Papua New Guinea vs South Africa: Foreign direct investment, net inflows as share of GDP
Papua New Guinea
-0.6%
in 2024
South Africa
-0.5%
in 2025
Papua New Guinea rank
182nd
South Africa rank
180th
Foreign direct investment, net inflows as share of GDP over time
- Papua New Guinea
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports -0.5% against -0.6% in Papua New Guinea, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 15 times across 55 shared years of data; in 1970 it was Papua New Guinea ahead.
Papua New Guinea ranks 182nd and South Africa ranks 180th of 198 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Papua New Guinea averaged higher in 4 and South Africa in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Papua New Guinea | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 5.7% | 0.4% | 5.2% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1980s | 4.0% | 0.0% | 4.0% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1990s | 3.7% | 0.5% | 3.2% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2000s | 1.9% | 1.8% | 0.1% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2010s | 0.3% | 1.1% | 0.8% | South Africa |
| 2020s | 0.7% | 2.9% | 2.2% | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher foreign direct investment, net inflows as share of gdp, Papua New Guinea or South Africa?
- South Africa, at -0.5% against -0.6% in Papua New Guinea as of 2025.
- What is the difference in foreign direct investment, net inflows as share of gdp between Papua New Guinea and South Africa?
- 0.1%, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Papua New Guinea and South Africa?
- 55 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2024.
- How do Papua New Guinea and South Africa rank globally for foreign direct investment, net inflows as share of gdp?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 182nd and South Africa ranks 180th of 198 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- IMF International Financial Statistics and Balance of Payments; World Bank International Debt Statistics and GDP estimates; and OECD GDP estimates (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Foreign direct investment, net inflows as share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Net inflows of foreign direct investment from foreign investors to the reporting economy.