Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) - Country Ranking

Definition: Foreign direct investment refers to direct investment equity flows in the reporting economy. It is the sum of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, and other capital. Direct investment is a category of cross-border investment associated with a resident in one economy having control or a significant degree of influence on the management of an enterprise that is resident in another economy. Ownership of 10 percent or more of the ordinary shares of voting stock is the criterion for determining the existence of a direct investment relationship. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Source: International Monetary Fund, Balance of Payments database, supplemented by data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and official national sources.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 China 212,476,000,000.00 2020
2 United States 211,298,000,000.00 2020
3 Hungary 168,928,000,000.00 2020
4 Hong Kong SAR, China 117,452,000,000.00 2020
5 Germany 112,617,000,000.00 2020
6 Singapore 87,445,140,000.00 2020
7 India 64,362,360,000.00 2020
8 Japan 62,723,100,000.00 2020
9 Luxembourg 62,144,630,000.00 2020
10 Brazil 37,786,290,000.00 2020
11 Spain 33,735,350,000.00 2020
12 Ireland 32,451,690,000.00 2020
13 United Kingdom 31,058,890,000.00 2020
14 Mexico 31,049,010,000.00 2020
15 Sweden 28,435,980,000.00 2020
16 Canada 26,558,540,000.00 2020
17 Israel 24,283,200,000.00 2020
18 Cayman Islands 23,621,050,000.00 2020
19 United Arab Emirates 19,884,470,000.00 2020
20 Australia 19,638,890,000.00 2020
21 Indonesia 19,122,150,000.00 2020
22 Poland 17,388,000,000.00 2020
23 Vietnam 15,800,000,000.00 2020
24 France 13,242,550,000.00 2020
25 Russia 9,478,810,000.00 2020
26 Korea 9,223,600,000.00 2020
27 Chile 8,527,994,000.00 2020
28 Turkey 7,600,000,000.00 2020
29 Colombia 7,458,625,000.00 2020
30 Kazakhstan 7,406,529,000.00 2020
31 Philippines 6,585,597,000.00 2020
32 Czech Republic 6,429,949,000.00 2020
33 Egypt 5,851,800,000.00 2020
34 Saudi Arabia 5,399,216,000.00 2020
35 Portugal 4,708,473,000.00 2020
36 Lithuania 4,478,594,000.00 2020
37 Malta 4,387,090,000.00 2020
38 Malaysia 4,313,014,000.00 2020
39 New Zealand 4,057,542,000.00 2020
40 Argentina 4,019,052,000.00 2020
41 Congo 4,015,532,000.00 2020
42 Cambodia 3,624,645,000.00 2020
43 Romania 3,602,418,000.00 2020
44 Estonia 3,536,187,000.00 2020
45 Serbia 3,485,787,000.00 2020
46 Greece 3,303,649,000.00 2020
47 South Africa 3,200,123,000.00 2020
48 Mozambique 3,187,942,000.00 2020
49 Peru 2,979,948,000.00 2020
50 Lebanon 2,860,766,000.00 2020
51 Oman 2,859,558,000.00 2020
52 Bulgaria 2,701,940,000.00 2020
53 Dominican Republic 2,455,300,000.00 2020
54 Ethiopia 2,395,800,000.00 2020
55 Nigeria 2,385,278,000.00 2020
56 Pakistan 2,105,000,000.00 2020
57 Costa Rica 2,103,004,000.00 2020
58 Ghana 1,875,783,000.00 2020
59 Myanmar 1,834,212,000.00 2020
60 Morocco 1,762,991,000.00 2020
61 Uzbekistan 1,731,509,000.00 2020
62 Mongolia 1,719,116,000.00 2020
63 Gabon 1,716,511,000.00 2020
64 Denmark 1,582,722,000.00 2020
65 Dem. Rep. Congo 1,498,085,000.00 2020
66 Senegal 1,480,501,000.00 2020
67 Belarus 1,391,600,000.00 2020
68 Iran 1,342,000,000.00 2020
69 Guyana 1,194,483,000.00 2020
70 Croatia 1,178,763,000.00 2020
71 Turkmenistan 1,169,442,000.00 2020
72 Ecuador 1,150,242,000.00 2020
73 Bangladesh 1,143,190,000.00 2020
74 Algeria 1,126,709,000.00 2020
75 Albania 1,069,745,000.00 2020
76 Bahrain 1,006,649,000.00 2020
77 Lao PDR 967,706,100.00 2020
78 Venezuela 958,666,700.00 2020
