Global foreign direct investment rebounds 6% to $1.6T in 2025, ending 2-year decline

Developed economies see 11% rise in foreign direct investment, while flows to developing economies edge up 2%.

Global foreign direct investment (FDI) rose 6% in 2025 to $1.6 trillion, ending two consecutive years of decline, though gains remained uneven across developed and developing economies, according to a UN report.

UN Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) World Investment Report 2026 showed that FDI flows recovered last year, but the rebound was concentrated in a limited number of economies and sectors.

Foreign direct investment into developed economies rose 11% to $723 billion, while flows to developing economies increased only 2% to $901 billion.

FDI remains a key source of external financing for developing economies, but the uneven recovery in investment flows continues to weigh on development prospects across regions.

Twenty countries, including some developing economies, attracted 80% of global FDI inflows last year.

The US was the world’s largest recipient of foreign direct investment in 2025, attracting $277 billion, followed by Singapore with $151 billion, Hong Kong with $116 billion, China with $105 billion and Brazil with $77 billion.

The UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia were also among the top 20 FDI recipients.

Data centers emerged as the largest greenfield FDI segment last year, as artificial intelligence, energy demand and trade policies reshaped global investment patterns.

AI infrastructure, semiconductors, critical minerals and energy transition technologies accounted for 44% of global greenfield investment, up sharply from 16% in 2020.

Foreign direct investment into data centers reached $235 billion in 2025, far exceeding investment in oil and gas at $38 billion and semiconductors at $13 billion.

UNCTAD said the outlook for foreign direct investment in 2026 remains challenging, with trade policy uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, high financing costs and economic fragmentation continuing to affect investment decisions.