Global Foreign Direct Investment: UNCTAD World Investment Report Data

Global foreign direct investment rose 6% to USD 1.6 trillion in 2025 [1]. UNCTAD says this ended two years of decline, but that the recovery remains narrow, fragile and uneven [3]. The World Investment Report 2026 reports that developed economies received USD 723 billion in 2025, up 11% [2]. Developing economies recorded only 2% growth, to USD 901 billion [1].

According to the World Investment Report 2025, global FDI fell 11% in 2024, the second consecutive annual decline [5]. In 2024, FDI to least developed countries rose 9% to USD 37 billion, just 2% of global flows [6]. Landlocked developing countries saw a 10% drop that year [6].

In 2024, the number of announced industrial greenfield projects rose 3%, while their value fell 5% [4]. Their total value stayed high at USD 1.3 trillion, the second-highest level on record [4]. UNCTAD notes that M&As account for a small share of FDI in developing countries, where greenfield projects and international project finance dominate [4].

From 2020 to 2024, developing countries attracted USD 531 billion in greenfield projects in the digital economy [7]. Ten economies accounted for nearly 80% of that total: India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Viet Nam, Mexico, China, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Thailand [7].

FDI figures are UNCTAD estimates of global FDI inflows in current US dollars, from the World Investment Report 2026 (covering 2025) [1][2] and the World Investment Report 2025 (covering 2024) [4][5][6]. Greenfield figures are announced project values from UNCTAD, based on fDi Markets data [4]. The developed and developing totals shown in the chart are as reported by UNCTAD. FREEE.REPORT made no calculations.