• In Q3 2022, global FDI flows¹ decreased by 7% compared to Q2. However, due to a strong first quarter this year, global FDI flows in the first nine months of 2022 remain 16% higher than levels recorded in the first nine months of 2021.

Global FDI flows continue to outstrip pre-pandemic levels (USD bn)

_{Source: OECD International Direct Investment Statistics database.}

• Top recipients of FDI inflows worldwide in Q3 2022 were the United States (USD 86 billion), Ireland (USD 37 billion) and the United Kingdom (USD 36 billion).
• Top sources of FDI outflows worldwide were the United States (USD 66 billion), Japan (USD 40 billion) and the People’s Republic of China (hereafter ‘China’) (USD 90 billion).
• OECD FDI inflows increased by 56% in Q3 2022 compared to Q2, partly driven by increases from negative levels of inflows in some European countries. Overall, in the first nine months of 2022, OECD FDI inflows were 57% higher than in the same period in 2021.
• OECD FDI outflows decreased by 31% in Q3 2022 compared to the previous quarter, partly driven by decreases from the United States and by negative levels of outflows from the Netherlands. However, over the first nine months of 2022, OECD FDI outflows were 28% higher than in the same period in the previous year.
• FDI flows into non-OECD G20 economies decreased by 43% in Q3 2022 compared to Q2, largely driven by decreases in China where FDI inflows dropped to their lowest quarterly levels since 2005. In the first nine months of 2022, non-OECD G20 economies saw a decrease in FDI inflows of 34% compared to the same period in 2021.
• FDI outflows from non-OECD G20 economies decreased by 24% in Q3 2022 compared to Q2, driven by FDI outflows from Brazil, which dropped to negative levels, largely as a result of resident affiliates extending loans to their foreign parents. Overall, in the first nine months of 2022, non-OECD G20 FDI outflows were 17% lower than in the first nine months of the previous year.

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^{1. By definition, inward and outward FDI worldwide should be equal, but in practice, there are statistical discrepancies between inward and outward FDI. Unless otherwise specified, references to ‘global FDI flows’ refer to the average of these two figures.}

FDI in Figures October 2022: Global FDI flows up overall by 20% in the first half of 2022, but this masks a 22% drop in the second quarter.

28/10/2022 -  Global FDI flows rebounded to USD 972 billion in the first half of 2022. However, much of the increase came in the first quarter, whereas global FDI flows dropped by 22% in Q2 2022, compared to the previous quarter. This drop is not surprising given increasing inflation and interest rates, rising energy prices and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The United States was the leading FDI recipient worldwide, followed by China and Brazil.

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• Past issues of FDI in Figures

OECD statistics on foreign direct investment are constructed using official country FDI statistics. Any projections used are noted in the report.

Trends, investor types and drivers of renewables energy FDI, OECD Working Papers on International Investment, Polina Knutsson and Perla Ibarlucea Flores, 2022

Divestments by MNEs: What do we know about why they happen?, Maria Borga and Monika Sztajerowska, 2018

International trade and FDI are the main defining features and key drivers of global value chains.  For the first time ever, these statistical notes for OECD countries provide evidence on the role played by investment in global value chains.

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The FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index (FDI Index) measures statutory restrictions on foreign direct investment in 58 countries, including all OECD and G20 countries, and covers 22 sectors.

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• FDI financial flows
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• FDI positions
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The new FDI statistics database covering FDI statistics from 2014 onwards went online in March 2015. 

Content and structure of the FDI statistics database according to BMD4

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The FDI statistics database uses data compiled with "BMD4"- The 4^th edition of the OECD Benchmark definition of FDI (BMD4) provides operational guidelines on how foreign direct investment activity should be measured and sets the world standard for collecting direct investment statistics.

How BMD4 impacts our compilation of FDI statistics

Brochure on the major changes introduced by BMD4

Note on the FDI statistics database according to BMD4

Explanatory notes on OECD FDI statistics

Glossary of FDI terms

Trends, investor types and drivers of renewables energy FDI, OECD Working Papers on International Investment, 2022

Divestments by MNEs: What do we know about why they happen?, 2021

Drivers of divestment decisions in multinational enterprises, 2020

The determinants of Foreign Direct Investment - Do statutory restrictions matter?, 2019

The digital economy, multinational enterprises and international investment policy, 2018

Towards an international framework for investment facilitation, 2018

Examen des statistiques d'investissements directs internationaux au Maroc, 2018