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In 2023, for the 11 EU countries that report inward foreign direct investment (FDI) positions by ultimate investing economy, the total value of investment amounted to €3 263 billion, up from €3 241 billion in 2022. 

Germany replaced the United States as the top ultimate investing economy, with investments worth €410 billion (12.6% of the total value by ultimate investing economy). The United States was referred to the second place with €406 billion (12.5%), followed by France with €356 billion (10.9%), the United Kingdom with €290 billion (8.9%) and Switzerland with €211 billion (6.5%).  

Total inward foreign direct investment positions. 2023 - Click below to see full dataset

Source dataset: bop_fdi6_pos

Luxembourg biggest immediate investing economy

The total inward FDI positions for the immediate investing economy for the same 11 EU countries amounted to €3 263 billion.

Luxembourg accounted for the largest part of the total investments with €550 billion (16.9% of the total by immediate investing economy), followed by the Netherlands (€502 billion; 15.4%), Germany (€363 billion; 11.1%), the United Kingdom (€291 billion; 8.9%) and France (€231 billion; 7.1%).

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Methodological notes

  • Foreign direct investment (FDI) is the category of international investment in which an enterprise resident in one country (the direct investor) acquires an interest of at least 10% in an enterprise resident in another country (the direct investment enterprise), with FDI stocks (or positions) measuring the total value of direct investment at a given point in time. There are 2 possible ways to identify the home country of the direct investor: either by immediate or by ultimate investing economy.
  • Eurostat has launched a voluntary data collection of inward FDI positions by ultimate investing economy. The 14 EU countries reporting are Austria, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Cyprus, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Romania. However, data of Germany, Cyprus and Hungary for reference year 2023 is not yet available.
  • In FDI statistics by ultimate investing economy the FDI position in the enterprise is allocated to the ultimate investor that has control over the investment decision to have an FDI position in the enterprise. In these statistics the reporting country can also be the ultimate investor, which is not possible in FDI statistics by immediate investing economy.
  • This reallocation allows to identify the real country of the investor, which ultimately controls the investments, bears the risks, reaps the rewards and identifies the amount of round-tripping. Round-tripping is the process where funds that have been channelled abroad by resident investors are returned to the domestic economy in the form of direct investment. In the case of round-tripping investments the country’s economy is not supplemented with genuine FDI.

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