Global foreign direct investment (FDI) rose 6% to $1.6 trillion in 2025, but the recovery remained fragile and concentrated. Developing economies recorded growth of just 2%, while the top 20 host economies attracted more than 80% of global flows.

Investment is also shifting towards strategic sectors. Artificial intelligence infrastructure, semiconductors, critical minerals and energy-transition technologies accounted for 44% of announced greenfield project value in 2025, up from 16% in 2020. Low and lower-middle-income economies attracted only around 10% of investment in these sectors between 2020 and 2025.

Nan Li Collins, Director of the Division on Investment and Enterprise at UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) stressed…