79 Latvia 944,115,000.00 2020
80 Mauritania 927,916,300.00 2020
81 Uganda 873,792,800.00 2020
82 Guatemala 853,448,600.00 2020
83 Syrian Arab Republic 804,162,600.00 2011
84 Jordan 718,028,200.00 2020
85 Sudan 716,939,700.00 2020
86 Kenya 716,756,200.00 2020
87 Tanzania 684,887,700.00 2020
88 Cameroon 675,187,000.00 2020
89 Togo 639,483,300.00 2020
90 Paraguay 622,661,800.00 2020
91 Tunisia 592,172,000.00 2020
92 Brunei 565,542,300.00 2020
93 Chad 557,692,500.00 2020
94 Georgia 533,969,200.00 2020
95 Equatorial Guinea 529,894,800.00 2020
96 Montenegro 527,341,000.00 2020
97 Côte d'Ivoire 508,531,000.00 2020
98 Azerbaijan 507,151,800.00 2020
99 Slovenia 486,379,500.00 2020
100 Somalia 464,000,000.00 2020
101 New Caledonia 442,822,300.00 2020
102 Sri Lanka 433,869,400.00 2020
103 Bosnia and Herzegovina 410,339,600.00 2020
104 Niger 360,653,600.00 2020
105 The Bahamas 359,317,700.00 2020
106 Madagascar 358,467,100.00 2020
107 Sierra Leone 348,700,000.00 2020
108 Mali 308,101,900.00 2020
109 Ukraine 304,000,000.00 2020
110 Uruguay 302,522,600.00 2020
111 El Salvador 298,500,900.00 2020
112 Jamaica 265,100,600.00 2020
113 Barbados 262,100,000.00 2020
114 Mauritius 245,941,000.00 2020
115 Fiji 239,380,700.00 2020
116 Honduras 236,016,900.00 2020
117 The Gambia 189,576,200.00 2020
118 Nicaragua 182,300,000.00 2020
119 Guinea 176,350,000.00 2020
120 Benin 175,863,800.00 2020
121 Seychelles 175,110,100.00 2020
122 Djibouti 158,230,000.00 2020
123 Moldova 157,420,000.00 2020
124 Zimbabwe 150,360,000.00 2020
125 Grenada 148,811,400.00 2020
126 Burkina Faso 148,555,700.00 2020
127 Nepal 126,626,300.00 2020
128 Tajikistan 106,534,800.00 2020
129 Rwanda 99,915,140.00 2020
130 Liberia 86,960,000.00 2020
131 Botswana 80,062,760.00 2020
132 Belize 76,202,820.00 2020
133 Cabo Verde 74,115,220.00 2020
134 Eritrea 73,828,000.00 2020
135 Antigua and Barbuda 73,527,540.00 2020
136 Timor-Leste 72,378,580.00 2020
137 Armenia 47,183,580.00 2020
138 São Tomé and Principe 47,112,180.00 2020
139 Malawi 45,238,930.00 2020
140 Eswatini 44,069,560.00 2020
141 St. Lucia 35,108,510.00 2020
142 Central African Republic 34,747,200.00 2020
143 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 30,859,990.00 2020
144 Haiti 30,000,000.00 2020
145 Lesotho 29,564,770.00 2020
146 Vanuatu 24,610,540.00 2020
147 Palau 24,000,000.00 2020
148 Dominica 21,979,990.00 2020
149 Guinea-Bissau 20,410,380.00 2020
150 St. Kitts and Nevis 13,852,620.00 2020
151 Afghanistan 12,970,150.00 2020
152 Solomon Islands 8,980,047.00 2020
153 North Macedonia 7,693,780.00 2020
154 Dem. People's Rep. Korea 6,338,706.00 2020
155 Burundi 6,057,091.00 2020
156 Samoa 4,425,695.00 2020
157 Tonga 4,226,389.00 2020
158 Comoros 3,873,525.00 2020
159 Kiribati 2,624,093.00 2020
160 Suriname 1,039,900.00 2020
161 Libya 1,000,000.00 2019
162 Tuvalu 100,000.00 2020
163 Bhutan -2,786,961.00 2020
164 Trinidad and Tobago -102,583,400.00 2020
165 Namibia -162,793,100.00 2020
166 Zambia -172,752,800.00 2020
167 Cyprus -327,244,100.00 2020
168 Slovak Republic -330,595,900.00 2020
169 Yemen -370,982,800.00 2019
170 Kyrgyz Republic -401,518,600.00 2020
171 Kuwait -630,091,700.00 2020
172 Papua New Guinea -935,493,600.00 2020
173 Iceland -1,026,282,000.00 2020
174 Bolivia -1,116,074,000.00 2020
175 Angola -1,866,468,000.00 2020
176 Panama -2,154,734,000.00 2020
177 Finland -2,368,877,000.00 2020
178 Qatar -2,434,066,000.00 2020
179 Iraq -3,146,600,000.00 2020
180 Norway -3,805,715,000.00 2020
181 Thailand -4,845,359,000.00 2020
182 Macao SAR, China -7,103,970,000.00 2020
183 Belgium -17,570,640,000.00 2020
