Data / Rankings / Foreign direct investment, net inflows / EU countries

EU countries by foreign direct investment, net inflows

Malta had the highest foreign direct investment, net inflows of 27 EU countries in 2020, at 191.92% of GDP. Cyprus had the lowest, at -296.01% of GDP. The median was 1.81% of GDP. Source: the World Bank.

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Highest191.92Malta
Lowest-296.01Cyprus
Median1.8127 EU countries

Map of EU countries, 2020

Austria: -2.76 % of GDPBelgium: -5.69 % of GDPBulgaria: 3.97 % of GDPCyprus: -296.01 % of GDPCzechia: 3.39 % of GDPGermany: 4.49 % of GDPDenmark: 0.36 % of GDPEstonia: 12.01 % of GDPSpain: 2.92 % of GDPFinland: -0.94 % of GDPFrance: 0.73 % of GDPGreece: 1.73 % of GDPCroatia: 2.54 % of GDPHungary: 105.64 % of GDPIreland: 8.09 % of GDPItaly: -0.89 % of GDPLithuania: 7.94 % of GDPLuxembourg: -3.1 % of GDPLatvia: 2.81 % of GDPMalta: 191.92 % of GDPNetherlands: -23.6 % of GDPPoland: 3.31 % of GDPPortugal: 1.81 % of GDPRomania: 1.44 % of GDPSweden: 3.36 % of GDPSlovenia: 0.95 % of GDPSlovakia: -1.06 % of GDP
  • Under -5
  • -5 to -2
  • -2 to 0
  • 0 to 3
  • 3 to 4
  • 4 and over
% of GDP, 2020. Red areas are below zero and blue areas above it. Source: World Bank, Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) (BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2020

Malta: 191.92 % of GDPMalta191.92Hungary: 105.64 % of GDPHungary105.64Estonia: 12.01 % of GDPEstonia12.01Ireland: 8.09 % of GDPIreland8.09Lithuania: 7.94 % of GDPLithuania7.94Germany: 4.49 % of GDPGermany4.49Bulgaria: 3.97 % of GDPBulgaria3.97Czechia: 3.39 % of GDPCzechia3.39Sweden: 3.36 % of GDPSweden3.36Poland: 3.31 % of GDPPoland3.31Spain: 2.92 % of GDPSpain2.92Latvia: 2.81 % of GDPLatvia2.81Croatia: 2.54 % of GDPCroatia2.54Portugal: 1.81 % of GDPPortugal1.81Greece: 1.73 % of GDPGreece1.73Romania: 1.44 % of GDPRomania1.44Slovenia: 0.95 % of GDPSlovenia0.95France: 0.73 % of GDPFrance0.73Denmark: 0.36 % of GDPDenmark0.36Italy: -0.89 % of GDPItaly-0.89Finland: -0.94 % of GDPFinland-0.94Slovakia: -1.06 % of GDPSlovakia-1.06Austria: -2.76 % of GDPAustria-2.76Luxembourg: -3.1 % of GDPLuxembourg-3.1Belgium: -5.69 % of GDPBelgium-5.69Netherlands: -23.6 % of GDPNetherlands-23.6Cyprus: -296.01 % of GDPCyprus-296.01Malta: 191.92 % of GDPMalta191.92Hungary: 105.64 % of GDPHungary105.64Estonia: 12.01 % of GDPEstonia12.01Ireland: 8.09 % of GDPIreland8.09Lithuania: 7.94 % of GDPLithuania7.94Germany: 4.49 % of GDPGermany4.49Bulgaria: 3.97 % of GDPBulgaria3.97Czechia: 3.39 % of GDPCzechia3.39Sweden: 3.36 % of GDPSweden3.36Poland: 3.31 % of GDPPoland3.31Spain: 2.92 % of GDPSpain2.92Latvia: 2.81 % of GDPLatvia2.81Croatia: 2.54 % of GDPCroatia2.54Portugal: 1.81 % of GDPPortugal1.81Greece: 1.73 % of GDPGreece1.73Romania: 1.44 % of GDPRomania1.44Slovenia: 0.95 % of GDPSlovenia0.95France: 0.73 % of GDPFrance0.73Denmark: 0.36 % of GDPDenmark0.36Italy: -0.89 % of GDPItaly-0.89Finland: -0.94 % of GDPFinland-0.94Slovakia: -1.06 % of GDPSlovakia-1.06Austria: -2.76 % of GDPAustria-2.76Luxembourg: -3.1 % of GDPLuxembourg-3.1Belgium: -5.69 % of GDPBelgium-5.69Netherlands: -23.6 % of GDPNetherlands-23.6Cyprus: -296.01 % of GDPCyprus-296.01
% of GDP. Source: World Bank, Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) (BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2020
% of GDP		Change on 2019
1Malta191.92-6.28 pts
2Hungary105.64+46.06 pts
3Estonia12.01+2.25 pts
4Ireland8.09+0.42 pts
5Lithuania7.94+1.71 pts
6Germany4.49+2.58 pts
7Bulgaria3.97+0.73 pts
8Czechia3.39-0.8 pts
9Sweden3.36+0.41 pts
10Poland3.31+0.16 pts
11Spain2.92+0.76 pts
12Latvia2.81-0.56 pts
13Croatia2.54-3.93 pts
14Portugal1.81-2.69 pts
15Greece1.73-0.69 pts
16Romania1.44-1.51 pts
17Slovenia0.95-3.04 pts
18France0.73-1.23 pts
19Denmark0.36+1.46 pts
20Italy-0.89-2.66 pts
21Finland-0.94-7.04 pts
22Slovakia-1.06-3.21 pts
23Austria-2.76+0.09 pts
24Luxembourg-3.1-237.41 pts
25Belgium-5.69-3.72 pts
26Netherlands-23.6-9.91 pts
27Cyprus-296.01-727.8 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Net foreign investment inflows to acquire a lasting management interest of at least 10% of voting stock, as a percentage of GDP. Includes equity, reinvested earnings and other capital recorded in the balance of payments.

