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Global ranking · 49 economies · World Bank data

Foreign Direct Investment by Country 2026

Foreign Direct Investment by Country 2026: 49 economies ranked by FDI net inflows, with nominal & PPP figures, 10-year trends, regional breakdowns, charts and a downloadable dataset. United States leads at $297.1 billion; Sweden ranks 13th of 49 at $30.7 billion (2024). Source: World Bank. Free to cite.

By Affärslivet Research · Published 2026-07-01 · Updated 2026-07-08 · Version 1.1 · CC BY 4.0

$297.1 billionHighest (United States)World Bank, 2024
13thSweden's rankof 49 economies
$30.7 billionSwedenFDI net inflows, 2024
$319.4 billionEuropean Unionreference
$757.5 billionOECDreference
$1.57 trillionWorldreference

Executive summary

This index ranks 49 of the world's largest economies by FDI net inflows, using World Bank Open Data for cross-country comparability, and goes beyond a single snapshot: it shows the nominal figure, a ten-year history, a regional breakdown and the biggest movers. United States leads at $297.1 billion (2024); Switzerland is lowest among those ranked at $-108,395,568,634. Sweden ranks 13th of 49 at $30.7 billion (2024). As reference points, the EU stands at $319.4 billion, the OECD at $757.5 billion and the world at $1.57 trillion. Every figure carries its World Bank series and reference year, and the complete dataset is free to download as CSV and JSON under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

Key findings

01$297.1 billionof 49 economies

United States tops the ranking

United States has the highest FDI net inflows among the 49 economies in this index at $297.1 billion (2024).

Source: World Bank Open Data · 2024 · confidence: High

0213th$30.7 billion

Where Sweden ranks

Sweden ranks 13th of 49 at $30.7 billion (2024), below the OECD reference of $757.5 billion.

Source: World Bank Open Data · 2024 · confidence: High

035 economiesUnited States, Singapore, Brazil, Canada, Germany

Top five

The five highest by FDI net inflows are United States ($297.1 billion), Singapore ($135.1 billion), Brazil ($74.1 billion), Canada ($63.1 billion), Germany ($62.6 billion).

Source: World Bank Open Data · 2024 · confidence: High

Data vintage — July 2026

Figures reflect the most recent year available in the World Bank Open Data API for each economy (shown next to every value). This index of foreign direct investment inflows by country regenerates automatically as new data is published.

Overview

Foreign direct investment (FDI) — cross-border investment into companies and assets — is a key gauge of how attractive an economy is to global capital. This index ranks countries by net FDI inflows (World Bank, compiled from IMF balance-of-payments data).

Large economies attract the biggest absolute flows, but small open economies and financial hubs can dominate relative to GDP, and volatile year-to-year swings mean the trend matters more than any single year.

What drives the ranking

FDI is drawn by market size, skilled labour, stable institutions, taxation and openness. Financial hubs (Ireland, the Netherlands, Singapore) show outsized flows partly because of corporate structuring, not just real investment.

FDI is a barometer of confidence in an economy's business environment — a theme that runs through Affärslivet's company and market coverage.

By region

Median FDI net inflows by world region among the ranked economies. Regional medians reveal patterns the country ranking alone can hide.

RegionEconomiesMedianHighestLowest
Europe23$8.7 billion$62.6 billion$-108,395,568,634
Asia-Pacific12$19.5 billion$135.1 billion$1.8 billion
Americas7$45.5 billion$297.1 billion$11.6 billion
Middle East & Africa7$14.8 billion$46.6 billion$1.6 billion

Biggest movers

The largest changes in FDI net inflows over the available window — where the action has been.

CountryChangeΔPeriod
Hungary$98.3 billion → $-61,303,476,152-159568709341.72019–2024
China$187.2 billion → $42.6 billion-144523280350.22019–2024
Switzerland$22.4 billion → $-108,395,568,634-130750686401.02019–2024
Netherlands$-127,784,845,859 → $-17,058,018,837+110726827022.32019–2024
Russia$32.0 billion → $-9,350,260,000-413250300002019–2024
Egypt$9.0 billion → $46.6 billion+375679000002019–2024
United Kingdom$19.8 billion → $-12,955,141,485-32745903413.62019–2024
Belgium$-10,587,088,044 → $-41,357,732,773-30770644729.12019–2024

Full ranking — 49 economies

Complete ranking by FDI net inflows, most recent World Bank data, with world region. Region aggregates (EU, OECD, World) appear in the At-a-glance box as reference points.

