Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) in East Timor
East Timor: Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) was 13.3% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Foreign direct investment, net inflows in East Timor, 2003–2025
Source: International Financial Statistics and Balance of Payments databases, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for foreign direct investment, net inflows in East Timor is 13.3%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of up 10.2% on the previous year and up 392.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, foreign direct investment, net inflows in East Timor peaked at 13.3% in 2025 and was at its lowest, -16.2%, in 2020.
East Timor ranks 11th of 201 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) in East Timor, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 0.9% | — |
| 2005 | 0.2% | -78.7% |
| 2006 | 1.9% | +851.1% |
| 2007 | 1.6% | -14.3% |
| 2008 | 6.1% | +282.1% |
| 2009 | 6.6% | +7.8% |
| 2010 | 3.4% | -47.9% |
| 2011 | 4.7% | +36.8% |
| 2012 | 3.5% | -26.1% |
| 2013 | 4.0% | +15.0% |
| 2014 | 2.3% | -41.5% |
| 2015 | 2.7% | +15.4% |
| 2016 | 0.3% | -87.6% |
| 2017 | 0.4% | +26.9% |
| 2018 | 3.1% | +626.9% |
| 2019 | -7.8% | -353.1% |
| 2020 | -16.2% | +107.9% |
| 2021 | -6.6% | -59.3% |
| 2022 | 1.7% | -125.4% |
| 2023 | 5.9% | +251.3% |
| 2024 | 12.1% | +105.7% |
| 2025 | 13.3% | +10.2% |
East Timor compared with similar countries
- East Timor's 13.3% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.9%, 7.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- East Timor's 13.3% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2.1%, 6.2× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) in East Timor 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | +851.1% | 0.2% | 1.9% |
| 2018 | +626.9% | 0.4% | 3.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.9% | 0.2% | 6.6% | 6 |
| 2010s | 1.7% | -7.8% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.7% | -16.2% | 13.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near East Timor
More economy & growth data for East Timor
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, annual growth rate 4.96 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0201 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per capita 26.91 units per person (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, annual growth rate -0.0477 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0147 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per capita 19.65 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.01 % change on previous year (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0153 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per capita 20.52 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, SDR, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is foreign direct investment, net inflows in East Timor?
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows in East Timor was 13.3% 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 East Timor?
- The highest recorded value was 13.3% in 2025.
- What is the lowest foreign direct investment, net inflows recorded in East Timor?
- The lowest recorded value was -16.2% in 2020.
- How does East Timor rank for foreign direct investment, net inflows?
- East Timor ranks 11th out of 201 countries with data for 2025.
- Is foreign direct investment, net inflows rising or falling in East Timor?
- Over the last ten years it is up 392.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this East Timor 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 — 22 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.