Orlando 2045 Regional Vision<\/a> of becoming a global creative capital.<\/p>\nThe Nation\u2019s Fastest-Growing International Talent Base<\/p>\n
One of the clearest signals of Orlando\u2019s global trajectory is the region\u2019s 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\u2019s foreign-born population has expanded by 35.5% since 2019 (almost five times the rate of Orlando\u2019s 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\u2019s population growth since the 2020 Census. These residents are ensuring a culturally astute international talent pipeline that is part of Orlando\u2019s labor force of 1.5 million workers.<\/p>\n
Leveraging Foreign-Owned Companies for Global Engagement<\/p>\n
International companies are also playing an increasingly important role in Orlando\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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Orlando\u2019s foreign-owned companies strengthen the region\u2019s development as a global creative capital, linking local businesses into international supply chains and creating pathways for trade and international collaboration. Orlando\u2019s growing trade reinforces this connection, reaching $27.4 billion in 2024 and exceeding pre-pandemic levels by 39.0%.<\/p>\n
Capitalizing on Orlando\u2019s Global Momentum<\/p>\n
The attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) further reinforces Orlando\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Attracting more FDI to Orlando will accelerate productivity, increase wages, diversify the economy and enhance global integration \u2014 all outcomes that can facilitate the region\u2019s transition into a global creative capital.<\/p>\n
The Path Forward<\/p>\n
Together, these forces \u2014 international talent, foreign-owned companies, global trade, connectivity and foreign investment \u2014 are positioning Orlando as an increasingly international economy.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s global strengths have deepened since 2023. Second, it lays out a targeted set of actions designed to translate those strengths into increased international investment.<\/p>\n
Realizing the Orlando 2045 Vision requires thinking beyond regional boundaries by engaging intentionally with the world. The region\u2019s future is international, and the task ahead is to leverage Orlando\u2019s competitive advantages on the global stage into lasting prosperity at home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Orlando Market Commentaries are a series of timely analyses produced by the Orlando Economic Partnership\u2019s Research & Strategy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271157,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-271156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271156\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}