Total FDI inflows — Value US$ in Southern Africa

Southern Africa: Total FDI inflows — Value US$ was 7,780 million USD in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
7,780 million USD
Change on year
down 29.4%
Rank
25th
of 30 groups
All-time high
40,852 million USD
in 2021
All-time low
-134.78 million USD
in 1993
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Total FDI inflows — Value US$ in Southern Africa, 1990–2023

010.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k1990200620231990: 91.6 million USD1991: 453 million USD1992: 212.2 million USD1993: -134.8 million USD1994: 569.3 million USD1995: 1.5k million USD1996: 1.1k million USD1997: 4.0k million USD1998: 913.6 million USD1999: 1.7k million USD2000: 1.3k million USD2001: 7.2k million USD2002: 2.3k million USD2003: 1.3k million USD2004: 1.5k million USD2005: 7.4k million USD2006: 1.3k million USD2007: 7.9k million USD2008: 10.6k million USD2009: 8.7k million USD2010: 4.3k million USD2011: 5.6k million USD2012: 5.9k million USD2013: 9.3k million USD2014: 6.9k million USD2015: 3.2k million USD2016: 2.8k million USD2017: 2.5k million USD2018: 6.0k million USD2019: 5.2k million USD2020: 3.0k million USD2021: 40.9k million USD2022: 11.0k million USD2023: 7.8k million USD

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in million USD.

Analysis

The most recent figure for total fdi inflows — value us$ in Southern Africa is 7,780 million USD, measured in 2023.

The figure is down 29.4% on the previous year and down 16.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, total fdi inflows — value us$ in Southern Africa peaked at 40,852 million USD in 2021 and was at its lowest, -134.78 million USD, in 1993.

That places Southern Africa 25th out of 30 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.

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

Total FDI inflows — Value US$ in Southern Africa, year by year

Annual values for Total FDI inflows — Value US$ in Southern Africa, 1990 to 2023.
Year million USD Change
1990 91.59 million USD
1991 452.95 million USD +394.6%
1992 212.24 million USD -53.1%
1993 -134.78 million USD -163.5%
1994 569.31 million USD -522.4%
1995 1,532 million USD +169.0%
1996 1,067 million USD -30.3%
1997 4,017 million USD +276.4%
1998 913.58 million USD -77.3%
1999 1,693 million USD +85.3%
2000 1,273 million USD -24.8%
2001 7,238 million USD +468.5%
2002 2,279 million USD -68.5%
2003 1,280 million USD -43.8%
2004 1,541 million USD +20.4%
2005 7,435 million USD +382.5%
2006 1,330 million USD -82.1%
2007 7,879 million USD +492.5%
2008 10,567 million USD +34.1%
2009 8,708 million USD -17.6%
2010 4,309 million USD -50.5%
2011 5,610 million USD +30.2%
2012 5,936 million USD +5.8%
2013 9,345 million USD +57.4%
2014 6,913 million USD -26.0%
2015 3,244 million USD -53.1%
2016 2,835 million USD -12.6%
2017 2,535 million USD -10.6%
2018 6,021 million USD +137.5%
2019 5,205 million USD -13.5%
2020 3,011 million USD -42.1%
2021 40,852 million USD +1256.6%
2022 11,017 million USD -73.0%
2023 7,780 million USD -29.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1,041 million USD -134.78 million USD 4,017 million USD 10
2000s 4,953 million USD 1,273 million USD 10,567 million USD 10
2010s 5,195 million USD 2,535 million USD 9,345 million USD 10
2020s 15,665 million USD 3,011 million USD 40,852 million USD 4

Countries ranked near Southern Africa

  1. 22 Chile 21,027 million USD compare
  2. 23 Malta 20,900 million USD compare
  3. 24 Italy 18,219 million USD compare
  4. 25 Colombia 17,446 million USD compare
  5. 26 Israel 16,422 million USD compare
  6. 27 Republic of Korea 15,178 million USD compare
  7. 28 Switzerland 13,507 million USD compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More economy & growth data for Southern Africa

All data for Southern Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is total fdi inflows — value us$ in Southern Africa?
Total fdi inflows — value us$ in Southern Africa was 7,780 million USD in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest total fdi inflows — value us$ recorded in Southern Africa?
The highest recorded value was 40,852 million USD in 2021.
What is the lowest total fdi inflows — value us$ recorded in Southern Africa?
The lowest recorded value was -134.78 million USD in 1993.
How does Southern Africa rank for total fdi inflows — value us$?
Southern Africa ranks 25th out of 30 groups with data for 2023.
Is total fdi inflows — value us$ rising or falling in Southern Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 16.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Southern Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Total FDI inflows — Value US$. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Total FDI inflows — Value US$ in Southern Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 23 August 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/total-fdi-inflows-value-us/southern-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/total-fdi-inflows-value-us/southern-africa/">Total FDI inflows — Value US$ in Southern Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Total FDI inflows — Value US$
Unit
million USD
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
239 places, 7,713 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

FDI is an investment which aims to acquire a lasting management influence (10 percent or more of the voting stock) in an enterprise operating in a foreign economy. FDI may be undertaken by individuals, as well as business entities. The foreign direct investor most often is aiming to gain access to natural resources, to markets, to labour supply, to technology, to ensure security of supplies or to control the quality of a certain product. FDI can be decomposed into two types of investments: mergers and acquisitions (MA) and greenfield investments. The latter type results in the creation of new entities and the setting up of offices, buildings, plants or factories from scratch in a foreign economy. FDI is the sum of equity capital, reinvested earnings and other FDI capital. Equity capital comprises equity in branches, all shares in subsidiaries and associates (except non-participating, preferred shares that are treated as debt securities and are included under other FDI capital) and other contributions such as the provision of machinery. Reinvested earnings consist of the direct investor's share (in proportion to equity participation) of earnings not distributed by the direct investment enterprise. Other FDI capital (loans) includes the borrowing and lending of funds, including debt securities and trade credits between direct investors and direct investment enterprises. FDI inflows and outflows are important for tracking the direct investment conditions each year. Outward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows record the value of cross-border direct investment transactions from the reporting economy during a year. It represents transactions affecting the investment in enterprises resident abroad. Whereas, Inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows record the value of cross-border direct investment transactions received by the reporting economy during a year. It represents transactions affecting the investment in enterprises of a specific industry resident in the reporting economy.