Net inflows subtract disinvestment from new investment. Negative values indicate net disinvestment; zero is a valid net balance. Flows can exceed GDP, particularly in financial centers. The latest year varies by country.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

World Bank, World Development Indicators. Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) (BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

World Bank. (2026). Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) (BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS) (EU countries by foreign direct investment, net inflows, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS

MLA 9

Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) (BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS), EU countries by foreign direct investment, net inflows, 2020. World Bank, 8 Oct. 2026, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/fdi-net-inflows-gdp/eu-countries?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

World Bank. 2026. Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) (BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS). EU countries by foreign direct investment, net inflows, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/fdi-net-inflows-gdp/eu-countries?period=2020.

Harvard

World Bank (2026) Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) (BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS), EU countries by foreign direct investment, net inflows, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/fdi-net-inflows-gdp/eu-countries?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{world_eu_countries_by_foreign_2020,
  author = {{World Bank}},
  title = {{Foreign direct investment, net inflows (\% of GDP) (BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS): EU countries by foreign direct investment, net inflows, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/fdi-net-inflows-gdp/eu-countries?period=2020. Publisher attribution: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Foreign direct investment, net inflows (\% of GDP) (BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - World Bank
TI  - Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) (BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS): EU countries by foreign direct investment, net inflows, 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
PB  - World Bank
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/fdi-net-inflows-gdp/eu-countries?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/fdi-net-inflows-gdp/eu-countries?period=2020.
N1  - Publisher attribution: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) (BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-12. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
ER  -
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest foreign direct investment, net inflows?

Malta, with 191.92% of GDP in 2020, according to the World Bank.

Which EU country has the lowest foreign direct investment, net inflows?

Cyprus, with -296.01% of GDP in 2020.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: World Bank, Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) (BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Foreign direct investment, net inflows: other rankings

EU countries: more rankings