A part of two males in suits, who are giving eachother the hand as in an agreement

Net foreign direct investment (FDI) stocks held in the rest of the world by investors resident in the EU amounted to €9 306 billion (bn) in 2021, up 6% compared with 2020, after the sudden decrease in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19. The total value reached in 2021 surpassed pre-pandemic values (€9 286 bn) by almost €20 bn. 

The same tendency was seen in investment stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU, which increased to €7 558 bn in 2021, up 3% compared with 2020 and 4% (+€305 bn) compared with 2019. 

In 2021, the EUˈs net investment position vis-à-vis the rest of the world increased by 21% to €1 747 bn (+€305 bn), compared with 2020. 

 

Line graph: Evolution of EU´s fereing direct investment stocks, € billion, 2013-2021

Source dataset: bop_fdi6_pos


 
Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) resident in the EU continued to play a significant role in FDI, albeit a less prominent one than a year earlier. At the end of 2021 they accounted for 33% of the total EU FDI stocks held abroad and for 38% of the FDI stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU, compared with 36% and 43% respectively in 2020. 


USA and the UK: by far the main EU’s FDI partners 
At the end of 2021, the United States absorbed 27% of the total FDI stocks held by the EU in the rest of the world (€2 512 bn), closely followed by the United Kingdom (€2 059 bn, 22%). They were far ahead of Switzerland (€885 bn, 10%), Canada (€270 bn), Singapore (€263 bn), Brazil (€262 bn), Russia (€255 bn) and China (€233 bn) all with a 3% share. 

 

Map: Share of FDI stocks held by the EU in the rest of the world, 2021

  Source dataset: bop_fdi6_pos

 

In the reverse direction, the United States' direct investors accounted for almost a third (€2 465 bn, 33%) of the total FDI stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU at the end of 2021, followed by the United Kingdom (€1 414 bn, 19%). They were followed by those from Switzerland (€613 bn, 8%), Bermuda (€405  bn, 5%), Canada (€267 bn, 4%), Cayman Islands (€239 bn, 3%), Jersey (€212 bn, 3%) and Japan (€211 bn, 3%). 

 

Map: Share of FDI stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU, 2021

Source dataset: bop_fdi6_pos

For more information

 

Methodological notes: 

  • These data are subject to revision.
  • FDI stocks help to quantify the impact of globalisation and measure longstanding economic links between countries (according to immediate counterpart criteria). They provide an indication of the relative importance of a country's economic presence abroad, or that of foreign partners in the reporting entity, measured in terms of FDI capital.

 

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