visualcapitalist.com June 30, 2025
Key Takeaways
- China, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia are the top three emerging markets by FDI confidence in 2025
- Brazil overtook India to take the fourth spot, with both countries making the top five
- Domestic economic performance and efficiency of legal and regulatory processes were the top two priorities for FDI investors
Emerging markets often attract foreign investors with prospects for higher economic growth and diversification.
Where are global business leaders placing their foreign direct investment (FDI) bets in 2025?
This chart highlights the top 25 emerging markets by FDI confidence score in 2025, based on a survey conducted by Kearney. The rankings are drawn from responses by 536 senior executives at global companies with annual revenues above $500 million.
China Leads in Foreign Investor Sentiment
China (including Hong Kong) remains the top emerging market for foreign investor confidence in 2025. However, FDI inflows have slowed in recent years, hitting multi-year lows in 2023.
Following China, the UAE and Saudi Arabia also retain their places as the second and third-most favored developing economies for FDI.
Here’s a look at the full list of top emerging markets for FDI confidence in 2025:Search:
| Rank | Country | FDI Confidence Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | China (including Hong Kong) 🇨🇳🇭🇰 | 1.97 |
| 2 | United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪 | 1.86 |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 | 1.76 |
| 4 | Brazil 🇧🇷 | 1.59 |
| 5 | India 🇮🇳 | 1.53 |
| 6 | Mexico 🇲🇽 | 1.51 |
| 7 | South Africa 🇿🇦 | 1.48 |
| 8 | Poland 🇵🇱 | 1.46 |
| 9 | Argentina 🇦🇷 | 1.46 |
| 10 | Thailand 🇹🇭 | 1.45 |
Brazil and India—two of the biggest emerging economies by GDP—round out the top five, with Brazil overtaking India in FDI confidence in the 2025 rankings.
These rankings align with investors’ FDI priorities from the same survey, where the efficiency of legal and regulatory processes and domestic economic performance top the list.
South Africa made the largest upward move in 2025, jumping from 11th to 7th in the rankings. It also recorded FDI inflows of around $661 million in Q1 2025, up 56% from the fourth quarter of 2024.
Overall, 11 of the top 25 emerging markets for FDI confidence are in Asia and the Middle East.
What’s Driving Investor Confidence?
The factors driving FDI confidence vary for each economy.
In China, tech innovation was the leading driver of investor confidence, while economic performance ranked highest for the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, the talent/skill of the labor pools in India and Mexico were the strongest factors attracting investors.
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