Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%) in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%) was 2.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–2024
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp in Sub-Saharan Africa is 2.3%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 10.5% on the previous year and down 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 3.8% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 2020.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 15th out of 36 groups with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%) in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.6% | — |
| 2001 | 3.8% | +141.4% |
| 2002 | 2.4% | -37.2% |
| 2003 | 2.3% | -2.7% |
| 2004 | 1.7% | -28.1% |
| 2005 | 2.3% | +36.6% |
| 2006 | 1.6% | -30.9% |
| 2007 | 2.6% | +64.6% |
| 2008 | 3.1% | +17.9% |
| 2009 | 3.0% | -2.9% |
| 2010 | 2.2% | -24.6% |
| 2011 | 2.5% | +13.0% |
| 2012 | 2.6% | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 2.2% | -16.1% |
| 2014 | 2.3% | +5.8% |
| 2015 | 2.7% | +14.7% |
| 2016 | 2.1% | -20.0% |
| 2017 | 1.7% | -21.1% |
| 2018 | 1.6% | -7.3% |
| 2019 | 1.4% | -12.7% |
| 2020 | 1.2% | -10.9% |
| 2021 | 3.4% | +176.9% |
| 2022 | 1.6% | -51.3% |
| 2023 | 2.1% | +25.8% |
| 2024 | 2.3% | +10.5% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%) in Sub-Saharan Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | +176.9% | 1.2% | 3.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.4% | 1.6% | 3.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.1% | 1.4% | 2.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.1% | 1.2% | 3.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 12 Grenada 11.9% compare
- 13 Mongolia 11.7% compare
- 14 Oman 11.6% compare
- 15 Timor-Leste 11.6% compare
- 15 East Timor 11.6% compare
- 17 Maldives 11.4% compare
- 18 Antigua and Barbuda 11.1% compare
More economy & growth data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- SDR Allocation, SDR, per capita 18.87 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0103 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, SDR, per capita 17.18 units per person (2025)
- SDR Allocation, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.01 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDR Allocation, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0154 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDR Allocation, US dollar, per capita 25.84 units per person (2025)
- SDR Allocation, SDR, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDR Allocation, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0113 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- IMF Quota, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0076 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- IMF Quota, SDR, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp in Sub-Saharan Africa was 2.3% in 2024, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 3.8% in 2001.
- What is the lowest foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 2020.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 15th out of 36 groups with data for 2024.
- Is foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).