Strong Growth in International Congresses Worldwide: +11% in 2019
- Giancarlo Leporatti
- Jun 3, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 7
The international congress industry continued its upward trend in 2019, with a significant +11% increase compared to 2018, reaching 12,472 international meetings held across the globe.
These figures come from the 61st edition of the annual International Meetings Statistics Report recently published by the UIA – Union of International Associations, based in Brussels.
Here are some key highlights:
By Continent:
Europe remains the leading continent, hosting 49% of global international meetings. However, this marks a decline of 7 percentage points compared to its 20-year average of 56%.
Asia continues its strong rise, increasing from a historical average of 22% to 34% in 2019 — a gain that comes at the expense of both Europe and the Americas, which dropped from 18% to 11%.
Australasia and Oceania slipped slightly from 3% to 2%, while Africa posted a positive gain, rising from 1% to 4%.
Top European Cities in the Global Ranking:
Paris climbed three positions to secure 4th place globally, overtaking Vienna, which dropped to 5th.
Madrid fell from 7th to 9th place.
Barcelona and Geneva exited the top ten, while Lisbon entered the list at 10th place.
Top European Countries in the Global Ranking:
Belgium reclaimed 2nd place, surpassing South Korea, which slipped to 3rd — continuing its decline after having ranked 1st in both 2016 and 2017.
France rose from 7th to 6th, while Germany jumped from 10th to 8th.
Austria dropped from 6th to 10th.
📊 Download the full International Meetings Statistics Report here
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Since 1960, the UIA has been collecting and publishing statistics on international meetings held worldwide. The data are based on routine surveys and research, focusing on events organized or sponsored by international organizations, including meetings of main governing bodies, congresses, conventions, symposia, and regional gatherings involving multiple countries — as well as some nationally hosted meetings with international participation.
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