#CountryFdi Net InflowsRegionYear
1United States$297.1 billionAmericas2024
2Singapore$135.1 billionAsia-Pacific2024
3Brazil$74.1 billionAmericas2024
4Canada$63.1 billionAmericas2024
5Germany$62.6 billionEurope2024
6Australia$53.7 billionAsia-Pacific2024
7France$52.1 billionEurope2024
8Egypt$46.6 billionMiddle East & Africa2024
9United Arab Emirates$45.6 billionMiddle East & Africa2024
10Mexico$45.5 billionAmericas2024
11Spain$42.8 billionEurope2024
12China$42.6 billionAsia-Pacific2024
13Sweden$30.7 billionEurope2024
14Italy$28.5 billionEurope2024
15India$27.1 billionAsia-Pacific2024
16Indonesia$24.3 billionAsia-Pacific2024
17Saudi Arabia$21.3 billionMiddle East & Africa2024
18Poland$20.6 billionEurope2024
19Viet Nam$20.2 billionAsia-Pacific2024
20Japan$18.9 billionAsia-Pacific2024
21Denmark$18.2 billionEurope2024
22Malaysia$15.6 billionAsia-Pacific2024
23Israel$14.8 billionMiddle East & Africa2024
24Thailand$14.3 billionAsia-Pacific2024
25Colombia$13.7 billionAmericas2024
26Austria$13.7 billionEurope2024
27Czechia$13.5 billionEurope2024
28Portugal$13.5 billionEurope2024
29Chile$13.1 billionAmericas2024
30South Korea$12.9 billionAsia-Pacific2024
31Norway$12.1 billionEurope2024
32Turkiye$11.7 billionMiddle East & Africa2024
33Argentina$11.6 billionAmericas2024
34Philippines$9.4 billionAsia-Pacific2024
35Finland$8.7 billionEurope2024
36Romania$7.2 billionEurope2024
37Greece$6.7 billionEurope2024
38Ireland$4.8 billionEurope2024
39Ukraine$4.0 billionEurope2024
40Iceland$2.8 billionEurope2024
41South Africa$2.3 billionMiddle East & Africa2024
42New Zealand$1.8 billionAsia-Pacific2024
43Nigeria$1.6 billionMiddle East & Africa2024
44Russia$-9,350,260,000Europe2024
45United Kingdom$-12,955,141,485Europe2024
46Netherlands$-17,058,018,837Europe2024
47Belgium$-41,357,732,773Europe2024
48Hungary$-61,303,476,152Europe2024
49Switzerland$-108,395,568,634Europe2024

Scoreboard (machine-readable data)

Every headline indicator with its value, period, source and confidence. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.

↓ CSV · ↓ JSON

IndicatorValuePeriodSourceConf.
United States297058000000 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Singapore135077157183.13 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Brazil74090786050.19 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Canada63052828220.4 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Germany62637241923.07 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Australia53722899427.8 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
France52052548617.76 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Egypt46578000000 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
United Arab Emirates45636487406.4 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Mexico45474733959 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Spain42778827261.06 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
China42646542014.57 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Sweden30722040054.17 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Italy28511444638.4 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
India27139853378.14 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Indonesia24275445280.23 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Saudi Arabia21337562069.67 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Poland20606000000 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Viet Nam20170000000 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Japan18874093729.4 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Denmark18240080341.05 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Malaysia15593246086.77 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Israel14777900000 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Thailand14302158846.42 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Colombia13683876155.41 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Austria13655965523.23 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Czechia13513304248.26 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Portugal13486433394.86 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Chile13104226084.58 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
South Korea12862500000 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Norway12134206004.19 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Turkiye11698000000 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Argentina11644393816.06 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Philippines9398326659.59 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Finland8741865603.01 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Romania7159113565.93 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Greece6742277267.35 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Ireland4818899599.81 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Ukraine4018000000 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Iceland2832973530.45 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
South Africa2330218039.32 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
New Zealand1759833655.17 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Nigeria1614032956.93 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Russia-9350260000 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
United Kingdom-12955141484.5 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Netherlands-17058018836.87 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Belgium-41357732773.29 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Hungary-61303476151.53 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh
Switzerland-108395568633.84 US$2024World Bank Open DataHigh

