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 2021, at 433.61% of GDP. The Netherlands had the lowest, at -11.17% of GDP. The median was 4.42% of GDP. Source: the World Bank.

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Highest433.61Malta
Lowest-11.17Netherlands
Median4.4227 EU countries

Map of EU countries, 2021

Austria: 3.95 % of GDPBelgium: 5.68 % of GDPBulgaria: 2.53 % of GDPCyprus: 21.82 % of GDPCzechia: 4.43 % of GDPGermany: 2.93 % of GDPDenmark: 4.19 % of GDPEstonia: 20.23 % of GDPSpain: 4.42 % of GDPFinland: 8.01 % of GDPFrance: 3.3 % of GDPGreece: 3.02 % of GDPCroatia: 7.43 % of GDPHungary: 18.26 % of GDPIreland: 14.65 % of GDPItaly: 1.2 % of GDPLithuania: 3.74 % of GDPLuxembourg: 18.75 % of GDPLatvia: 9.95 % of GDPMalta: 433.61 % of GDPNetherlands: -11.17 % of GDPPoland: 5.44 % of GDPPortugal: 3.61 % of GDPRomania: 4.13 % of GDPSweden: 9.18 % of GDPSlovenia: 3.61 % of GDPSlovakia: 2.26 % of GDP
  • Under 0
  • 0 to 4
  • 4 to 8
  • 8 and over
% of GDP, 2021. 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, 2021

Malta: 433.61 % of GDPMalta433.61Cyprus: 21.82 % of GDPCyprus21.82Estonia: 20.23 % of GDPEstonia20.23Luxembourg: 18.75 % of GDPLuxembourg18.75Hungary: 18.26 % of GDPHungary18.26Ireland: 14.65 % of GDPIreland14.65Latvia: 9.95 % of GDPLatvia9.95Sweden: 9.18 % of GDPSweden9.18Finland: 8.01 % of GDPFinland8.01Croatia: 7.43 % of GDPCroatia7.43Belgium: 5.68 % of GDPBelgium5.68Poland: 5.44 % of GDPPoland5.44Czechia: 4.43 % of GDPCzechia4.43Spain: 4.42 % of GDPSpain4.42Denmark: 4.19 % of GDPDenmark4.19Romania: 4.13 % of GDPRomania4.13Austria: 3.95 % of GDPAustria3.95Lithuania: 3.74 % of GDPLithuania3.74Portugal: 3.61 % of GDPPortugal3.61Slovenia: 3.61 % of GDPSlovenia3.61France: 3.3 % of GDPFrance3.3Greece: 3.02 % of GDPGreece3.02Germany: 2.93 % of GDPGermany2.93Bulgaria: 2.53 % of GDPBulgaria2.53Slovakia: 2.26 % of GDPSlovakia2.26Italy: 1.2 % of GDPItaly1.2Netherlands: -11.17 % of GDPNetherlands-11.17Malta: 433.61 % of GDPMalta433.61Cyprus: 21.82 % of GDPCyprus21.82Estonia: 20.23 % of GDPEstonia20.23Luxembourg: 18.75 % of GDPLuxembourg18.75Hungary: 18.26 % of GDPHungary18.26Ireland: 14.65 % of GDPIreland14.65Latvia: 9.95 % of GDPLatvia9.95Sweden: 9.18 % of GDPSweden9.18Finland: 8.01 % of GDPFinland8.01Croatia: 7.43 % of GDPCroatia7.43Belgium: 5.68 % of GDPBelgium5.68Poland: 5.44 % of GDPPoland5.44Czechia: 4.43 % of GDPCzechia4.43Spain: 4.42 % of GDPSpain4.42Denmark: 4.19 % of GDPDenmark4.19Romania: 4.13 % of GDPRomania4.13Austria: 3.95 % of GDPAustria3.95Lithuania: 3.74 % of GDPLithuania3.74Portugal: 3.61 % of GDPPortugal3.61Slovenia: 3.61 % of GDPSlovenia3.61France: 3.3 % of GDPFrance3.3Greece: 3.02 % of GDPGreece3.02Germany: 2.93 % of GDPGermany2.93Bulgaria: 2.53 % of GDPBulgaria2.53Slovakia: 2.26 % of GDPSlovakia2.26Italy: 1.2 % of GDPItaly1.2Netherlands: -11.17 % of GDPNetherlands-11.17
% 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 countries2021
% of GDP		Change on 2020
1Malta433.61+241.68 pts
2Cyprus21.82+317.83 pts
3Estonia20.23+8.21 pts
4Luxembourg18.75+21.85 pts
5Hungary18.26-87.37 pts
6Ireland14.65+6.56 pts
7Latvia9.95+7.14 pts
8Sweden9.18+5.81 pts
9Finland8.01+8.95 pts
10Croatia7.43+4.89 pts
11Belgium5.68+11.37 pts
12Poland5.44+2.13 pts
13Czechia4.43+1.04 pts
14Spain4.42+1.5 pts
15Denmark4.19+3.82 pts
16Romania4.13+2.69 pts
17Austria3.95+6.72 pts
18Lithuania3.74-4.2 pts
19Portugal3.61+1.79 pts
20Slovenia3.61+2.66 pts
21France3.3+2.57 pts
22Greece3.02+1.29 pts
23Germany2.93-1.56 pts
24Bulgaria2.53-1.45 pts
25Slovakia2.26+3.32 pts
26Italy1.2+2.1 pts
27Netherlands-11.17+12.43 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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{world_eu_countries_by_foreign_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/fdi-net-inflows-gdp/eu-countries?period=2021.
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 433.61% of GDP in 2021, according to the World Bank.

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

The Netherlands, with -11.17% of GDP in 2021.

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