International business is measured through cross-border trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), and the activities of multinational companies. The latest figures show a strong rebound in the value of global trade in 2025, while investment patterns remained uneven across regions and were strongly affected by large transactions in conduit economies.
Contents
- Global trade in goods and services
- How the trade mix is changing
- Foreign direct investment worldwide
- Regional investment patterns
- Investment trends in 2024
- Sustainable investment and project finance
- The U.S. multinational investment position
Global trade in goods and services
The World Trade Organization reported that world trade in goods and commercial services increased 7% in 2025, reaching US$34.65 trillion. This total combines merchandise trade with internationally traded commercial services and provides a broad measure of the scale of business activity crossing national borders. The 2025 result followed a weaker 2023, when the WTO reported that world trade in goods and commercial services fell 2% to US$30.5 trillion.
The two components did not move at the same pace in 2025. Goods trade grew 6%, while services trade grew 8%. Services therefore expanded faster than goods during the year, adding to a longer-term shift in the composition of international business. The WTO reported that services reached 27.6% of global trade in 2025, the highest share since 2005.
The 2023 figures show why separate goods and services measures matter. In that year, goods trade declined 5%, while services trade increased 9%. The combined result was a 2% decrease because the larger goods segment outweighed the growth in services. These are annual changes reported for 2023; they should not be treated as a forecast for later years.
The contrast between the 2023 and 2025 reports is useful for business learners. A rise in total trade can conceal different conditions in manufacturing, commodities, logistics, finance, software, tourism, and other service activities. Examining both components gives a clearer view of where cross-border demand is expanding.
How the trade mix is changing
The WTO’s 2023 composition figures put the scale of the goods sector in context. Goods accounted for 75.3% of global trade in 2023, while services accounted for 24.7%. In 2022, goods represented 77.8% and services represented 22.2%.
| Global trade component | 2022 share | 2023 share | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goods | 77.8% | 75.3% | WTO World Trade Statistics 2023 |
| Services | 22.2% | 24.7% | WTO World Trade Statistics 2023 |
The change in shares is consistent with the different growth rates reported for 2023: goods contracted by 5%, while services grew by 9%. The later WTO figure of 27.6% for services in 2025 indicates that services had an even larger role in global trade by that measurement year. Because the figures come from reports covering different years, they should be read as year-specific observations rather than as a single continuous estimate.
For companies operating internationally, the distinction affects market analysis. A goods-focused business may track merchandise volumes, production capacity, shipping, and inventory. A service business may instead follow cross-border delivery, digital access, professional contracts, or travel-related demand. The aggregate trade total is important, but the sector mix can be more informative when evaluating international expansion.
Foreign direct investment worldwide
Foreign direct investment measures longer-term international investment relationships rather than the annual value of imports and exports. UNCTAD reported that global FDI fell 2% in 2023 to US$1.3 trillion. When large swings in a few European conduit economies were excluded, the 2023 decline exceeded 10%. This qualification is important because conduit-economy transactions can make headline global totals differ substantially from underlying investment conditions.
Developing countries received US$867 billion in FDI in 2023, a decline of 7% according to the UNCTAD World Investment Report 2024. UNCTAD Data Insights reported that developing economies accounted for 57% of total world FDI inflows in 2023. The share describes the distribution of global inflows, while the US$867 billion figure describes the amount received by developing countries in the cited report.
The regional totals within developing economies were uneven. FDI flows to developing Asia fell 8% in 2023 to US$621 billion. Flows to Latin America and the Caribbean fell 1% to US$193 billion. Inflows to Africa fell 3% to US$53 billion. Least developed countries saw inflows rise to US$31 billion and received 2.4% of global FDI flows.
| 2023 investment indicator | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Global FDI | US$1.3 trillion, down 2% | UNCTAD World Investment Report 2024 |
| FDI to developing countries | US$867 billion, down 7% | UNCTAD World Investment Report 2024 |
| FDI to developing Asia | US$621 billion, down 8% | UNCTAD World Investment Report 2024 |
| FDI to Latin America and the Caribbean | US$193 billion, down 1% | UNCTAD World Investment Report 2024 |
| FDI inflows to Africa | US$53 billion, down 3% | UNCTAD World Investment Report 2024 |
| FDI to least developed countries | US$31 billion | UNCTAD World Investment Report 2024 |
Regional investment patterns
UNCTAD’s 2024 Data Insights show how regional shares changed in the following year. In 2024, Africa accounted for 6% of global FDI inflows, compared with 4% in 2023. Africa represented 11% of total FDI to developing economies in 2024, compared with 6% in 2023. These percentages describe different denominators, so they should not be directly compared as though they measured the same pool of capital.
