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Egypt drew US$15.5 billion of Africa's US$70 billion in foreign direct investment in 2025
Where foreign direct investment landed in Africa in 2025, showing the top recipient economies by inflows in US dollars.
Updated October 2026 · Data year 2025 for recipients and total. 2023 and 2024 totals used for trend context.
Figure 1
Where foreign direct investment landed in Africa in 2025, showing the top recipient economies by inflows in US dollars.
15.5
Egypt · US$ billion
Source: UNCTAD (UN Trade and Development), Zawya / UNCTAD · 2025 for recipients and total. 2023 and 2024 totals used for trend context. · All figures are 2025 FDI inflows from UNCTAD. Africa took in US$69.5 billion in 2025, down from a record US$94.3 billion in 2024 that was inflated by Egypt's Ras El-Hekma megaproject. FDI is volatile and a single large deal can distort any one year. Guinea (about US$8 billion) would rank second but the source gives no exact figure, so it is left out.
Africa drew US$69.5 billion in foreign direct investment in 2025, about US$70 billion, the third-highest level in 25 years but down from a record US$94.3 billion in 2024 [S1][S2]. Egypt led with US$15.5 billion, well ahead of Mozambique, Nigeria and Ethiopia [S1]. The honest caveat is that these totals swing on single deals. The 2024 record was lifted mostly by Egypt's Ras El-Hekma megaproject, and North Africa's 56 percent drop in 2025 reflects that unusually high base rather than a real collapse. Stripped of that one deal, Egypt's underlying inflows rose about a quarter [S1].
Takeaways
- Africa pulled in US$69.5 billion of FDI in 2025, about a third above its 2010 to 2024 average.
- Egypt alone took US$15.5 billion, nearly a quarter of the continent total.
- The 2024 record of US$94.3 billion was inflated by one megaproject, so year-to-year swings can mislead.
Sources
- TIER A UNCTAD (UN Trade and Development), World Investment Report 2026, Regional trends: Africa (2026). https://unctad.org/system/files/non-official-document/wir2026-regional_trends_africa_en.pdf
FDI inflows to Africa 2023-2025 (US$55.4bn, 94.3bn, 69.5bn) and top recipient economies for 2025. Carries the Ras El-Hekma distortion note. - TIER C Zawya / UNCTAD, Africa attracts $70bln in FDI in 2025, the third-highest level since 1990 (2026). https://www.zawya.com/en/economy/africa-attracts-70bln-in-fdi-in-2025-the-third-highest-level-since-1990-400734
Corroborates about US$70 billion for 2025 and the third-highest-since-1990 ranking, citing UNCTAD WIR 2026.