Methodology & verification

Economies are ranked by FDI net inflows using the World Bank Open Data API, which harmonises national statistics for cross-country comparison. Each value is the most recent year available for that economy, shown alongside the figure; the trend table uses each economy's reported history. Economies with no reported value are omitted rather than estimated. Region aggregates (EU, euro area, OECD, World) are reference points, not ranked. FDI figures are volatile and inflated in hub economies by pass-through and holding-company flows that do not reflect real productive investment; single-year figures can mislead. Confidence: High (official multilateral source).

Data dictionary

FieldTypeDescription
metricstringWorld Bank indicator code : country ISO3
labelstringCountry name
valuenumberFDI net inflows value
unitstringUS$
periodstringReference year
geographystringCountry
source_urlstringWorld Bank indicator page

Frequently asked questions

Which country has the highest FDI net inflows?

United States, at $297.1 billion (2024). Source: World Bank Open Data.

Where does Sweden rank by FDI net inflows?

Sweden ranks 13th of 49 at $30.7 billion (2024). Source: World Bank.

What are the top five by FDI net inflows?

United States ($297.1 billion), Singapore ($135.1 billion), Brazil ($74.1 billion), Canada ($63.1 billion), Germany ($62.6 billion). Source: World Bank.

How is FDI net inflows defined?

Foreign direct investment, net inflows (US$), as reported by the World Bank. See the methodology and glossary for details.

How many economies are ranked?

49 of the world's largest economies, plus the EU, OECD and World aggregates as reference points.

What is the caveat with this metric?

FDI figures are volatile and inflated in hub economies by pass-through and holding-company flows that do not reflect real productive investment; single-year figures can mislead.

Where does the data come from?

The World Bank Open Data API, which harmonises national statistics for cross-country comparison. Every figure shows its reference year and links to its World Bank indicator page.

How current is it, and how often does it update?

Each figure is the latest year the World Bank reports for that economy. The index regenerates automatically as new data is released.

Can I download this ranking?

Yes — the full ranking is available as CSV and JSON under a CC BY 4.0 licence, free to reuse with attribution to Affärslivet.

Glossary

Fdi Net Inflows
Foreign direct investment, net inflows (US$) — as reported by the World Bank. ↗
World Bank Open Data
A free, authoritative database of harmonised economic indicators for every country. ↗
Purchasing-power parity (PPP)
A conversion that equalises the price of a comparable basket of goods across countries, so output and incomes can be compared in real terms rather than at market exchange rates. ↗
Nominal (current US$)
A value converted at prevailing market exchange rates and not adjusted for differences in price levels. ↗
GNI per capita
Gross national income per person — like GDP per capita but including net income earned abroad; useful where cross-border corporate flows are large. ↗
Reference year
The year a figure applies to; it can differ across countries because national statistics are published on different schedules. ↗
Region aggregate
A World Bank grouping (e.g. European Union, OECD, World) whose value is a weighted regional total or average, shown here for reference rather than ranked. ↗

How to cite this report

APA

Affärslivet Research. (2026). Foreign Direct Investment by Country 2026. Affärslivet. Version 1.1. https://xn--affrslivet-s5a.com/en/reports/foreign-direct-investment-by-country

MLA

Affärslivet Research. "Foreign Direct Investment by Country 2026." Affärslivet, 2026-07-01, https://xn--affrslivet-s5a.com/en/reports/foreign-direct-investment-by-country.

BibTeX

@techreport{affarslivet_foreign_direct_investment_by_country,
  title  = {Foreign Direct Investment by Country 2026},
  author = {{Affärslivet Research}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {Version 1.1},
  url    = {https://xn--affrslivet-s5a.com/en/reports/foreign-direct-investment-by-country}
}

Sources