United Arab Emirates Attracted Record $48.3 Billion in Foreign Direct Investment in 2025
The United Arab Emirates attracted $48.3 billion (AED 177.3 billion) in inbound foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2025, marking a 6 percent year-on-year increase and a fourth consecutive year of record inflows.
According to the UAE Foreign Direct Investment Report 2026, issued by the Ministry of Investment, the country now ranks ninth globally for inbound FDI, citing data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Report. The influx brought the nation's total cumulative FDI stock to AED 1.17 trillion.
Greenfield initiatives remained the dominant entry type, accounting for roughly 45 percent of incoming capital. The UAE maintained its second-place global ranking for greenfield infrastructure, drawing 1,562 projects valued at $34.1 billion in capital expenditure. Officials stated these developments generated more than 65,000 jobs.
Manufacturing led the greenfield projects at 30 percent, driven by industrial base expansion. Communications followed closely at 29 percent, anchored by "Stargate UAE," a 1-gigawatt artificial intelligence compute cluster developed in Abu Dhabi by OpenAI and the UAE-based firm G42. Real estate accounted for 7 percent, supported by inbound talent migration.
Beyond greenfield projects, mergers and acquisitions accounted for 8 percent of FDI, while corporate reinvestment stood at 11.2 percent. The domestic startup ecosystem also showed signs of scaling, with average deal sizes doubling to $9.2 million. Domestic direct investment for the year was estimated between $100 billion and $119 billion.
The figures align with the country's National Investment Strategy 2031, which aims to increase total FDI stock to AED 2.2 trillion and secure $65 billion (AED 240 billion) in annual inflows by 2031. To support this capital attraction framework, the UAE Cabinet approved the establishment of a $10 billion National Investment Fund in November 2025.
Photo credits: Government of Dubai Media Office
Andrew Shelepnytsky Andrew Shelepnytsky is an Editor of Dubai Voice.
