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Ranked: The World’s Biggest Sources Of Foreign Investment

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Ranked: The Biggest Sources of Foreign Investment

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Key Takeaways

  • The U.S. was the world’s largest source of foreign direct investment in 2024, with $266 billion in outflows.
  • Just six sources, including Hong Kong, accounted for over half of global FDI outflows.
  • Luxembourg, Hong Kong, and the British Virgin Islands rank highly because they often act as conduits for global investment.

Foreign direct investment, or FDI, shows where companies and investors are putting money to work outside their home markets.

This graphic ranks the world’s largest sources of FDI outflows in 2024, using data from the latest World Investment Report from UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

In total, more than $1.7 trillion was invested abroad in 2024, with developed economies accounting for $1.1 trillion of that total.

The Six Sources Behind Half of Global FDI

Over half of all global FDI, or roughly $915 billion in outflows, came from just six sources: Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Luxembourg, and the United States.

The U.S. led with over $266 billion in FDI outflows, followed by Japan ($204 billion), China ($163 billion), Luxembourg ($109 billion), Hong Kong ($87 billion), and Canada ($86 billion).

This data table ranks the world’s largest FDI sources in 2024.

RankCountryFDI outflows in 2024 ($M)
1 U.S.266,367
2???????? Japan204,380
3???????? China162,780
4???????? Luxembourg108,598
5???????? Hong Kong87,247
6???????? Canada86,044
7???????? British Virgin Islands59,451
8???????? Singapore55,257
9???????? Netherlands54,730
10???????? Spain49,235
11???????? South Korea48,589
12???????? France40,950
13???????? Germany38,525
14???????? Italy37,040
15???????? Taiwan31,979
16???????? Sweden27,369
17???????? Cayman Islands27,237
18???????? United Kingdom25,297
19???????? Ireland24,932
20???????? India23,782
21???????? UAE23,399
22???????? Saudi Arabia22,046
23???????? Australia14,069
24???? Denmark13,266
25???????? Austria12,588
26???????? Brazil12,427
27???????? Russia11,691
28???????? Israel10,478
29???????? Kuwait10,317
30???????? Indonesia9,703
31???????? Czechia8,317
32???????? Thailand8,151
33???????? Portugal7,821
34???????? Malaysia7,399
35???????? Türkiye5,939
36???????? Mexico5,736
37???????? Finland5,415
38???????? Hungary4,826
39???????? Colombia4,611
40???????? Belgium2,935
41???????? Philippines2,880
42???????? Argentina2,690
43???????? Greece2,618
44???????? Venezuela2,603
45???????? Norway2,514
46???????? Croatia2,510
47???????? Chile2,431
48???????? Poland2,166
49???????? Qatar1,563
50???????? Macau1,430
51???????? Kenya1,310
52???????? Papua New Guinea1,236
53???????? Oman1,045
54???????? The Bahamas813
55???????? Slovenia752
56???????? Azerbaijan742
57???????? Estonia741
58???????? Morocco694
59???????? Guatemala692
60???????? Serbia656
61???????? Uruguay643
62???????? Bulgaria639
63???????? Slovakia576
64???????? Côte d'Ivoire563
65???????? Egypt508
66???????? Panama457
67???????? Iraq439
68???????? Georgia428
69???????? Lebanon391
70???????? Honduras374
71???????? Bahrain275
72???????? Peru263
73???????? Albania261
74???????? Switzerland251
75???????? Bolivia233
76???????? DRC198
77???????? North Macedonia181
78???????? Cambodia172
79???????? Equatorial Guinea154
80???????? Pakistan153
81???????? Latvia145
82???????? Belarus133
83???????? Zimbabwe131
84???????? Madagascar125
85???????? Iceland121
86???????? Sri Lanka110
87???????? Tajikistan101
88???????? Moldova100
89???????? Ghana97.7
90???????? Liberia89.8
91???????? Iran89.4
92???????? Aruba87.7
93???????? Nicaragua73.8
94???????? Montenegro67.8
95???????? Bosnia and Herzegovina65.9
96???????? Paraguay64.8
97???????? Armenia63.0
98???????? Eswatini62.4
99???????? Benin60.3
100???????? Mongolia55.5
101???????? Jordan54.1
102???????? Algeria53.5
103???????? Solomon Islands52.9
104???????? Malawi48.3
105???????? Senegal48.1
106???????? Costa Rica46.6
107???????? Seychelles46.1
108???????? New Caledonia45.9
109???????? Tunisia45.7
110???????? Trinidad and Tobago43.2
111???????? Namibia40.8
112???????? Romania39.2
113???????? Mauritius38.3
114???????? Uzbekistan36.7
115???????? Mali35.4
116???????? Bermuda33.8
117???????? Angola33.1
118???????? Antigua and Barbuda29.8
119???????? Fiji25.6
120???????? Congo25.4
121???????? Cabo Verde20.2
122???????? Viet Nam20.0
123???????? Kyrgyzstan20.0
124???????? Barbados18.6
125???????? Niger12.2
126???????? French Polynesia11.3
127???????? Anguilla11.1
128???????? Rwanda9.9
129???????? Burundi8.5
130???????? Curaçao8.1
131???????? Bangladesh7.2
132???????? Nauru6.2
133???????? Guyana5.7
134???????? Cameroon5.6
135???????? Grenada4.9
136???????? Saint Kitts and Nevis4.8
137???????? Sint Maarten4.7
138???????? Timor-Leste4.5
139???????? Mauritania3.9
140???????? El Salvador3.6
141???????? Botswana3.0
142???????? Vanuatu2.8
143???????? Burkina Faso2.7
144???????? Belize2.6
145???????? Samoa2.0
146???????? São Tomé and Principe1.8
147???????? Tonga1.3
148???????? Dominica0.8
149???????? Uganda0.4
150???????? Guinea-Bissau0.4
151???????? Cook Islands0.2
152???????? Kiribati0.1

As the world’s largest economy, the U.S. has long been both the prime source and destination of global FDI flows. The total U.S. direct investment position abroad topped $6.8 trillion in 2024, with the United Kingdom serving as the main destination for American overseas investment.

However, U.S. FDI outflows fell by more than 25% from 2023. At the same time, over half of greenfield investments by American companies in 2024 were made domestically rather than overseas.

FDI Conduits in the Global Economy

Hong Kong’s high position in global FDI outflows reflects the tendency of many firms to redirect FDI through the special administrative region. Luxembourg, the top FDI source in Europe, is another example of this trend, as are the British Virgin Islands ($59 billion), the Cayman Islands ($27 billion), and even, to some extent, the Netherlands ($55 billion).

Companies often route investments through these jurisdictions for tax, regulatory, or corporate structuring reasons.

The popularity of these tax havens has led to growing analysis of FDI by “ultimate beneficial owner” or “ultimate investor country” standards, by which investments are tracked to the location of their parent firm rather than an offshore subsidiary.

The Investor Continents and the Investee Continents

Orthodox theories of FDI suggest that countries organically move from being recipients or destinations of FDI to eventual sources. This process traditionally occurs alongside development.

For example, a resource-rich developing country may see high FDI inflows but fewer outflows, as foreign companies seek resources while domestic companies lack global competitiveness. This can be seen in cases as diverse as Bolivia and Mozambique, which combined registered just $189 million in 2024 outflows.

Meanwhile, as a country’s economy develops and expands, businesses begin to invest more abroad, either for production or market-seeking purposes. This scalability has led to the emergence of major FDI sources such as South Korea and Spain, both at $49 billion.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out The Best Emerging Markets to Invest In, According to fDi Intelligence on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

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