Economic Development
International Organizations
Nashville as a Global Destination
Nashville’s population continues to expand in diversity of origin, ancestry and ethnicity, enhancing the region as a cosmopolitan and welcoming place to live and work. The Nashville area has become increasingly popular as a destination for tourists and convention visitors from the U.S. and around the world. Each year, some 12 million tourists and 500,000 convention delegates enjoy the sights and sounds of Nashville. As many as 10 percent of Nashville-area visitors come from outside the U.S., led by Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, Australia and Japan. Check out LiveIt Nashville, your guide to living, working and playing in the Nashville region.
“Nashville is a vibrant city that attracts tourists and corporate groups into our hotels and corporations into our high rise buildings. The diversity of industry, high quality of life, and lower cost of living make it a place people want to live and where businesses want to invest.”
Elizabeth Randall Winkle, Chief Strategy Officer, str
Diversity in the Region
Nashville’s population continues to expand in diversity of origin, ancestry and ethnicity, enhancing the region as a cosmopolitan place to live and work.
- One in eight Nashvillians is foreign-born
- International migration accounted for 24% of all net migration into the region between 2018 and 2019
- Nashville is home to large Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Kurdish and South and Southeast Asian populations
- Foreign-born population grew by 203% between 1990 and 2000, almost four times as fast as the national average
- The Nashville region (Smyrna, TN) was the site of Nissan’s first automotive assembly facility in North America in the early 1980’s
- Japan is Tennessee’s largest foreign investor nation
- The Consulate General of Japan in Nashville is a full service consular office established to support the area’s Japanese population
- The largest Kurdish community in the world outside the Middle East lives in Nashville
- Area colleges are home to more than 6,500 international students and scholars
- British Airways began non-stop service to London in May 2018
- Nashville currently has active Sister City relationships in ten countries involving business, cultural and educational exchanges. These cities include Belfast, Northern Ireland; Caen, France; Chengdu, China; Edmonton, Canada; Erbil, Iraq; Kamakura, Japan; Magdeburg, Germany; Mendoza, Argentina; Taiyuan, China; and Tamworth, Australia.
