Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) in Pakistan
Pakistan: Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) was 0.5% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Foreign direct investment, net inflows in Pakistan, 1970–2025
Source: International Financial Statistics and Balance of Payments databases, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Pakistan recorded 0.5% for foreign direct investment, net inflows in 2025.
That represents a change of down 36.6% on the previous year and down 18.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, foreign direct investment, net inflows in Pakistan peaked at 3.0% in 2007 and was at its lowest, -0.1%, in 1973.
Pakistan ranks 161st of 201 countries on this measure, 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 (% of GDP) in Pakistan, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.2% | — |
| 1971 | 0.0% | -95.9% |
| 1972 | 0.2% | +1825.9% |
| 1973 | -0.1% | -134.7% |
| 1974 | 0.0% | -171.7% |
| 1975 | 0.2% | +395.3% |
| 1976 | 0.1% | -72.0% |
| 1977 | 0.1% | +61.2% |
| 1978 | 0.2% | +80.0% |
| 1979 | 0.3% | +63.3% |
| 1980 | 0.3% | -9.1% |
| 1981 | 0.4% | +43.0% |
| 1982 | 0.2% | -46.0% |
| 1983 | 0.1% | -50.6% |
| 1984 | 0.2% | +73.6% |
| 1985 | 0.4% | +136.7% |
| 1986 | 0.3% | -21.4% |
| 1987 | 0.4% | +17.0% |
| 1988 | 0.5% | +25.0% |
| 1989 | 0.5% | +8.2% |
| 1990 | 0.6% | +16.9% |
| 1991 | 0.6% | -7.6% |
| 1992 | 0.7% | +21.5% |
| 1993 | 0.7% | -2.3% |
| 1994 | 0.8% | +19.7% |
| 1995 | 1.2% | +48.0% |
| 1996 | 1.5% | +22.2% |
| 1997 | 1.1% | -21.2% |
| 1998 | 0.8% | -29.1% |
| 1999 | 0.8% | +3.8% |
| 2000 | 0.3% | -63.4% |
| 2001 | 0.4% | +25.7% |
| 2002 | 0.8% | +116.8% |
| 2003 | 0.5% | -43.7% |
| 2004 | 0.8% | +77.9% |
| 2005 | 1.5% | +79.3% |
| 2006 | 2.6% | +74.2% |
| 2007 | 3.0% | +15.0% |
| 2008 | 2.7% | -11.4% |
| 2009 | 1.2% | -53.6% |
| 2010 | 1.0% | -17.6% |
| 2011 | 0.6% | -44.1% |
| 2012 | 0.3% | -40.3% |
| 2013 | 0.5% | +50.1% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | +34.9% |
| 2015 | 0.6% | -19.8% |
| 2016 | 0.8% | +47.3% |
| 2017 | 0.7% | -10.4% |
| 2018 | 0.5% | -33.7% |
| 2019 | 0.7% | +42.7% |
| 2020 | 0.7% | -1.6% |
| 2021 | 0.6% | -10.0% |
| 2022 | 0.4% | -36.7% |
| 2023 | 0.6% | +56.0% |
| 2024 | 0.7% | +17.9% |
| 2025 | 0.5% | -36.6% |
Pakistan compared with similar countries
- Pakistan's 0.5% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.9%, 24% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Pakistan's 0.5% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 1.8%, 25% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) in Pakistan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | +1825.9% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| 1975 | +395.3% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.1% | -0.1% | 0.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.9% | 0.6% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.4% | 0.3% | 3.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.6% | 0.3% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Pakistan
More economy & growth data for Pakistan
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 3.11 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 5 Percent per annum (2029)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, annual growth rate 335.32 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0006 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per capita 0.9222 units per person (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, annual growth rate 314.54 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0004 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per capita 0.6734 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, annual growth rate 14.24 % change on previous year (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0312 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is foreign direct investment, net inflows in Pakistan?
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows in Pakistan was 0.5% in 2025, according to International Financial Statistics and Balance of Payments databases, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest foreign direct investment, net inflows recorded in Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was 3.0% in 2007.
- What is the lowest foreign direct investment, net inflows recorded in Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.1% in 1973.
- How does Pakistan rank for foreign direct investment, net inflows?
- Pakistan ranks 161st out of 201 countries with data for 2025.
- Is foreign direct investment, net inflows rising or falling in Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Pakistan data come from?
- The figures come from International Financial Statistics and Balance of Payments databases, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Foreign direct investment is the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest (10 percent or more of voting stock) in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor. It is the sum of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in the balance of payments. This series shows net inflows (new investment inflows less disinvestment) in the reporting economy from foreign investors, and is divided by GDP.