Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit was 0.0031 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1970–2025
Source: Statizoid (derived). Measured in BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 0.0031 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP for foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit in 2025.
That represents a change of down 85.6% on the previous year and down 88.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 0.0375 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2001 and was at its lowest, 0.0009 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP, in 1980.
That places Sub-Saharan Africa 42nd out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.0112 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | — |
| 1971 | 0.0094 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -16.1% |
| 1972 | 0.0081 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -13.7% |
| 1973 | 0.0075 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -7.6% |
| 1974 | 0.0102 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +36.4% |
| 1975 | 0.0084 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -17.3% |
| 1976 | 0.0062 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -26.9% |
| 1977 | 0.0047 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -24.3% |
| 1978 | 0.0045 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -2.9% |
| 1979 | 0.0032 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -28.7% |
| 1980 | 0.0009 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -73.7% |
| 1981 | 0.0038 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +348.1% |
| 1982 | 0.0039 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +1.7% |
| 1983 | 0.0025 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -34.8% |
| 1984 | 0.0031 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +22.8% |
| 1985 | 0.0035 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +11.7% |
| 1986 | 0.0023 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -34.3% |
| 1987 | 0.0044 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +91.2% |
| 1988 | 0.0047 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +8.8% |
| 1989 | 0.0092 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +93.2% |
| 1990 | 0.0031 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -66.2% |
| 1991 | 0.0051 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +65.9% |
| 1992 | 0.0051 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 0.007 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +37.6% |
| 1994 | 0.0095 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +34.7% |
| 1995 | 0.0075 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -20.7% |
| 1996 | 0.0061 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -18.9% |
| 1997 | 0.0131 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +114.6% |
| 1998 | 0.0106 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -18.6% |
| 1999 | 0.0214 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +101.2% |
| 2000 | 0.016 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -25.0% |
| 2001 | 0.0375 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +134.2% |
| 2002 | 0.0242 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -35.6% |
| 2003 | 0.0244 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 0.018 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -26.4% |
| 2005 | 0.0234 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +30.4% |
| 2006 | 0.0166 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -29.1% |
| 2007 | 0.0255 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +53.1% |
| 2008 | 0.0298 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +17.2% |
| 2009 | 0.0295 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -1.1% |
| 2010 | 0.0223 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -24.3% |
| 2011 | 0.0255 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +14.1% |
| 2012 | 0.0265 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +4.2% |
| 2013 | 0.0223 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -16.0% |
| 2014 | 0.0233 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +4.4% |
| 2015 | 0.0268 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +15.1% |
| 2016 | 0.0211 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -21.3% |
| 2017 | 0.0167 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -20.9% |
| 2018 | 0.0157 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -6.1% |
| 2019 | 0.0135 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -14.1% |
| 2020 | 0.0122 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -9.2% |
| 2021 | 0.0331 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +170.8% |
| 2022 | 0.016 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -51.6% |
| 2023 | 0.02 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +25.2% |
| 2024 | 0.0219 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | +9.0% |
| 2025 | 0.0031 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | -85.6% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | +348.1% | 0.0009 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.0038 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.0074 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.0032 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.0112 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.0038 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.0009 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.0092 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.0088 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.0031 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.0214 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.0245 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.016 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.0375 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0214 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.0135 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.0268 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0177 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.0031 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 0.0331 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 39 Bahrain 0.0572 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
- 40 Guinea 0.0561 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
- 41 Gabon 0.0548 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
- 42 Costa Rica 0.0543 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
- 43 Chad 0.0512 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
- 44 Cape Verde 0.0503 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
- 45 Croatia 0.0488 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
More economy & growth data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Gross capital formation (current US$), per capita 386.71 current US$ per person (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita -1.99 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), annual growth rate 8.19 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), per capita 407.9 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.2438 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled 6.95 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 5.43 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.2382 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation (constant 2015 US$), per capita 398.55 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current US$), annual growth rate 7.16 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit in Sub-Saharan Africa was 0.0031 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2025, according to Statizoid (derived).
- What is the highest foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 0.0375 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2001.
- What is the lowest foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0009 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 1980.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 42nd out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is foreign direct investment, net inflows (bop, current us$), per unit rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 88.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page.
How this figure is calculated
Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) divided by GDP (current US$), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.
Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) ÷ GDP (current US$)
Computed from
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows Balance of Payments database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), note: International Monetary Fund, Balance of Payments database, supplemented by data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and D
- GDP Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks
Statizoid computes this series; the underlying measurements belong to the publishers named above. The arithmetic is applied to every country and year where both inputs report, and nothing is estimated unless the page says so.
About this data
Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) divided by GDP (current US$), matched on country and year. Neither publisher issues this ratio as a series; it is computed here from both.