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

South Africa ranks 181st out of 191 countries with data for 2025.

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

Over the last ten years it is down 159.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit in South Africa

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

South Africa: Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit was -0.0094 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)

-0.0094 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP

Change on year

down 198.0%

World rank

181st

of 191 countries

All-time high

0.0202 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP

in 2014

All-time low

-0.026 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP

in 2001

Years of data

1970–2025

Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit in South Africa, 1970–2025

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit in South Africa is -0.0094 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP, measured in 2025.

That represents a change of down 198.0% on the previous year and down 159.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit in South Africa peaked at 0.0202 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2014 and was at its lowest, -0.026 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP, in 2001.

That places South Africa 181st out of 191 countries 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 outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit of GDP in South Africa, 1970 to 2025.
Year	BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	Change
1970	0.0008 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	—
1971	0.0013 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+58.4%
1972	0.0008 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-36.5%
1973	0.0016 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+95.9%
1974	0.0028 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+77.8%
1975	0.0029 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+5.7%
1976	0.0008 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-73.3%
1977	0.0015 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+91.3%
1978	0.0046 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+208.2%
1979	0.0002 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-96.3%
1980	0.0084 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+4880.1%
1981	0.0069 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-18.1%
1982	-0.0001 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-100.9%
1983	0.0016 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-2635.9%
1984	0.0023 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+40.1%
1985	0.0007 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-67.7%
1986	0.001 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+31.7%
1987	0.0012 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+20.0%
1988	0.0006 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-46.5%
1989	0.0015 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+142.5%
1990	0.0002 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-85.3%
1991	0.0015 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+588.0%
1992	0.0132 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+764.2%
1993	0.002 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-85.0%
1994	0.0082 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+314.0%
1995	0.0145 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+76.9%
1996	0.0064 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-55.8%
1997	0.0138 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+114.2%
1998	0.0107 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-22.3%
1999	0.0105 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-2.1%
2000	0.0018 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-82.5%
2001	-0.026 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-1520.9%
2002	-0.0031 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-88.0%
2003	0.0028 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-190.0%
2004	0.0051 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+82.0%
2005	0.0031 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-38.3%
2006	0.0195 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+519.8%
2007	0.009 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-54.1%
2008	-0.0067 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-174.9%
2009	0.004 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-159.3%
2010	-0.0004 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-109.7%
2011	-0.0003 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-13.4%
2012	0.0067 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-2093.3%
2013	0.0163 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+143.7%
2014	0.0202 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+24.1%
2015	0.0159 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-21.2%
2016	0.0139 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-12.8%
2017	0.0195 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+40.7%
2018	0.0099 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-49.1%
2019	0.0081 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-18.8%
2020	-0.0057 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-171.0%
2021	0.0002 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-104.2%
2022	0.0058 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+2308.8%
2023	-0.0073 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-225.7%
2024	-0.0032 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-57.0%
2025	-0.0094 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	+198.0%

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1970s	0.0017 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0002 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0046 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
1980s	0.0024 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.0001 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0084 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
1990s	0.0081 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0002 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0145 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
2000s	0.001 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.026 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0195 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
2010s	0.011 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.0004 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0202 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	10
2020s	-0.0033 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	-0.0094 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	0.0058 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP	6

Countries ranked near South Africa

178 Netherlands -0.0049 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
179 Togo -0.0069 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
180 Naoero -0.008 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
182 Panama -0.0096 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
183 Austria -0.0105 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare
184 Tuvalu -0.0149 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP compare

See the full ranking of 238 places →

More economy & growth data for South Africa

Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 0.4836 Percent per annum (2029)
Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 1.4 Percent per annum (2029)
Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps -4.01 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita -61.95 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled -2.16 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), annual -192.73 % change on previous year (2025)
Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit -0.0051 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per capita -33.37 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), annual growth rate 16.18 % change on previous year (2025)
Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), per unit of GDP 0.178 includes gold, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit in South Africa?: Foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit in South Africa was -0.0094 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$), per unit recorded in South Africa?: The highest recorded value was 0.0202 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2014.
What is the lowest foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit recorded in South Africa?: The lowest recorded value was -0.026 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP in 2001.
How does South Africa rank for foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit?: South Africa ranks 181st out of 191 countries with data for 2025.
Is foreign direct investment, net outflows (bop, current us$), per unit rising or falling in South Africa?: Over the last ten years it is down 159.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this South Africa 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 Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Statizoid (derived). Retrieved 11 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/foreign-direct-investment-net-outflows-bop-current-us-per-unit-of-gdp/south-africa/

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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.