Find the facts, communities, and people that can help you turn an international connection into useful work.
Choose the path that fits your goal. Go straight to the tools that help you take the next step.
Looking for a business in a place? Explore global places & business Find U.S. businesses by ZIP
Commercial diplomacy is where international relationships meet economic development. The Commercial Diplomacy Index™ helps leaders understand whether a place is positioned to compete globally, attract investment, grow exports, strengthen partnerships, and open doors for businesses.
Core Question: Which places are best positioned to translate global connections into measurable economic growth?
Understand the frameworkFind U.S. markets with consumer opportunity and communities with ties to other countries. Use the evidence to choose where a sister or friendship city conversation could begin.
56 Sister City research leads · 13 diaspora outreach leads
These country-to-U.S.-market leads help you plan research. Check local partners and existing ties before starting outreach.251 countries, territories, and reporting economies. Search 5,232,099 populated-place records from GeoNames, including the United States. Find names, locations, time zones, and country language notes.
The country and city search has grown. The certified lead set remains 69 leads across 10 countries and 48 U.S. markets. More scored source records must be reviewed before these totals can grow. A place without a published lead is still open to explore.
America’s next global opportunity starts with a city.
Sister & Friendship Cities and the New Sister City Index take the spotlight on this Consumer Magazine cover. Discover how global relationships can open doors to trade, investment, learning, and shared opportunity.
Visit Consumer Magazine (opens in a new tab)consumermagazine.usWhich places are best positioned to translate global connections into measurable economic growth?
COUNTRY READINESS V1 · 121 SCOREDCompare published country-readiness scores and explore every reference geography. Open the country rankings Geography, city-source coverage, and industry evidence
Published country scoresCompare the published country-readiness edition using trade, foreign investment, internet use, and logistics.
View the country rankings
Explore potential city relationships through the released country-to-U.S.-market research leads and the international-city model.
Explore the research leads
The community connection componentUnderstand the country-of-birth community evidence supporting the Sister City research, and explore its released component values.
Read the community evidenceCompare 150 economies using 2024 import demand, real growth, and price stability. Open a country for later dated market trends and available connections.
From a market to a business. Explore the Global Places & Business Directory for worldwide country and city context, or find U.S. businesses by ZIP to open individual business references and local sponsorship options.
Choose a question. Learn what to look for, why it matters, and what to do next.
Compare 217 reporting economies, including the United States, using reported trade, investment, population, digital access, logistics, and tourism data. Choose an observation year and see the source notes. For a longer perspective, explore country travel histories and 10-, 20-, and 25-year changes. You can also check a current country source value or look up a U.S. ZIP housing record.
Open the Country Data LabTourism arrivals per 100 residents
Export–import share difference
Three-year foreign investment average
Five-year change in internet use
Coming to the United States? Explore where to work, what housing costs, and where people share the heritage, languages, and interests you want to learn about.
Relationships, infrastructure, industries, and visibility work together. Explore the signals behind each pillar.
Exports, import activity, trade corridors, logistics access, port connections, and market diversification.
Can local businesses reach international customers?
Business climate, growth sectors, foreign direct investment potential, incentives, and site-selection strength.
Can a place turn investor interest into a practical next step?
Sister cities, consulates, trade missions, chambers, diaspora networks, universities, and international partnerships.
Who can open a door—and who will follow through?
International visitor demand, hospitality infrastructure, destination visibility, conventions, and cultural exchange.
Can international interest become a visit, an event, or a lasting connection?
Small business export readiness, procurement pathways, market-entry support, and chamber-led opportunity systems.
Can a small business find and act on the opportunity?
Media visibility, brand identity, cultural diplomacy, public narrative, and place-based reputation.
Does the world understand what this place has to offer?
Explore 251 countries, territories, and reporting economies, including the United States, plus an Africa regional view. Country Readiness V1 now scores 121 reporting economies; other places remain available with their data coverage.
251 countries, territories, and reporting economies. Reference points use World Bank capital coordinates where supplied; missing coordinates do not remove a place from the list. Outlines are schematic. View coverage and source limits.
Market access, trade opportunity, investment relationships, and tourism.
Export readiness, logistics, investment potential, and global relationships.
Trade missions, business access, tourism, and partnership capacity.
The index brings geography, trade signals, business activity, tourism, migration, international markets, media reach, and economic opportunity into one commercial diplomacy framework.
Source-backed Sister City country-to-metro research leads are now available. Country Readiness V1 publishes 121 scores using the connected World Bank snapshot. Broader six-pillar place scores remain in development.
Local relationships.
International trade.
Commercial diplomacy starts with people who can open a door. Global Chamber™ helps businesses build useful connections across cities and borders. Find people to talk with about customers, suppliers, investment, and your next market.
New activity research: 2,895 Global Chamber-labelled calendar rows across all 32 observed quarters, 2019–October 21, 2026. Explore the case study and rankings.
Explore every record in the NDS 2026 reference file, including the United States. Check current services with the chamber. Read the activity sources and definitions.
Explore featured talks on trade, investment, and business across borders. Visit the official event page for the time, time zone, and registration.
The dates in this featured selection have passed. Open the official calendar to find the next events.
Featured selection checked October 20, 2026. Past event dates are hidden. New events and schedule changes appear on the official calendar.
Business networks, exchange hosts, and local councils each play a part. Together, these kinds of organizations help a place connect with the world.
Connect and support leaders and organizations around the world so they can grow their business and impact across borders.
Business programs, introductions, participating companies, countries represented, paid memberships, renewals, and industry coverage.
Mission, Vision, Values & Purpose Explore the observed activity measuresHelp people, communities, and nations build trust, peace, and prosperity through international exchange.
Visiting delegations, professional meetings, host organizations, volunteers, service hours, and continued exchanges.
Official exchange programsSupport a national network of independent, nonpartisan councils that help their communities understand the world.
Public programs, international speakers, student participation, community discussions, and recurring engagement.
Official missionYour next international project needs people who can help. Chambers, universities, public agencies, businesses, and community groups can share knowledge, make introductions, and keep the work moving.
Start with the people and support you can identify today. Use the checklist to see who could host a visit, guide a business, or help you follow up.
Discuss your place’s readinessWho opens the door?
Who keeps the relationship moving?
Trade missions should not begin with travel. They should begin with intelligence.
Prepare chambers, cities, delegations, and companies for a purposeful market conversation.
251 countries, territories & reporting economies + an Africa regional lens
Research export partnerships, inbound investment, international visitors, supply chains, and relationships between U.S. communities and global markets.
Which international relationship could connect a U.S. community or business with a specific global opportunity?
Planning themes are starting points for research. Current opportunities and market conditions require verification.
People with experience of more than one place can bring knowledge, ideas, and introductions to a shared project. Ask which community groups and businesses want to take part and what they hope to gain.
Explore community bridge evidence, use Heritage Search, or find a local host. Country of birth, ancestry, language, and individual interests answer different questions.
A relationship lens looks at organized networks and participation. Population or ancestry alone does not establish a commercial relationship.
Explore shared-heritage city pathways →
See U.S. community rankings, including country-of-birth, Mexican-origin, and Indigenous identity views. Each keeps its own Census definition.
Explore a diaspora partnership briefingLocal relationships. Global possibilities.
Explore profileA statewide view of international capacity.
Explore profileAmerican communities. International opportunity.
Explore profileTell us about your place, organization, or target market. Start a focused conversation about global readiness, trade missions, investment, or partnerships.
