Sound data on foreign direct investment (FDI) is an essential tool for research and policy analysis, and a basis for policy formulation, implementation and assessment. This publication is a major effort by UNCTAD to fill a large gap in FDI statistics.
UNCTAD's new product, Bilateral FDI Statistics, provides up-to-date and systematic FDI data for 206 economies around the world, covering inflows (table 1), outflows (table 2), inward stock (table 3) and outward stock (table 4) by region and economy.
The publication will be updated every year and will be complemented with sectoral and industrial FDI statistics that will be published separately. It is hoped that this FDI data series will become a standard reference for policymakers, as well as for academia, the private sector, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations.
To review and present internationally comparable national data on FDI, it is essential to harmonize country statistics in accordance with internationally accepted definitions at all levels: national, regional and global. To complement efforts in publishing FDI statistics, UNCTAD also provides technical assistance to support national efforts in providing reliable and comparable FDI data.
Readers are encouraged to use the data in this publication for non-commercial purposes, provided acknowledgement is given to UNCTAD, together with the reference to this publication.
