Global Orlando: Examining Orlando’s International Opportunity

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

✓	Orlando is a global community, home to the fastest growing foreign-born population among large regions in the U.S.
✓	Over 270 international companies from more than 30 countries call the Orlando region home, and the region’s trade with the world exceeds $25 billion annually.
✓	The region must now act to leverage these global connections to accelerate our future prosperity.

The Orlando region is emerging as one of the world’s leading locations for business, yet relatively little is known about the true extent of the region’s global footprint.

Data recently compiled by the Orlando Economic Partnership (OEP) in a report titled “Global Orlando: Exploring the Orlando Region’s Connections to the World” establishes a baseline to monitor the region’s emergence on the international scene – documenting the foreign-born residents and international companies who call our region home, and the trade and investment that connect us to the world.

Approximately 1 in 5 of the Orlando region’s current residents were born overseas.

A Truly Global Community

Orlando is already a global community. Approximately 1 in 5 of the region’s current residents (or 572,000 people) were born overseas.

South America (particularly Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil) and the Caribbean (Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Cuba) are key sources of Orlando’s foreign-born population.

Orlando’s foreign-born population is the fastest growing among large regions in the U.S., expanding at three times the rate of Orlando’s U.S.-born population.

International migration has become a critical driver of the region’s population growth, accounting for more than half (53%) of the region’s total population gain in the year ending July 2023, and 41% since the 2020 Census.

The region’s foreign-born population is a key part of the region’s labor force and diversity: more than half of Orlando’s foreign-born population is of prime working age, and 4 in 5 belong to a minority/non-white racial group.

More than half of Orlando’s foreign-born population is of prime working age.

A Global Business Landscape

Initial Orlando Economic Partnership research suggests at least 272 foreign-owned companies from 32 different countries currently have a presence in the Orlando region - among them such well-known names as Siemens (Germany), Mitsubishi (Japan), Deloitte (United Kingdom) and KPMG (the Netherlands).

The region’s international business community reflects long-standing cultural similarities, with the United Kingdom and Canada currently the greatest sources of Orlando’s foreign-owned companies.

Orlando’s foreign-owned businesses are disproportionately located in the retail and manufacturing industries, reflecting the region’s status as a major population center in the country’s third most populous state.

At least 272 foreign-owned companies from 32 different countries currently have a presence in the Orlando region.

Trading With the World

With deep cultural ties and a growing base of multinational companies comes ever-growing trade, and Orlando’s trade with the world totaled $25.1 billion in 2022. Orlando’s top trading partners are China, Mexico, and Canada, with Brazil our top export destination.

Encouraging companies to internationalize through exporting is a key long-term ambition that is important to growing our economy. However, the region’s more immediate opportunity lies in the attraction of more multinationals - companies that are generally more productive, pay higher wages, and are more likely to innovate and export.

The Orlando region attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) totaling $1.2 billion in the decade ending 2022, and the Partnership played an important role in that - securing 41 FDI projects paying annual wages 32% higher than the regional average.

Approximately 80% of FDI projects have been in just three of the OEP’s targeted industries - digital technology, advanced manufacturing, and headquarters and regional offices – with the UK a dominant source of inbound FDI.

The Orlando region attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) totaling $1.2 billion in the decade ending 2022.

Seizing the Moment

The Orlando region is at an inflection point. Over the last decade, we’ve made great strides in putting ourselves on the domestic map and establishing Orlando as one of America’s next great regions.

It’s now time to take the next step in our evolution.

Private businesses don’t limit their customer base, and nor should communities. There are many exciting companies in the world whose growth is currently constrained by slow growth in their domestic economies – companies for whom an Orlando location makes economic sense.

The Orlando region represents a compelling proposition for international companies. As one of the fastest-growing markets in one of the world’s largest economies – and centrally located in the third most populous state, with easy access to the rest of the U.S and the Americas​ - the Orlando region’s operating costs can be up to a third lower than in more traditional U.S. landing spots.

Orlando is also home to Florida’s busiest passenger airport (currently serving 63 international destinations) as well as to world-class amenities that have made the region the most visited destination in the U.S.​

Orlando is already a region on the move but it’s time for this community to think bigger. It’s time to think globally. And it’s time for even more international companies to join Orlando’s thriving global community.