Developing Asia attracted 70% of total FDI to developing economies in 2024 and 40% of global FDI inflows. Developing Americas accounted for 19% of FDI to developing economies and 11% of global inflows. Least developed countries attracted approximately 2% of global FDI inflows in 2024.
Greenfield project announcements provide another view of international business activity. In 2023, greenfield project announcements in developing countries increased by more than 1,000. Nearly half of those announcements were in South-East Asia, and about one quarter were in West Asia. Announcements indicate planned projects, not necessarily completed investment or realized operating capacity.
The regional distribution matters for businesses assessing location decisions. A high share of developing-economy FDI can signal concentrated investment opportunities, but the figures do not by themselves describe project quality, employment, profitability, or regulatory conditions. Those questions require additional country- and industry-level research.
Investment trends in 2024
UNCTAD’s Global Investment Trends Monitor No. 48 reported that global FDI rose 11% in 2024 to US$1.4 trillion. At the same time, excluding European conduit economies, global FDI fell 8%. The difference illustrates how headline totals can be influenced by a small number of large transactions.
Multinational transactions in conduit economies drove a 43% surge in developed-economy FDI in 2024. Without conduit-economy flows, developed-economy FDI fell 15%. The two measurements describe the same broad year but use different treatments of conduit-economy activity; both are therefore relevant when interpreting the reported 11% global increase.
Developing Asia’s FDI fell 7% in 2024. China’s FDI inflows dropped 29% for a second year, and its inflows were 40% below their 2022 peak. India’s FDI rose 13%. ASEAN FDI increased 2% to a record US$235 billion.
Africa recorded a sharp increase in the 2024 UNCTAD monitor: FDI inflows surged 84% to US$94 billion. Excluding Egypt’s megaproject, Africa’s FDI rose 23% and totaled US$50 billion. The adjusted figure demonstrates why major individual projects can materially change regional totals, even when the underlying trend is also positive.
Sustainable investment and project finance
The investment environment was weaker in several development-related categories during 2023. UNCTAD reported that FDI investment in sectors linked to the Sustainable Development Goals fell by more than 10%. Inflows into sustainable investment funds dropped 60%.
International project finance also contracted. Deal numbers fell 25% in 2023, while project finance value fell 50%. The difference between the two measures suggests that the value of deals declined more sharply than the number of deals, although the supplied figures do not identify the average deal size or the causes of the change.
These measures are useful for distinguishing broad FDI from particular forms of capital allocation. A country can receive substantial overall FDI while seeing weaker investment in sustainable-development sectors or project finance. Analysts should therefore avoid treating one global investment total as a complete description of financing conditions.
The U.S. multinational investment position
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the U.S. direct investment abroad position increased by US$206.3 billion in 2024 to US$6.83 trillion. Foreign direct investment in the United States increased by US$332.1 billion to US$5.71 trillion. These are investment positions at the end of the cited measurement period, not annual trade totals.
U.S. multinationals earned US$601.9 billion on their investments abroad in 2024. Foreign multinationals earned US$310.9 billion on their U.S. investments. The reported outward rate of return on U.S. direct investment was 9.0%, compared with an inward rate of return of 5.6% for foreign direct investment in the United States.
| U.S. direct investment measure, 2024 | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. direct investment abroad position | US$6.83 trillion | BEA Direct Investment by Country and Industry 2024 |
| Foreign direct investment position in the United States | US$5.71 trillion | BEA Direct Investment by Country and Industry 2024 |
| Earnings of U.S. multinationals abroad | US$601.9 billion | BEA Direct Investment by Country and Industry 2024 |
| Earnings of foreign multinationals in the United States | US$310.9 billion | BEA Direct Investment by Country and Industry 2024 |
| Outward rate of return | 9.0% | BEA Direct Investment by Country and Industry 2024 |
| Inward rate of return | 5.6% | BEA Direct Investment by Country and Industry 2024 |
Europe accounted for 58% of the U.S. direct investment position abroad in 2024. It accounted for 64% of the foreign direct investment position in the United States. The concentration was also visible among individual host countries: the top 10 host countries accounted for 74.4% of total U.S. direct investment abroad.
The United Kingdom was the largest host country for U.S. direct investment abroad, with US$1.02 trillion in 2024. The Netherlands was second at US$1.01 trillion, and Luxembourg was third at US$569.6 billion. These country-level positions are part of the BEA’s 2024 direct-investment accounting and should be interpreted as positions, rather than as the value of trade conducted during the year.
Taken together, the trade and investment statistics describe an international business environment with expanding global trade, a growing services share, uneven FDI conditions, and strong geographic concentration in multinational investment positions. The measurement year and the definition behind each figure remain essential when comparing markets, regions, and business models.