## The World’s Top Recipients of Foreign Direct Investment

_IMF Blog, December 16, 2021_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [The World’s Top Recipients of Foreign Direct Investment](https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2021/12/16/the-worlds-top-recipients-of-foreign-direct-investment)

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- [Markdown version](/en/blogs/articles/2021/12/16/the-worlds-top-recipients-of-foreign-direct-investment/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/blogs/articles/2021/12/16/the-worlds-top-recipients-of-foreign-direct-investment/index.json)
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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Carlos Snchez-Muoz, Silvia Matei, Kristy Howell
- Published: December 16, 2021

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### Key findings
- The world’s top ten recipients of foreign direct investment by end-2020 were: the United States, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, China, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, Switzerland, Ireland, and Germany.
- Total reported foreign direct investment positions increased by $2.2 trillion—or six percent—from 2019 to 2020 (among economies that reported data for both 2019 and 2020).
- The increase in foreign direct investment positions from 2019 to 2020 is largely in line with the average annual increase over the past five years.
- China showed the largest reported increase in both inward and outward direct investment worldwide.
- Foreign direct investment positions in Africa decreased slightly from 2019, mostly driven by lower positions in Nigeria.

### Regional patterns and drivers
- Europe and Asia Pacific led the surge from 2019 to 2020.
  - In Europe, the United Kingdom and Germany topped the list, accounting for 18 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
  - In Asia Pacific, the increase was mainly driven by China.
- The United States consolidated its leadership position as the largest recipient of foreign direct investment in 2020, led mainly by higher direct investments from Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands.
  - Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands together accounted for most of the increase in foreign direct investment in the United States over the last three years.

### Role of low-tax jurisdictions and special purpose entities
- Low-tax jurisdictions—specifically the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, and Ireland—remained among the top direct investors and investee economies.
- These jurisdictions continued to attract different types of investments, including those channeled through special purpose entities (subsidiaries created by parent companies in countries of convenience).
- Information on cross-border flows of special purpose entities will be made available in early 2022 through the IMF’s inaugural data collection initiative for special purpose entities.

### Data source and purpose
- Findings are based on the latest results of the Coordinated Direct Investment Survey.
- The Coordinated Direct Investment Survey is the only worldwide survey of foreign direct investment positions, conducted annually by the IMF.
- The database provides detailed bilateral direct investment relations among economies to:
  - present a geographic distribution of inward and outward direct investments worldwide;
  - contribute to a better understanding of the extent of globalization; and
  - support analysis of cross-border linkages and spillovers.

*IMF Blog: The World’s Top Recipients of Foreign Direct Investment (December 16, 2021).*

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## Content in this bundle

- **BOPCOM 20/26 - Special Purpose Entities: Guidelines for a Data Template**
  - [BOPCOM 20/26 - Special Purpose Entities: Guidelines for a Data Template (Markdown version)](/external/pubs/ft/bop/2020/pdf/20-26.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [BOPCOM 20/26 - Special Purpose Entities: Guidelines for a Data Template (PDF)](/external/pubs/ft/bop/2020/pdf/20-26.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

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## References

- [Coordinated Direct Investment Survey](https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.STA:DIP)
- [https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/COTW-FDI-update.gif](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/COTW-FDI-update.gif)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2021/12/16/the-worlds-top-recipients-of-foreign-direct-investment_