Metropolitan Region Rheinland

The continuing development of the Rhineland to be- come one of Europe’s most attractive economic locations is a cause that has been taken up by the Region’s Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHK) since 2010. In the same year, the Region Co- logne/Bonn e.V. asked the NRW State Government to support this process and firmly anchor the “Metropolitan Region Rheinland” in addition to the also incurred “Ruhr Metropolis” in its development plan 2025.

“IHK-Initiative Rheinland” is committed to improving the position of the Rhineland in the locations’ competition and it has launched a series of joint activities, including campaigns and sector platforms such as “Automotive Rhineland”, “Bio River”, “Research Dialogue Rhineland”, “Port Dialogue”, the “Company Visits Programme” and the “Design Symposium Rhineland”.

With a population of 6.7 million the Rhineland would be the Metropolitan Region with the most in- habitants in Germany and, after the Ruhr Region, the one with the highest population density. Its roughly 420,000 companies would represent 11.5 % of Germany’s industrial economy. The gross domestic product (213 billion euros) is a peak figure among the regions, as is the number of 2.25 million employed persons, who are also disproportionately highly qualified. 12.6 per cent of them have graduated from a university of applied sciences or regular university. This means that the dis- posable income of the Region is high (135.5 billion euros), and it has grown by 20 per cent of the last ten years. The resident companies rate the Rhineland highly or very highly for its location-re-lated qualities.

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