fDi Intelligence, a division of the Financial Times, recently published the updated Greenfield Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Performance Index for 2025.
This is a global ranking that evaluates how effectively countries attract Greenfield FDI projects, meaning investments or businesses that build new facilities rather than acquiring existing companies.
The index, which assesses 105 countries, compares the number of projects each country receives to its expected share based on the size of its economy.
A high score indicates that a country attracts more FDI than its economic size would suggest.
In Africa, Tunisia ranks 7th for Greenfield FDI, with a score of 2.2, up 0.7 points from the previous edition, which placed it 38th globally.
It is preceded by Namibia, the African leader and second globally, with a score of 7.9, up 3.4 points thanks to recent offshore oil discoveries, which have profoundly transformed the country’s economy.
Rwanda follows with a score of 4.7, then Morocco with 3.6 (22nd globally), Kenya with 3.2, and Zambia with 2.5, completing the African top 5.
As for Egypt, despite a record USD 47 billion in FDI in 2024, the country ranks 44th globally for Greenfield projects and 9th in Africa, with a score of 2.1.
At the global level, the United Arab Emirates dominates the 10th edition of fDi Intelligence’s Greenfield FDI Performance Index.
With a score of 14.26, the UAE attracted more than 14 times the volume of FDI projects expected relative to the size of its economy.
The key sectors driving this performance include business services, technology, financial services, as well as cutting-edge areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and cloud computing.
Following the UAE, Namibia stands out, followed by Costa Rica (score 6.16), Monaco (5.90), and Bahrain (5.84).
Several other major FDI players also show strong gains, including Qatar (up 21 places), Canada (up 17 places), and Thailand (up 7 places).
