This is the list of countries by flows of received foreign direct investment (FDI). The list includes sovereign states and self-governing dependent territories based upon the ISO standard ISO 3166-1.
According to World Bank, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) refers to direct investment equity flows in an economy. It is the sum of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, and other capital. Direct investment is a category of cross-border investment associated with a resident in one economy having control or a significant degree of influence on the management of an enterprise that is resident in another economy. Ownership of 10 percent or more of the ordinary shares of voting stock is the criterion for determining the existence of a direct investment relationship. In the following table, WB figures shows net inflows of investment to the reporting economy from the rest of the world. Data are in current U.S. dollars.[1][2]
According to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, "inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows record the value of cross-border direct investment transactions received by the reporting economy during a year. Inward flows represent transactions that increase the investment that foreign investors from the source country have in enterprises resident in the reporting economy, less transactions that decrease the investment of foreign investors in resident enterprises."[3]