Orlando Market Commentaries are a series of timely analyses produced by the Orlando Economic Partnership’s Research & Strategy team. Commentaries are typically associated with a major data release or cover areas key to advancing the Partnership’s goal of Broad-based Prosperity®.

✓The Orlando 2045 Regional Vision calls for Orlando to become a global creative capital.✓Orlando’s current global footprint suggests the region already contains many of the core ingredients.✓The OEP’s upcoming Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) strategy will outline the specific role FDI can play in advancing the region’s economic ambitions.

Orlando’s economy is becoming increasingly global. Long one of the world’s leading tourism destinations, the region’s economy is today deeply connected to the world by trade, talent, and investment — linkages that can play a central role in driving long-term growth and realizing the Orlando 2045 Regional Vision of becoming a global creative capital.

The Nation’s Fastest-Growing International Talent Base

One of the clearest signals of Orlando’s global trajectory is the region’s rapidly growing foreign-born population. Almost 1 in 4 (23.0%) residents in the Orlando region were born outside the United States, the eighth highest share among large regions in the U.S. Orlando’s foreign-born population has expanded by 35.5% since 2019 (almost five times the rate of Orlando’s native population) and is the fastest-growing among large regions in the U.S. International migration has accounted for close to two-thirds of the Orlando region’s population growth since the 2020 Census. These residents are ensuring a culturally astute international talent pipeline that is part of Orlando’s labor force of 1.5 million workers.

Leveraging Foreign-Owned Companies for Global Engagement

International companies are also playing an increasingly important role in Orlando’s economy. At least 340 foreign-owned firms from more than 30 countries now have a presence in Orlando. These companies employ an estimated 40,000 people, approximately 2.6% of the region’s total employment base. Companies from the United Kingdom (UK), Canada, Germany, and Japan make up nearly 50% of foreign-owned companies with a presence in Orlando.


Orlando’s foreign-owned companies strengthen the region’s development as a global creative capital, linking local businesses into international supply chains and creating pathways for trade and international collaboration. Orlando’s growing trade reinforces this connection, reaching $27.4 billion in 2024 and exceeding pre-pandemic levels by 39.0%.

Capitalizing on Orlando’s Global Momentum

The attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) further reinforces Orlando’s global economic integration. International companies continue to choose the region as a location for new operations, bringing new technologies, capital, and global market connections. In the last decade, Orlando has attracted 120 FDI projects with almost 9,000 jobs and $2.7 billion in capital investment. Orlando’s FDI projects have primarily originated from the UK, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Australia, Belgium, France, and Switzerland. These eight sources have accounted for 68.1% of projects and 62.6% of jobs.

Attracting more FDI to Orlando will accelerate productivity, increase wages, diversify the economy and enhance global integration — all outcomes that can facilitate the region’s transition into a global creative capital.

The Path Forward

Together, these forces — international talent, foreign-owned companies, global trade, connectivity and foreign investment — are positioning Orlando as an increasingly international economy.

Next week, the Orlando Economic Partnership will release an update to our Global Orlando report. The purpose of the report is twofold. First, it provides an update on how the region’s global strengths have deepened since 2023. Second, it lays out a targeted set of actions designed to translate those strengths into increased international investment.

Realizing the Orlando 2045 Vision requires thinking beyond regional boundaries by engaging intentionally with the world. The region’s future is international, and the task ahead is to leverage Orlando’s competitive advantages on the global stage into lasting prosperity at home.