Line of the Korean State Railway.

The dual use military-public Orang Airport has domestic flights to Pyongyang.