The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
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.”
Similar Stories
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Liz Throssell made the following statement on the latest number of civilian casualties in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday called for investigations into hundreds of killings of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank by Israeli security forces and settlers, warning against ongoing forced mass displacement of the Palestinian population.
1
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR , UNRWA
Nearly 900 people have been killed in Gaza in recent weeks trying to fetch food, with most deaths linked to private aid hubs run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) and the UN Human Rights Office have today released a report detailing the evolution of violent gang incidents beyond the capital Port-au-Prince since October 2024 up to June 2025, and the resulting loss of life and mass displacement.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OHCHR
Gaza: ‘Unacceptable’ choice between getting shot or getting fed – UN humanitarians
Following the deaths of several children in an Israeli strike on Palestinians waiting in line for nutritional supplements in central Gaza on Thursday, UN humanitarians have once again condemned the killings of people at aid distribution sites in the enclave.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the United Nations bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights made the following comments on the recent violence in Kenya.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITC
US tariffs uncertainty hurts world economy, with poorest countries hit hardest – top UN economist
A new US decision to further delay the end of a 90-day pause on tariffs is bad for business, a top UN economist said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , OHCHR
Gaza aid site horror continues as more starving people shot trying to get food
Amid intensifying hopes for a new Gaza ceasefire, UN humanitarians confirmed disturbing details on Friday of continued killings and injuries of Palestinians desperately seeking food at aid sites.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
A clearer picture of needs across Iran is beginning to emerge after the conflict this month with Israel, which left hundreds dead, several hospitals hit and a spike in Afghan refugees returning home, the UN’s top official in Tehran said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO
The blistering early-summer heatwave that’s brought life-threatening temperatures across much of the northern hemisphere is a worrying sign of things to come, UN weather experts said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk made the following remarks to the Human Rights Council annual panel on adverse impacts of climate change.
1
1
2
Edited News | WHO
The first meagre midweek delivery of urgently needed medical goods to enter Gaza in months will provide scant relief to the enclave’s people, who continue to be shot and killed as they search for food, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.