International organisations provide 121,000 jobs in Brussels
Tourist authority Visit Brussels has released a report that shows that Brussels’ international character as the capital of Europe has vast implications for its GDP and infrastructure
€5 billion for economy
The Brussels-Capital Region is home to 20 European institutions, 42 intergovernmental organisations, 20,000 lobbyists, almost 1,000 foreign journalists and 5,400 diplomats – the largest diplomatic corps in the world, which includes missions to Belgium, the EU and Nato.
The latter two organisations are the most prominent, but the list also includes offices of the United Nations, the European Space Agency, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Labour Organisation and the World Bank, among others.
Together, they employ 81,000 people directly and 40,000 indirectly – a total of 16.7% of all jobs in the region, bringing more than €5 billion to Brussels’ economy. That makes Brussels the leading congress city in Europe and the second in the world.
More languages are spoken in Brussels than any other city but London, said Visit Brussels. The capital is third for regional GDP, sixth for infrastructure, seventh for financial networks and eighth most business-friendly.
“This economic and cultural wealth is unique to our region, and is something we should be proud of,” said minister-president Rudi Vervoort.
Photo: Koen Broos/Visit Flanders
