Orlando is one of the world’s premier tourist destinations. It is located near the center of the low-lying Florida Peninsula in the heart of a lake-studded region. The city’s climate is humid subtropical. The economy of the Orlando area is dominated by the massive, year-round tourism drawn by theme parks. With an estimated annual attendance of more than 30 million people in the mid-1990s, the parks are constantly being enhanced and expanded. Tourist facilities have mushroomed to handle the hundreds of thousands of visitors who may be in the area at any one time.

Business and industry also expanded in Orlando in the 1990s, developing mainly east and north of the city to avoid the tourism centers. Aerospace equipment, electronic components, computer microchips, aircraft loading equipment, snack foods, ambulances, and beverages are manufactured in the region. The city also is home to firms producing computer software, and a number of industrial corporations have built research-and-development facilities in the area. Citrus fruit processing remains a significant activity. A 2005 real estate survey has estimated the population of Orlando, Florida at 213,223.