How does South Korea rank for foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit?

South Korea ranks 25th out of 191 countries with data for 2025.

Is foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit rising or falling in South Korea?

Over the last ten years it is up 43.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$) … unit in South Korea

Name: Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$) … unit in South Korea
Creator: Statizoid (derived)
License: Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page

South Korea: Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$) … unit was 0.022 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)

0.022 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP

Change on year

down 16.9%

World rank

25th

of 191 countries

All-time high

0.0366 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP

in 2022

All-time low

0.0001 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP

in 1972

Years of data

1971–2025

Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit in South Korea, 1971–2025

Source: Statizoid (derived). Measured in BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP.

Analysis

In 2025, foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit in South Korea stood at 0.022 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 16.9% on the previous year and up 43.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit in South Korea peaked at 0.0366 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.0001 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP, in 1972.

South Korea ranks 25th of 191 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$) … unit in South Korea, year by year

Annual values for Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit of GDP in South Korea, 1971 to 2025.
Year	BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	Change
1971	0.0003 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	—
1972	0.0001 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-69.7%
1973	0.0001 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+56.3%
1974	0.0007 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+395.8%
1975	0.0002 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-74.4%
1976	0.0002 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+9.3%
1977	0.0005 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+172.1%
1978	0.0005 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-1.4%
1979	0.0002 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-54.6%
1980	0.0006 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+167.7%
1981	0.0008 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+27.4%
1982	0.0023 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+180.4%
1983	0.0019 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-18.1%
1984	0.0009 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-51.9%
1985	0.0059 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+545.6%
1986	0.0106 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+80.6%
1987	0.0036 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-66.2%
1988	0.0035 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-1.2%
1989	0.0029 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-18.8%
1990	0.0039 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+35.2%
1991	0.0047 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+20.3%
1992	0.0037 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-19.7%
1993	0.0036 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-5.1%
1994	0.0054 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+51.9%
1995	0.0066 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+22.1%
1996	0.0078 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+18.9%
1997	0.0075 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-4.6%
1998	0.0106 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+41.9%
1999	0.0077 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-27.6%
2000	0.0081 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+5.3%
2001	0.0048 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-40.4%
2002	0.0053 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+9.4%
2003	0.0069 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+30.3%
2004	0.0087 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+26.9%
2005	0.0086 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-1.9%
2006	0.0115 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+33.8%
2007	0.0179 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+55.9%
2008	0.0179 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+0.1%
2009	0.0177 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-1.1%
2010	0.0237 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+33.7%
2011	0.0227 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-4.1%
2012	0.0229 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+1.0%
2013	0.0197 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-13.9%
2014	0.018 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-8.9%
2015	0.0154 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-14.5%
2016	0.0189 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+23.0%
2017	0.0199 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+5.3%
2018	0.021 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+5.2%
2019	0.0201 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-3.9%
2020	0.02 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.8%
2021	0.034 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+70.1%
2022	0.0366 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+7.6%
2023	0.0174 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-52.3%
2024	0.0265 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+52.0%
2025	0.022 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-16.9%

South Korea compared with similar countries

South Korea's 0.022 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.009 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP, 2.5× the median. (69 countries reporting)
South Korea's 0.022 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.0027 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP, 8.2× the median. (29 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$) … unit in South Korea 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
1985	+545.6%	0.0009 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0059 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP
1974	+395.8%	0.0001 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0007 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1970s	0.0003 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0001 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0007 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	9
1980s	0.0033 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0006 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0106 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
1990s	0.0062 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0036 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0106 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
2000s	0.0107 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0048 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0179 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
2010s	0.0202 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0154 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0237 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
2020s	0.0261 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0174 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0366 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	6

Countries ranked near South Korea

22 France 0.0238 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
23 Israel 0.0237 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
24 Czechia 0.022 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
26 Portugal 0.0218 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
27 United Kingdom 0.0217 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
28 Venezuela 0.0216 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare

See the full ranking of 238 places →

More economy & growth data for South Korea

SDRs holdings, US dollar, annual growth rate 7.89 % change on previous year (2025)
SDRs holdings, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0085 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
SDRs holdings, US dollar, per capita 307.17 units per person (2025)
SDRs holdings, SDR, annual growth rate 2.74 % change on previous year (2025)
SDRs holdings, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0062 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
SDRs holdings, SDR, per capita 224.29 units per person (2025)
IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, annual growth rate 4.58 % change on previous year (2025)
IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.0047 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, per capita 168.75 units per person (2025)
IMF holdings of currency, SDR, annual growth rate -0.4147 % change on previous year (2025)

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit in South Korea?: Foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit in South Korea was 0.022 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2025, according to Statizoid (derived).
What is the highest foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit recorded in South Korea?: The highest recorded value was 0.0366 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2022.
What is the lowest foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit recorded in South Korea?: The lowest recorded value was 0.0001 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 1972.
How does South Korea rank for foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit?: South Korea ranks 25th out of 191 countries with data for 2025.
Is foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit rising or falling in South Korea?: Over the last ten years it is up 43.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Korea data come from?: The figures come from Statizoid (derived), published as part of Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit in South Korea. Statizoid, drawing on Statizoid (derived). Retrieved 26 October 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/foreign-direct-investment-net-outflows-bop-current-us-per-unit-of-gdp/korea-rep/

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How this figure is calculated

Foreign direct investment, net outflows (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 outflows (BoP, current US$) ÷ GDP (current US$)

Computed from

Foreign direct investment, net outflows 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

Indicator: Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit of GDP
Unit: BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP
Source: Statizoid (derived)
Licence: Derived by Statizoid from the sources named on the page
Coverage: 238 places, 9,843 data points, 1970–2025
Last refreshed: 11 September 2026

Foreign direct investment, net outflows (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.