Stockholm is Europe's third-biggest hub for global headquarters

Photo: Henrik Trygg, mediabank.visitstockholm.com

Stockholm is home to 22 global multinational corporations, a figure that puts the region third in Europe behind London and Paris, according to a new report from Invest Stockholm and Region Stockholm. Foreign companies account for 85 percent of the headquarters in Stockholm, the report says.

When comparing Nordic metropolitan regions, Stockholm has the largest share of Nordic or Global headquarters, 54 percent.

“Stockholm is the Nordic hub for Global and Regional headquarters among companies on the Forbes Global 2000 list. Stockholm’s overwhelming majority of foreign establishments is a reflection of our highly internationalized economy with 22 Global headquarters, far more than European cities like Frankfurt and Zurich. I am determined to secure our position as a top European location for headquarters,” says Mayor of Stockholm Anna König Jerlmyr.

Stockholm has a particularly high concentration of headquarters within two industry sectors: Information, Communication and Technology (ICT), and Finance and Insurance. It is also notable that over 80 percent of Consumer services headquarters in the Nordics are located in Stockholm. The report also shows that, of the foreign companies with Nordic headquarters, roughly 40 percent are European, 40 percent North American and 20 percentoriginate in Asia or Oceania.

Factors that influence multinational companies when choosing to locate their headquarters in Stockholm include: a resilient business climate, solid and stable institutional knowledge, excellent connectivity, a wide range of industry sectors, and the depth of professional expertise in the region. 

“This report confirms that the Stockholm region has an attractive position when it comes to doing business in the Nordics. We see that factors such as access to capital and talents, a vibrant tech scene, ease of doing business, international connectivity and access to a large consumer market in the Nordics all play an important role in our clients’ decision to establish in Stockholm,” says Erik Krüger, Head of Investments and Establishments, at Invest Stockholm.

Download the report here!

About the report
The report Stockholm as a global force – The significance of headquarters in the Nordics and the Stockholm region by Invest Stockholm and Region Stockholm examines the headquarters of different Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and regional headquarters located in Stockholm and other Nordic metropolitan regions. It also provides both a European and global outlook, examining how the Nordics compare to Europe and the rest of the world for MNC headquarters.