UNCTAD Releases World Investment Report 2026; Global FDI Rises 6% but Recovery Remains Narrow, Fragile and Uneven
On July 7, 2026, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released the World Investment Report 2026: International Investment in a Turbulent World in Geneva.
UNITED NATIONS,ECONOMY
Global N Press
7/7/20261 min read
On July 7, 2026, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released the World Investment Report 2026: International Investment in a Turbulent World in Geneva. The report showed that global foreign direct investment rose 6 percent to $1.6 trillion in 2025, ending two years of decline, but the recovery remains narrow, fragile and uneven. Inflows to developed economies rose 11 percent, while developing economies recorded only 2 percent growth, reaching $901 billion.
The world's top 20 host economies attracted more than 80 percent of global FDI in 2025, underscoring a trend that investment is becoming increasingly concentrated across countries, sectors and projects. UNCTAD Acting Secretary-General Pedro Manuel Moreno stated at the press conference: "The central question is not how much investment crosses borders. The question is where it goes, what it builds and who it benefits".
The report noted that governments are responding with more selective policies, with incentives increasingly targeting clean energy, digital infrastructure, advanced manufacturing and critical minerals, while screening and conditions on foreign firms are also expanding.
Investment is booming in strategic sectors like artificial intelligence, semiconductors and critical minerals, but the gains are concentrated, leaving out many developing countries. The report projected that the 2026 investment outlook remains challenging, with trade policy uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, high financing costs and economic fragmentation continuing to pose downside risks.
