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Indicators · Growth and investment

Foreign direct investment, net inflows

New long-term foreign investment into companies and projects, minus disinvestment, as a share of GDP.

Why it matters

Shows whether other foreign investors are committing capital, which is both a signal of confidence and a measure of competition for deals.

Read with care

Dominated by a few large extractive projects in many countries. Negative values mean foreign investors took more out than they put in.

Source

World Bank

% of GDP. 54 African countries, 1990 to 2025.

FDI (% GDP): highest in Mozambique, lowest in Botswana

Foreign direct investment, net inflows, % of GDP. Latest year available, 2025. 16 of 16 countries have data.

1%
1.9%
3.6%
5%
No data
Loading map…
Source: World Bank· Get the data (Professional)·dotzedw Insights Centre

Ranked: FDI (% GDP)iWhy it mattersShows whether other foreign investors are committing capital, which is both a signal of confidence and a measure of competition for deals.

Click a country to highlight it.

0%10%20%Mozambique25.8%Seychelles10.0%Namibia9.6%Mauritius5.0%Madagascar4.5%Zambia4.5%Malawi3.6%DRC2.1%Tanzania1.9%Zimbabwe1.9%Angola1.8%Lesotho1.3%Eswatini1.0%Comoros0.5%South Africa-0.5%Botswana-3.3%median 2.0%
dotzedw Insights Centre
How spread out SADC is
Median 2.0%Lowest: Botswana -3.3%Highest: Mozambique 25.8%

Over time

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Foreign direct investment, net inflows against income per person

Each bubble is a SADC country, sized by population. Dashed lines mark the SADC medians. Countries far from the pattern are worth a closer look.

0.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%20.0%25.0%$1,000$3,000$10kGDP per person, US$ (log scale)FDI (% GDP)DRCTanzaniaSouth AfricaAngolaMozambiqueMadagascarZambiaNamibia
Source: World Bank, World Bank·dotzedw Insights Centre

Table

The same figures as the map, for screen readers and copying.
RankCountryValueYearFive-year changeGradeDetails
1Mozambique25.8%2025up 3.4 points since 2020A
2Seychelles10.0%2025up 4.2 points since 2020A
3Namibia9.6%2025up 11.0 points since 2020A
4Mauritius5.0%2025up 3.0 points since 2020A
5Madagascar4.5%2025up 1.8 point since 2020A
6Zambia4.5%2025up 3.1 points since 2020A
7Malawi3.6%2025up 1.4 point since 2020A
8DRC2.1%2025down 1.2 point since 2020A
9Tanzania1.9%2025up 0.5 points since 2020A
10Zimbabwe1.9%2025up 1.4 point since 2020A
11Angola1.8%2025up 5.0 points since 2020A
12Lesotho1.3%2025up 0.7 points since 2020A
13Eswatini1.0%2025little changed since 2020A
14Comoros0.5%2025little changed since 2020A
15South Africa-0.5%2025down 1.4 point since 2020A
16Botswana-3.3%2025down 3.5 points since 2020A