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The 10 Countries That Attract the Most Foreign Investment |
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UNCTAD’s World Investment Report, published on 7 July, counts $1.6 trillion of foreign direct investment in 2025. The United States took $277 billion, the most of any country. Singapore, with 6.1 million people, took $151 billion. That is more than China. |
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Source: UNCTAD World Investment Report 2026 (released July 7, 2026). FDI inflows, 2025, US$ billions. |
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$1.95 billion changed hands Monday
On Monday, Newmont wrote its biggest rival a check for $1.95 billion.
They'd fought over the same Nevada ground for years.
It ended in one morning.
Newmont bought permission. Barrick can now split its North American mines into a company worth north of $60 billion.
The two largest gold miners on earth just cleared their decks.
They didn't do it to sit still.
The window shuts September 30th.
| What's Surprising |
Singapore has 6.1 million people. In 2025 it drew $151 billion of foreign direct investment, more than China and more than any country except the United States. That is about $24,700 for every person living there.
Hong Kong is third with $116 billion. Together the two cities took $267 billion, almost as much as the entire United States. UNCTAD puts it down to their role as headquarters locations and financial hubs. A company opens a regional holding office in Singapore, and the investment is counted there before it moves on to plants elsewhere in Asia.
Europe has its own version. The United Kingdom went from $16 billion in 2024 to $75 billion. Germany went from $21 billion to $74 billion. Neither economy changed that much in a year. UNCTAD’s own caveat is that Europe’s numbers are shaped by intra-firm financing, corporate restructuring and conduit flows, not just new factories.
| What's Not Surprising |
The United States is No. 1 again, at $277 billion, down slightly from $284 billion. It is the largest consumer market on Earth. Companies that want to sell there, behind tariff walls, increasingly build there. It took 17% of all the foreign investment in the world.
China slipped 9%, to $105 billion. It is still fourth, and both of its financial neighbours drew more. Brazil went the other way, up 22% to $77 billion. India rose 44% to $39 billion, just outside the top ten.
The money is concentrated. The top 20 recipients took more than 80% of global FDI. The top ten alone took nearly two-thirds. The world’s least developed countries shared $43 billion, 2.7% of the total. All of Africa fell 26% to $70 billion, because 2024 had been inflated by Egypt’s Ras El-Hekma megaproject.
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$277 billion Foreign direct investment into the United States in 2025. The most of any country, and 17% of the world total. |
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$24,700 Foreign investment per resident of Singapore last year: $151 billion into a country of 6.1 million people. |
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4.7× The jump in UK inflows, from $16 billion in 2024 to $75 billion in 2025. UNCTAD warns that much European FDI is intra-firm financing. |
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2.7% The share of global FDI that went to the world’s least developed countries. Singapore on its own took 9%. |
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−48% France’s fall, from $42 billion to $22 billion. Germany’s inflows more than tripled. Same continent, same year. |
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UNCTAD’s Global Investment Trends Monitor usually publishes first estimates for the year in January. That will show whether 2025’s rebound survived a year of tariffs. Two things to track. First, whether China’s slide continues. Second, whether the jumps in the UK and Germany hold, or turn out to be one-off corporate restructurings. The World Investment Forum meets in Doha on 25–27 October. We’ll be watching. |
