Basel: Economic area
Almost 900,000 people live within the catchment area of Basel and its surroundings (Germany and France). A large part of this population has a primary or secondary connection with the chemical/pharmaceutical industry, which is why the area is also known as Metrobasel, Bio-Valley, or simply the Life Science Area.
The city of Basel alone, without its neighbouring areas, achieved a real gross value of 4,441 million CHF via the chemical/pharmaceutical industry in 2004.
Employment in the field of Life Science is increasing year by year. Compared with other locations, the number of those employed in the Basel region rose by more than 27.8% from 1999-2004.
Of the 18 or so well-known Life Science centres around the world (from Boston to Paris, Milan, Vienna, London, etc.), Basel lies in fourth place with regard to the tax burden.
The growth of the Life Science sector is supported widely on the political level. For example, only in the USA and the UK is the general and regulatory framework more liberal than in the Basel Life Science area.
One example of this success is the Swiss Nanoscience Institute (NSI), opened recently in Basel.
After health, the second most important human need is the mobility of goods and individuals – and this will continue to be the case in future.
Thanks to its central location and its centuries-old tradition as the gateway into Switzerland, Basel is now the centre for the logistics and transport industry in Switzerland.