Charlotte International Business

Charlotte Snapshot: International Business & Foreign Direct Investment

As the world’s athletes gather in Tokyo for the 2020 Summer Olympics, we are placing a #FreshStart spotlight this week on the roles of international business and foreign direct investment across the greater Charlotte region.

Did you know?…

More than 1,000 international companies representing 40 countries call the Charlotte region home.

More than 250,000 foreign-born individuals and families are located across the region.

North and South Carolina are 2 of only 9 US states where employment in international business exceeds 7% of total employment.

Almost 50% of international companies in the Charlotte region are in manufacturing.

The Charlotte region recorded a nearly 16% increase in exports between 2016 and 2019.

Thanks to the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance for providing these statistics. Learn more about international business and foreign direct investment across the Charlotte region here.

10 Charlotte International Business Factoids

The Charlotte Regional Partnership is a nonprofit, public/private economic development organization that leverages regional resources to market the 16-county Charlotte region. The organization markets the Charlotte region as a “Center for International Business” by promoting the following ten factoids.

Largest concentration of foreign-owned firms between Washington, D.C. and Atlanta; German, British and Japanese parent companies represent the countries with the largest representation of foreign-owned firms
Home to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), 5th-busiest airport in the U.S. and only 15 minutes from uptown Charlotte
Never more than one plane change away from any business destination
If the Carolinas were a country, would be the 17th largest economy in the world
More than 40 languages spoken in the Charlotte region
Five language immersion programs in French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and Japanese
Twelve honorary consuls located within the Charlotte region
More than 715 daily departures to 159 nonstop destinations, including nonstop daily service to international business destinations such as London, Frankfurt, Munich, Rome, Paris, and Mexico City
Foreign Trade Zone #57
Siemens Energy, Areva NP, Dassault Systèmes, Okuma, Toshiba and Compass among largest foreign-owned firms