Top Destinations by FDI Inflows 2026: 2025–2026 Baseline Projection
2026 FDI Ranking Snapshot Based on Official 2025 Data
The United States was the world's largest foreign direct investment destination in 2025, receiving $277.3 billion, followed by Singapore at $150.9 billion, Hong Kong, China at $116.5 billion, China at $104.7 billion and Brazil at $76.9 billion. The ranking uses the latest official 2025 inward FDI observations available for this September 2026 snapshot.
Metric: annual inward foreign direct investment flow. Target year: 2025. Source unit: US$ millions; values are displayed in billions for readability. Direction: higher inflow ranks higher. Coverage: the 20 leading host economies included in UNCTAD's 2025 recipient ranking.
The table is a compiled research dataset based on 4 UNCTAD sources, with row-level source and method notes shown in the ranking table. Status counts: 20 official_value, 0 calculated_value, 0 official_forecast and 0 modeled_projection.
Numeric ranking values come from one primary UNCTAD dataset. Three supporting UNCTAD resources are used for definitions, report context, revision checks and the 2026 investment outlook.
United States; official 2025 inward FDI flow.
Spain ranks 20th with an official raw value of US$19,927 million.
Twenty confirmed leading host economies from UNCTAD's 2025 ranking.
Official annual observations published in WIR 2026; supporting UNCTAD context updated in August 2026.
Official values / calculated values / official forecasts / modeled projections.
Overview: What the FDI Ranking Measures
Inward FDI flow measures direct investment received by a host economy during a year. It is an annual financial flow, not the accumulated stock of foreign investment and not a count of announced greenfield projects.
Annual FDI can include equity capital, reinvested earnings and intracompany financing. Because flows are recorded on a net basis, large acquisitions, divestments, corporate restructurings and intragroup transactions can materially change a country's annual result.
UNCTAD reports that global FDI reached about $1.6 trillion in 2025, up 6% from 2024. The world's top 20 recipient economies attracted more than 80% of global inflows.
2026 context: the ranking uses completed official country observations for 2025. The UNCTAD sources used here do not provide one comparable numerical 2026 forecast for all 20 destinations, so the outlook is discussed separately.
Top 10 Destinations by Official 2025 FDI Inflows
The United States leads the 2025 ranking, followed by Singapore, Hong Kong, China and China. Brazil completes the top five, followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and Mexico.
Top 10 host economies by inward FDI flow, 2025
| Rank | Destination | FDI inflow | Source / method note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $277.3bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; target year 2025; raw US$277,300m. |
| 2 | Singapore | $150.9bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; target year 2025; raw US$150,898m. |
| 3 | Hong Kong, China | $116.5bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; target year 2025; raw US$116,475m. |
| 4 | China | $104.7bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; target year 2025; raw US$104,659m. |
| 5 | Brazil | $76.9bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; target year 2025; raw US$76,877m. |
| 6 | United Kingdom | $75.2bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; target year 2025; raw US$75,206m. |
| 7 | Germany | $74.3bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; target year 2025; raw US$74,272m. |
| 8 | Canada | $67.0bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; target year 2025; raw US$66,975m. |
| 9 | United Arab Emirates | $48.2bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; target year 2025; raw US$48,243m. |
| 10 | Mexico | $40.9bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; target year 2025; raw US$40,871m. |
Rank is based on the exact official US$ million observation before display rounding.
Chart: Top 20 FDI Destinations in 2025
The chart uses the same raw observations as the ranking table. The United States received substantially more inward FDI than any other economy in the Top 20.
Methodology
This is a compiled research dataset based on 4 UNCTAD sources. Ranking values come from World Investment Report 2026 Annex Table 1, based on the UNCTAD FDI/MNE database. Additional UNCTAD resources are used for definitions, report context, revision checks and the 2026 outlook.
Metric and Status
The metric is annual inward foreign direct investment flow received during 2025. All 20 rows use directly published official observations, classified on this page as official_value.
Raw and Display Units
The source reports values in US$ millions. The page divides the raw observation by 1,000 for display in US$ billions and rounds only the displayed figure to one decimal place.
Ranking Direction
Higher inward FDI ranks higher. Rank is determined from the exact official US$ million value before display conversion or rounding.
Target Year and Snapshot
Every ranked observation has target year 2025. The article is a September 2026 snapshot based on the latest official 2025 country-level data used in WIR 2026.
Source and Revision Policy
WIR 2026 and its underlying UNCTAD FDI/MNE data take priority over earlier preliminary releases. Conflicting data vintages are not averaged.
Coverage and Missing Values
Coverage is limited to UNCTAD's published Top 20 recipient economies. No missing-value imputation is used, and economies outside the Top 20 are not given inferred ranks.
How the 2026 Outlook Is Handled
The ranking does not project country values into 2026. UNCTAD's outlook is discussed qualitatively because the sources used here do not provide a comparable 2026 forecast for all 20 economies.
Regional Labels
Region labels are used as geographic filters for reading the table. They do not replace UNCTAD's formal developed and developing economy classifications.
Annual FDI can be affected by mergers and acquisitions, reinvested earnings, intragroup financing and corporate restructuring. A high annual inflow therefore does not necessarily imply an equivalent increase in new productive capacity, jobs or greenfield investment.
The metric does not measure investment quality, accumulated FDI stock, greenfield project counts, employment created, business-climate performance or expected future inflows.
