Dynamic business location

Basel is the most dynamic economic region in Switzerland and one of the most productive and innovative locations worldwide. The Canton of Basel-Stadt provides employment over 190,000 people from Switzerland and other countries. The economic policy of the Basel government is to create an attractive environment for business and to provide well-directed support for growing companies. In the past few years, the growth posted by the Basel region was well above the average for Switzerland. Liberal employment laws, attractive corporate tax rates, an efficient public administration and political stability are the traditional strong points which benefit companies in the Basel region.

On the road to Europe

Thanks to its favourable location in the heart of Europe, the Basel region has long been a major transhipment centre for goods on the move: the Rhine provides a direct link to the sea for the shipment of goods by water. The Basel region is also ideally positioned on the main axis of Europe’s road and rail network, and the neighbouring Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg EuroAirport is only 15 minutes from Basel city centre. Basel is therefore used by many international companies as a bridgehead to the European market.

Excellent productivity and quality of life

The outstanding educational standard of Basel’s population enables companies, whether multinationals, SMEs or technology start-ups to recruit highly qualified staff. This is evident in impressive levels of productivity which are well up to world standards. Life sciences companies employ approximately 32,000 people in the Basel region. Because of its location on the borders of Switzerland, Basel-Stadt also benefits from its ability to attract part of its workforce from adjacent regions of France and Germany: approximately 35,000 people cross the border every day to work in Basel; many of them are highly qualified specialists in their field. But Basel also attracts people from further afield: over 160 nations are represented here and 46% of the population speaks more than one language. Both expats and locals feel at home in Basel: Mercer ranks the city of Basel as one of the world’s ten cities with the best quality of life.

Innovation hub Basel
Leading industries and companies
Contact points for companies