UAE Climbs to Ninth Globally for Foreign Direct Investment With a Fourth Straight Record Year of 48.3 Billion Dollars
The UAE attracted 177.3 billion dirhams, about 48.3 billion dollars, in foreign direct investment inflows in 2025, up 6 percent from a year earlier and a fourth consecutive annual record, according to the Ministry of Investment’s FDI Report 2026, which draws on data from UNCTAD’s World Investment Report and was carried by the official WAM news agency on Wednesday.
The performance lifts the UAE to ninth globally for FDI inflows, from tenth in 2024, first in the Middle East, with cumulative FDI stock reaching 1.171 trillion dirhams, about 318.9 billion dollars, by the end of 2025. The country ranked second globally in greenfield project announcements for a third consecutive year with 1,562 projects worth about 34.1 billion dollars in announced capital, generating more than 65,000 jobs during the year, per the report. The Middle East led global greenfield capital expenditure growth at 72.4 percent, with the UAE contributing 38 percent of the regional total.
Minister of Investment Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi said the UAE’s FDI inflows have expanded at a compound annual growth rate of 24 percent between 2021 and 2025, reflecting “the strength of the choices we have made as a nation.” Against the National Investment Strategy 2031 targets of 240 billion dirhams in annual inflows and a 2.2 trillion dirham stock, 2025 delivered about 74 percent of the annual goal, our calculation.
Globally, UNCTAD reported FDI rising about 6 percent to roughly 1.6 trillion dollars in 2025, with developed economies up 11 percent and developing Asia the largest recipient region at 644 billion dollars. The UN agency warned, however, that the conflict that began in February represents a major adverse shock likely to depress global investment flows in 2026, with energy and infrastructure projects most exposed.
Why it matters: The UAE’s climb into the global top ten is the region’s clearest evidence that Gulf diversification is attracting foreign capital at scale, and it lands in the same week Washington eased advanced-computing export controls for the UAE, which we covered in our market wrap. The 2026 test is whether that momentum holds through the war-year investment chill UNCTAD is forecasting globally.
Outlook: The 2031 strategy requires inflows to grow by more than a third from here, our calculation. The pipeline indicators, second globally in greenfield announcements with the AI, advanced manufacturing and energy sectors central, suggest the trajectory is intact, and next year’s report will show whether the conflict bent it.
Table – UAE FDI, 2025:
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Inflows | AED177.3bn (~$48.3bn), +6% |
| Global rank | 9th, up from 10th |
| FDI stock | AED1.171tn (~$318.9bn) |
| Greenfield projects | 1,562, 2nd globally |
| Greenfield capex | ~$34.1bn |
| Jobs created (greenfield) | 65,000+ |
Sources: UAE Ministry of Investment via WAM; UNCTAD; Reuters.