184 Austria -18,214,730,000.00 2020
185 Italy -22,090,940,000.00 2020
186 Liechtenstein -87,212,100,000.00 2018
187 Netherlands -149,322,000,000.00 2020
188 Switzerland -257,336,000,000.00 2020

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Development Relevance: Private financial flows - equity and debt - account for the bulk of development finance. Equity flows comprise foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio equity. Debt flows are financing raised through bond issuance, bank lending, and supplier credits.

Limitations and Exceptions: FDI data do not give a complete picture of international investment in an economy. Balance of payments data on FDI do not include capital raised locally, an important source of investment financing in some developing countries. In addition, FDI data omit nonequity cross-border transactions such as intra-unit flows of goods and services. The volume of global private financial flows reported by the World Bank generally differs from that reported by other sources because of differences in sources, classification of economies, and method used to adjust and disaggregate reported information. In addition, particularly for debt financing, differences may also reflect how some installments of the transactions and certain offshore issuances are treated. Data on equity flows are shown for all countries for which data are available.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Data on equity flows are based on balance of payments data reported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Foreign direct investment (FDI) data are supplemented by the World Bank staff estimates using data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and official national sources. The internationally accepted definition of FDI (from the sixth edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual [2009]), includes the following components: equity investment, including investment associated with equity that gives rise to control or influence; investment in indirectly influenced or controlled enterprises; investment in fellow enterprises; debt (except selected debt); and reverse investment. The Framework for Direct Investment Relationships provides criteria for determining whether cross-border ownership results in a direct investment relationship, based on control and influence. Distinguished from other kinds of international investment, FDI is made to establish a lasting interest in or effective management control over an enterprise in another country. A lasting interest in an investment enterprise typically involves establishing warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and other permanent or long-term organizations abroad. Direct investments may take the form of greenfield investment, where the investor starts a new venture in a foreign country by constructing new operational facilities; joint venture, where the investor enters into a partnership agreement with a company abroad to establish a new enterprise; or merger and acquisition, where the investor acquires an existing enterprise abroad. The IMF suggests that investments should account for at least 10 percent of voting stock to be counted as FDI. In practice many countries set a higher threshold. Many countries fail to report reinvested earnings, and the definition of long-term loans differs among countries. BoP refers to Balance of Payments.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Note: Data starting from 2005 are based on the sixth edition of the IMF's Balance of Payments Manual (BPM6).