The Gulf country continues to punch above its weight when it comes to FDI attraction.

The UAE was, once again, the world’s top foreign direct investment performer last year, relative to the size of its economy, followed by Namibia and Costa Rica. 

In the 10th edition of fDi Intelligence’s Greenfield FDI Performance Index, the UAE attracted the most FDI, relative to its GDP, of the 105 countries assessed. Some 85 of these recorded an index score above 1.0, meaning their share of global inward greenfield FDI projects in 2024 was larger than their share of global GDP in the same year. The remaining 20 countries had a score below 1.0, meaning they attracted less than their fair share of FDI given their economy’s size.

Investor confidence in the Gulf’s business hub remained strong last year. Its score of 14.26 indicates it received more than 14 times the volume of FDI projects that one might expect given the size of its economy.

Although the UAE’s growth in project numbers was modest at 1.8 per cent in 2024, the country ranked as the second-most popular FDI destination globally, behind the US for inbound projects. 

Business services, tech and financial services remain the leading FDI sectors in the country, with the latter exhibiting strong project growth in 2024. Transportation and warehousing, communications and consumer products were other sectors with notable upticks. 

At the same time, artificial intelligence, cyber security and cloud computing remain key themes driving investments into the UAE.

The UAE has many initiatives geared towards becoming a global leader in artificial intelligence. Its Artificial Intelligence 2031 and Centennial 2071 strategies both focus on integrating AI across key sectors to drive economic growth and innovation. 

Investors are being receptive to these initiatives. Microsoft announced in late 2024 that it will build a new global engineering development centre in Abu Dhabi. More recently, in 2025, the company announced plans to build sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure in partnership with G42, an Abu Dhabi-based AI company.

The UAE’s overall FDI success is also due to its pro-business environment, its relative stability in an otherwise turbulent region — its seven emirates are ruled as absolute monarchies — and its nonaligned foreign policy, which keeps the doors open to any investor from the East and West alike. 

Additionally, it has a robust legal framework and tailored immigration initiatives such as its golden visa and green visa to attract talent. 

Over the years, the country has been able to transform foreign investment into a major opportunity for economic diversification beyond oil and gas (hydrocarbon reserves are mostly found in Abu Dhabi). Also thanks to its sprawling free trade zones, the likes of Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah, as well as Abu Dhabi, are growing, diversified economies. 

fDi Markets