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Foreign direct investment in Russia
Foreign direct investment in Europe
2024: Global private equity shrank 11% to $1.5 trillion over the year
In 2024, the volume of foreign direct investment on a global scale amounted to $1.49 trillion. This is 11% less than in the previous year, when the figure reached $1.67 trillion. Such data are reflected in the UN report, which TAdviser got acquainted with in mid-December 2025.
A sharp decrease in investment inflows occurred in developed economies, especially in, To Europe where a 58% drop was recorded - from $439 billion in 2023 to $182 billion in 2024. Asia retained the status of the largest recipient of foreign investment, despite a moderate decline - by 3%, from $622 billion to $605 billion. Southeast countries Asia increased their investment by 10% to $225 billion. In Latin America and the Caribbean, there was a decrease of 12% - from $187 billion to $164 billion. At the same time, North America showed an increase of 23% with a final result of $343 billion against $280 billion in 2023.
The report notes that the investment climate in 2024 was shaped by geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation and increasing competition in industrial policy. These factors, combined with increased financial risk and uncertainty, transform the global investment map and undermine investor confidence in the long term.
The leader in the volume of attracted foreign investment in 2024 was the United States with an indicator of $279 billion. Singapore is in second place with $143 billion, and Hong Kong closes the top three with $126 billion.
The document also emphasizes that foreign direct investment in the digital economy in 2024 rose by 14%, but this growth remained uneven. Thus, the top 10 countries provided 80% of all new digital projects, while many developing states remain on the sidelines due to underdeveloped infrastructure, regulatory frameworks and a shortage of qualified personnel.[1]
2022: Foreign direct investment cut to $1.2tn after growth
2020
Foreign direct investment in the world decreased by a third, to $1 trillion
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world at the end of 2020 amounted to $1 trillion, down from $1.5 trillion a year earlier. The decline was due to a macroeconomic recession caused by the effects of the COVID-19 coronavirus. This is stated in the report of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published on June 21, 2021.
UNCTAD Acting Secretary-General Isabel Durand noted that as of the end of 2020, FDI was "almost 20% below the lower level recorded after the global financial crisis more than 10 years ago."
 | The current situation has a serious impact on our development expectations, says Duran. - Although the situation is better now than a few months ago and the global economy is recovering faster than initially expected, this recovery is uneven and fragile. |  |
According to the acting head of UNCTAD, in 2021 there are positive signs in the world in the trade in goods, but trade in services weaves far in the tail.
By the end of 2021, foreign direct investment is expected to grow by 10-15% compared to 2020. The FDI flow will partly return lost ground, but it may take time before investing gains speed.
According to the report of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the inflow of foreign direct investment in countries with economies in transition in 2020 decreased by 77%, to $13 billion. This is the lowest level of inflow to the region since 2002.
Developing countries received 12% less investment money in 2020 compared to the previous year. Thus, the share of developing countries in global FDI reached 72% - the highest ever. At the same time, China topped the rating of the largest recipients of FDI.[2]
China leads foreign direct investment ahead of US
At the end of 2020, China became the leader in foreign direct investment, ahead of the United States. This is evidenced by the data of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Foreign direct investment includes, for example, the construction of new factories by foreign companies, the expansion of their presence in the country or their acquisition of local companies.
In 2020, $163 billion from abroad was invested in the Chinese economy, which is 4% more than a year earlier, while the American economy attracted about $134 billion (almost half as much as in 2019). In Russia, foreign investment decreased by 96% - from $32 billion to $1.1 billion.
According to the BBC, in the United States, foreign investment has been declining since 2016, when it reached a maximum ($472 billion). In China, this figure is constantly growing. Back in 2019, the gap between the countries was almost double: the United States received $251 billion in new foreign investments, and the PRC - from $140 billion.
According to analysts at the British Center for Economic and Business Research (CEBR), thanks to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, China's economy will overtake the American one in 2028 - five years earlier than previously predicted. According to CEBR analysts, China has suffered a much better pandemic and the country's economy is recovering faster than the American one.
Globally, the volume of foreign investment in the year of the pandemic decreased by 42% - from $1.5 trillion in 2019 to $859 billion at the end of 2020. This figure has become the lowest in the 21st century. Even during the global financial crisis, investment was about 30% higher than the current level.
UNCTAD estimates that in the European Union the volume of foreign investment attracted in 2020 fell by 71%. In Germany, the rate of decline reached 61%.[3]
Notes
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