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Global foreign direct investment fell by 11%, marking the second consecutive year of decline and confirming a deepening slowdown in productive capital flows, according to the World Investment Report 2025, released today by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Although global foreign direct investment (FDI) rose by 4% in 2024 to $1.5 trillion the increase is the result of, among other factors, volatile financial conduit flows through several European economies, which often serve as transfer points for investments.
This year’s report comes ahead of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), where global leaders will address the widening gap between capital flows and development needs. The findings underscore the urgency of reshaping investment and finance systems to support inclusive and sustainable growth.
Investment dropped sharply across developed economies, particularly in Europe. In developing countries, inflows appeared broadly stable – but this concealed a deeper crisis: in too many economies, capital is stagnating or bypassing entirely the sectors that matter most – infrastructure, energy, technology, and the industries that drive job creation.
Website: https://unctad.org/wir2025
Production date: 19 June 2025
Creator: UNCTAD
Subject topical: ECONOMICS
Corporate name: UN TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT – UNCTAD
DESCRIPTION
STORY: UNCTAD / World Investment Report
TRT: 02:58
SOURCE: UNCTAD
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
WEBSITE: https://unctad.org/wir2025
DATELINE: 19 JUNE 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1. Wide shot, drone footage of the Alley of the Flags, Palais de Nations, Geneva; speaker on screens
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rebeca Grynspan, UN Trade and Development, Secretary-General: “Productive global foreign direct investment continues to be weak, with a further negative outlook for 2025 and with consequences most sharply felt in the developing world.”
3. Medium shot, journalists attending the press room.
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rebeca Grynspan, UN Trade and Development, Secretary-General: “In 2024, global foreign direct investment fell 11%.”
5. Medium shot, journalist in the press room.
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rebeca Grynspan, UN Trade and Development, Secretary-General: “Behind those numbers are very real consequences. Jobs not created. Infrastructure not built. Sustainable development delayed. What we see here is not just a downturn. It is a pattern.”
7. Medium shot, photographer taking pictures.
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Rebeca Grynspan, UN Trade and Development, Secretary-General: “This is happening because of growing geopolitical tensions, rising trade barriers, increasing screening measures on foreign investment, especially in the developed countries.”
9. Wide shot, speakers at the podium of the press room.
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Rebeca Grynspan, UN Trade and Development, Secretary-General: “We need to embed sustainability in the investment decision-making aligned with standards, combat greenwashing and support countries for policy reform.”
11. Medium shot, photographer taking pictures.
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Rebeca Grynspan, UN Trade and Development, Secretary-General: “We need to reform investment policies and direct capital to the real economy – energy, industry, tech, infrastructure – so we can steer capital towards these very important sectors. Finally, we need to modernize the international investment governance, update international rules to protect public interest, ensure fair treatment for investors, and preserve national policy space.”
13. Medium shot, journalist in the press room.
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Rebeca Grynspan, UN Trade and Development, Secretary-General: “The time to act is now. Investment is not just about money. It is about trust. It is about fairness. It is about a future that includes everyone.”
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