Business Climate
The Southeast, with Georgia at its center, continues to post strong economic growth as a result of affordable labor costs, modest real estate and commercial lease costs, investment in education and training, low rates of unionization and a modern transport infrastructure. Georgia’s real dollar GDP growth of 5.9 percent approached the 6.3 percent U.S. average in 2006 as Georgia economic output reached $379.5 billion (USD).
Out of its past agricultural roots, Georgia has developed a dynamic and diverse industrial economy. With a modern infrastructure, a strong university and research community and a reputation for excellent quality of life, Georgia is increasingly a preferred destination for technology and biotechnology business investment.
Georgia's Global Investors
More than 1700 international companies call Georgia home, a number that continues to increase as more companies discover the numerous advantages our state has to offer.
More than 60 percent of them are European (link to European pie chart below, open in new window), with Germany and the United Kingdom being the lead investors. Japanese companies account for another nearly 20 percent, while the remaining 20 percent originate from other international regions that help make Georgia the global business center it is today.
Take a look at our reference page for a look at some of Georgia’s biggest investors.
A Global Business Center
Georgia is the number three location for Fortune 500 company headquarters and a favorite location for many other multinational headquarters, including AOL Time Warner (CNN), Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, Earthlink, Equifax, Home Depot, Georgia-Pacific, Rubbermaid, Scientific Atlanta, Shaw Industries and UPS, because of its attractive location and business-friendly environment.
Along with its multi-national business community, Atlanta hosts 97 consular and trade missions and 11 foreign offices. A wide range of professional service-providers experienced in international business serve the community, including attorneys, consultants, CPA’s, tax advisors, accountants and freight forwarders. Many of these are staffed with specialists who speak French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Chinese, Swedish, Japanese, Korean and more.