Main Ranking: Top 20 FDI Destinations by Official 2025 Inflows
Search destinations, filter by region or status, change the sort order and switch between the Top 10 and all 20 confirmed entries.
Top 20 host economies by inward FDI flow, 2025
Showing 20 of 20 rows
| Rank | Destination | FDI inflow | Source / method note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | $277.3bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$277,300m. |
| 2 | Singapore | $150.9bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$150,898m. |
| 3 | Hong Kong, China | $116.5bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$116,475m. |
| 4 | China | $104.7bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$104,659m. |
| 5 | Brazil | $76.9bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$76,877m. |
| 6 | United Kingdom | $75.2bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$75,206m. |
| 7 | Germany | $74.3bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$74,272m. |
| 8 | Canada | $67.0bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$66,975m. |
| 9 | United Arab Emirates | $48.2bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$48,243m. |
| 10 | Mexico | $40.9bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$40,871m. |
| 11 | India | $38.9bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$38,891m. |
| 12 | Australia | $35.3bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$35,253m. |
| 13 | Saudi Arabia | $32.6bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$32,628m. |
| 14 | Sweden | $30.3bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$30,316m. |
| 15 | Israel | $26.2bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$26,222m. |
| 16 | Russian Federation | $25.3bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$25,278m. |
| 17 | France | $21.9bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$21,908m. |
| 18 | Indonesia | $21.4bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$21,435m. |
| 19 | Viet Nam | $20.4bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$20,350m. |
| 20 | Spain | $19.9bn | Official observation; WIR 2026 Annex Table 1; 2025; raw US$19,927m. |
This table is a compiled research dataset based on 4 UNCTAD sources. All numeric ranking values come from WIR 2026 Annex Table 1 / the underlying FDI-MNE database; supporting sources are used for definitions, report context, revision checks and the 2026 outlook.
Insights from the 2025 FDI Destination Ranking
Key Insight
The United States leads at $277.3 billion, well above Singapore at $150.9 billion. Hong Kong, China and China are the only other destinations above $100 billion in the Top 20.
Notable Pattern
The same WIR 2026 data vintage shows large year-to-year changes for some European economies: the United Kingdom rises from $16.4 billion in 2024 to $75.2 billion in 2025, while Germany rises from $20.9 billion to $74.3 billion.
Regional / Source Concentration
UNCTAD reports that the world's top 20 recipients attracted more than 80% of global FDI inflows in 2025 and that developing economies accounted for half of the economies in the Top 20.
Outlier
The Russian Federation rises from $2.2 billion in the revised 2024 observation to $25.3 billion in 2025. The annual figures show the size of the change but do not establish its cause.
What the Ranking Means for 2026
The ranking shows where the latest completed year of officially recorded FDI was received. It should not be read as a score for investment attractiveness or as a prediction that the same order will persist through 2026.
UNCTAD's 2026 outlook remains uncertain, with trade-policy uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, conflicts, economic fragmentation and financing conditions among the factors affecting cross-border investment.
For destination analysis, annual FDI inflows are most useful when read alongside multi-year flows, inward FDI stock, greenfield project announcements, mergers and acquisitions and sector-level investment data. A single annual flow can be strongly affected by large transactions.
FAQ
Which destination received the most FDI in the latest official data?
The United States ranks first, with an official 2025 inward FDI flow of US$277.3 billion.
Are these 2026 FDI figures or forecasts?
No. They are official 2025 annual observations published in 2026. The UNCTAD sources used here do not provide one comparable 2026 country forecast for all 20 destinations.
Are the ranking values directly published official data?
Yes. The raw values are directly published 2025 observations from UNCTAD World Investment Report 2026 Annex Table 1 and the underlying FDI/MNE database.
Is FDI inflow the same as greenfield investment?
No. Greenfield statistics track announced new projects. FDI inflows are a broader financial-flow measure and can also reflect acquisitions, reinvested earnings and intracompany financing.
Why can annual FDI rankings change sharply?
Large mergers, acquisitions, divestments, reinvested earnings, corporate restructurings and intragroup financing can materially affect annual net FDI flows.
What does a high FDI rank not tell us?
It does not by itself measure investment quality, jobs created, greenfield capital expenditure, business-climate quality, accumulated FDI stock or future investment performance.
Why does Viet Nam rank above Spain even though both are near $20 billion?
The official 2025 raw values are US$20,350 million for Viet Nam and US$19,927 million for Spain. Rank is based on those exact observations before display rounding.
Sources
This is a compiled research dataset based on 4 UNCTAD sources. WIR 2026 Annex Table 1 is the primary numeric source; the other resources support definitions, report context, revision checks and the 2026 outlook.
UNCTAD World Investment Report 2026 — Annex Tables
Primary numeric source for exact 2025 inward FDI observations in US$ millions and same-vintage historical values used in the ranking and insights.
https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/wir2026_annex-tables_en.pdf
UN Trade and Development — World Investment Report 2026
Supporting source for the Top 20 host-economy context, global FDI findings and the 2026 investment outlook.
https://unctad.org/publication/world-investment-report-2026-international-investment-turbulent-era
UNCTAD Data Hub — Economy, Investment and Finance
Supporting source for current data context, the global 2025 FDI total, Top 20 concentration and official investment-statistics definitions.
UN Trade and Development — Foreign Direct Investment Explorer
Supporting source for interpretation of annual FDI flows, the difference between flow and stock, and the effect of large transactions on annual totals.
https://unctad.org/topic/investment/foreign-direct-investment-explorer
