Investment | UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

A worker in a large data centre

Data centres are reshaping the global investment landscape

A UN Trade and Development report shows data centres captured more than one fifth of global greenfield investment in 2025.

Cover image for World Investment Report

World Investment Report

News

WIF26 announced at Davos during World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.

World Investment Forum 2026 to be held in Doha

A bar chart showing that global foreign investment rises 14% in 2025, but underlying activity remains weak

Global foreign investment up 14% in 2025, with growth concentrated in developed economies

A data centre in Eemshaven, the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Global investment growth resumes, with finance leading the rebound

An automobile assembly plant in Kedah, Malaysia.

2025: The most-read stories reflecting key forces in the global economy

Latest publications

Cover for Global Investment Trends Monitor, No. 50

Global Investment Trends Monitor, No. 50

Cover for International investment in the digital economy: A toolkit for policymakers

International investment in the digital economy: A toolkit for policymakers

Cover for International investment in sustainable infrastructure: The role of public-private partnerships

International investment in sustainable infrastructure: The role of public-private partnerships

Cover for Report on the implementation of the Investment Policy Review of Bangladesh

Report on the implementation of the Investment Policy Review of Bangladesh

More publications

Featured series

Cover of Global Investment Trends Monitor, No. 50

Global Investment Trends Monitor

Cover of Investment Policy Review of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa

Investment Policy Reviews

Cover of International investment in SDG-relevant sectors, excluding renewable energy, has stalled since 2015

SDG Investment Trends Monitor

Cover of The reform of international investment agreements – state of play

Investment Agreements - Issues Note

Videos and podcasts

World Investment Forum 2026

World Investment Report 2025 press conference

Rethinking investment: Making money work for development

Antibiotics shortages: A looming health crisis

Taxing times: How fairer taxes can fund development

UNCTAD at 60: Célestin Monga on trade and transformation as the keys to development

Related

Areas of work

Special initiative

The Global Sustainable Finance Observatory
Promotes sustainability in global finance through stakeholder engagement.

Project

Attracting finance and investment for the energy transition in Africa

Meetings and events

25 – 27 October 2026

World Investment Forum 2026

31 August – 4 September 2026

Investment, Enterprise and Development Commission, 16th session

Geneva, Switzerland

29 June – 3 July 2026

UNCTAD-AIB Award for Research on Investment and Development

Manchester, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

4 – 5 May 2026

Multi-year expert meeting on investment, innovation and entrepreneurship for productive capacity-building and sustainable development, 12th session

Geneva, Switzerland

4 – 5 December 2025

Training on Bankability of Energy Transition Project for Ethiopian stakeholders

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

1 December 2025

Capacity building workshop on key issues in international investment policymaking for BRICS countries

All meetings and events

Documents

20 Jan 2026

Global Investment Trends Monitor, No. 50

16 Jan 2026

International investment in sustainable infrastructure: The role of public-private partnerships

16 Jan 2026

International investment in the digital economy: A toolkit for policymakers

09 Jan 2026

Report on the implementation of the Investment Policy Review of Bangladesh

07 Jan 2026

The reform of international investment agreements – state of play

19 Dec 2025

Examen de la politique d'investissement : Communauté économique et monétaire de l’Afrique centrale

Contact

For further information on this topic, please contact us.