Gothenburg business facts and rankings

Our mission is to provide you with the most comprehensive facts and figures, empowering you to pinpoint opportunities within our region. Below, you'll find a compilation of official Gothenburg facts. For a deeper understanding, feel free to download our publication, 'Facts & Figures,' or reach out to us directly.

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Gothenburg's expansive business environment

Gothenburg has a broad and multifaceted business environment with 760 industries represented. The region is home to global brands such as Volvo, SKF, Ericsson and AstraZeneca, and is characterised by a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Prominent clusters include automotive and mobility, ICT, life science, transportation and logistics, and maritime.

131 K

business establishments
€ 197 BN

total turnover
(SEK 1,979 BN)
585 k

people employed

35 %

of Sweden's private R&D investments are made in the county
93 %

of Sweden's industries are represented
1.5 m

residents in Gothenburg's labour market

16.3 %

Of employed people work in the knowledge-intensive services sector (Statistics Sweden, 2023)
12.2 %

Of employed people work in the commerce sector (Statistics Sweden, 2023)
10.7 %

Of employed people work in the industrial sector (Statistics Sweden, 2023)

An engine for Sweden's growth

For more than a decade, the Gothenburg region has been an important driver of Sweden's growth, both in terms of economy and population. Since the year 2009, the Gothenburg region has seen the following growth:

170 k

more residents (2009-2024)
142 k

more employees (2009-2023)
36 k

more business establishments (2009-2024)

67 %

real economic growth (2009-2024)
107 %

real exports growth (2009-2024)
45 %

real total wage sum growth (2009-2024)

Competitive on the international stage

Gothenburg regularly scores highly in European and global comparisons on everything from innovation and sustainability to human capital and lifestyle. One example is when Gothenburg was ranked as a European innovation leader among 239 regions by the European Commission 2023. Below are a few other examples:

1 st

best logistics location in the Nordics (Dagens Logistik, 2025)
1 ST

Most sustainable city destination 2016-2023 (Global Destination Sustainability Index)
1 ST

Most attractive city in Sweden for talent (Talent City Sweden Index, 2024)

7 TH

Best for human capital and lifestyle among large European cities (fDi, 2024)
8 th

of 504: Most liveable city in the world for European expats (ECA International, 2024)
12 th

highest density of inventors and scientific authors in the world (GII, 2024)

A rich exchange with the world

Gothenburg is an important hub for Swedish imports and exports, with established trade routes to all major markets. Meanwhile, every fifth employee in the region works for a foreign-owned company and every fifth resident is foreign-born. More and more people are also visiting the city for meetings, events and leisure.

17 %

of Sweden's exports
13 %

of Sweden's imports
106 k

people employed in foreign-owned companies

55 %

of Sweden's container traffic is handled at the Port of Gothenburg
2.3 K

foreign owned companies
+ 5 M

commercial guest nights

A highly skilled workforce

With high-quality universities and world-class companies, Gothenburg is a popular place to live, work and study. Our residents are relatively young and more highly educated than the national average. Gothenburg and West Sweden also rank highly in international comparisons on human capital and lifestyle.

69 K

university students
#1

highest concentration of engineers and natural scientists among Swedish metropolitan regions
53 k

employees with an engineering and natural science background