Gothenburg

Gothenburg facts and figures

AN Expansive business environment

Gothenburg has a broad and multifaceted business environment with 750 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 construction, transport and logistics, ICT industries, automotive, creative and cultural industries, life sciences and cleantech.  

530
k
people employed
117
k
establishments
7.1
k
new startups in 2018
€52
bn
gross regional product
€132
bn
turnover

A Prominent research hub

Gothenburg is a leading research region characterised by large knowledge-intensive companies and close collaboration between the private, public and academic sectors. The region is home to highly regarded universities and science parks as well as around 60 testbeds. The region is an innovation leader (+) in Europe, according to the European Commission, and in terms of patents per capita, Gothenburg is among the top 15 most inventive cities in the world. Each year around 1/3 of Sweden's total R&D investments within the private sector are made in Gothenburg's county, Västra Götaland.  

32
%
of Sweden's private R&D investments
61
%
of Sweden's private R&D investments in automotive
42
%
of Sweden's private R&D investments in chemical, food and pharmaceuticals

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.

58
k
university students
140
vocational programmes
1
st
Sweden's best city and region for English proficiency (Education First, 2017)

Competitive on the international stage

Gothenburg reguarly scores highly in European and global comparisons on everything from innovation and connectivity to lifestyle and growth potential. Here are just a few examples: 

Leader +
European innovation leader among 238 regions (European Commission, 2019)
1
st
of 39 world cities: Sociable City Index (Hostel World, 2017)
2
nd
of 55 mid-sized cities: European Cities of the Future - Connectivity (fDi, 2018)
2
nd
of 50 cities: World's smartest cities (Future Today Institute, 2019)

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
15
%
of Sweden's imports
2.4
k
foreign owned companies
Exports
Top countries by value: Norway, USA, Germany, China and UK
Imports
Top countries by value: Germany, Norway, Netherlands, UK and Denmark
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