Foreign economies had a total of $4.7 trillion invested in Australia at the end of 2023.
Which economies invest in Australia?
The United States and United Kingdom are the biggest investors in Australia, followed by Belgium, Japan and Hong Kong (SAR of China).
China is our tenth largest foreign investor, with 1.9 per cent of the total. However, the levels of investment in Australia from Hong Kong (SAR of China) and China have grown significantly over the past decade.
The table below shows the top 20 foreign investors in Australia at the end of 2023. Yearly values are in A$ billion and represent total investment, which includes direct, portfolio and other types of investment.
Which economies invest in Australia?
| Rank in 2023 | Economy | 2021 (A$ billion) | 2022 (A$ billion) | 2023 (A$ billion) | % of total | % change 2022 to 2023 | 5-year trend % growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 1,052.8 | 1,097.0 | 1,170.7 | 25.1 | 6.7 | 3.9 |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 680.3 | 964.4 | 879.0 | 18.9 | -8.9 | 7.5 |
| 3 | Belgium (a) | 394.0 | 359.2 | 379.1 | 8.1 | 5.5 | 2.8 |
| 4 | Japan | 255.8 | 258.8 | 265.2 | 5.7 | 2.5 | 2.2 |
| 5 | Hong Kong (SAR of China) | 130.5 | 138.6 | 146.6 | 3.1 | 5.7 | 1.9 |
| 6 | Singapore | 124.9 | 150.3 | 140.8 | 3.0 | -6.3 | 10.8 |
| 7 | Luxembourg | 92.2 | 88.5 | 103.9 | 2.2 | 17.3 | 3.7 |
| 8 | Canada | 76.0 | 104.7 | 103.8 | 2.2 | -0.9 | 15.9 |
| 9 | Netherlands | 90.1 | 90.6 | 91.7 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 1.6 |
| 10 | China | 95.0 | 87.8 | 88.0 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 4.6 |
| 11 | New Zealand | 68.8 | 73.1 | 79.5 | 1.7 | 8.7 | 8.2 |
| 12 | Switzerland | 74.6 | 76.9 | 76.2 | 1.6 | -1.0 | 8.9 |
| 13 | Germany | 50.5 | 51.6 | 53.6 | 1.2 | 4.0 | 2.3 |
| 14 | France | 43.5 | 52.4 | 51.2 | 1.1 | -2.3 | 4.2 |
| 15 | India | 29.2 | np | 47.3 | 1.0 | .. | .. |
| 16 | Bermuda | 44.8 | 47.9 | 47.1 | 1.0 | -1.6 | 0.7 |
| 17 | Ireland | 40.5 | 38.9 | 42.5 | 0.9 | 9.1 | 11.6 |
| 18 | Norway | 28.6 | 30.4 | 33.1 | 0.7 | 8.9 | 9.9 |
| 19 | Republic of Korea | 29.8 | 28.1 | 29.3 | 0.6 | 4.2 | -1.7 |
| 20 | Malaysia | 19.6 | 19.8 | 24.9 | 0.5 | 25.9 | 0.6 |
| - | All economies | 4,160.3 | 4,596.7 | 4,659.5 | 100.0 | 1.4 | 5.1 |
(a) The majority of total investment from Belgium is portfolio investment liabilities in the form of debt securities (Belgium hosts a major clearing house and depository for euro-denominated bonds and other securities, Euroclear).
np = not publish ..= not meaningful
Based on ABS catalogue 5352.0.
Last Updated: June 2024.
How does this compare with other economies?
Australia attracts the 16th-highest amount of direct foreign inward investment in the world.
The table below shows how our level of direct inward investment compared with other economies in 2023. Year-ending values are in US$ billion.
Economies ranked by direct foreign inward investment
| Rank in 2023 | Economy | 2021 (US$ billion) | 2022 (US$ billion) | 2023 (US$ billion) | % of total | % change 2022 to 2023 | 5-year trend % growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 12,891.7 | 10,383.9 | 12,817.1 | 26.1 | 23.4 | 10.4 |
| 2 | China | 3,633.3 | 3,496.4 | 3,659.6 | 7.4 | 4.7 | 21.2 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 2,690.0 | 2,718.9 | 3,048.9 | 6.2 | 12.1 | 8.5 |
| 4 | Netherlands | 2,840.8 | 2,775.6 | 2,678.2 | 5.5 | -3.5 | 15.0 |
| 5 | Singapore | 2,224.2 | 2,327.0 | 2,632.4 | 5.4 | 13.1 | 11.2 |
| 6 | Hong Kong (SAR of China) | 1,957.4 | 2,008.2 | 2,107.0 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 1.8 |
| 7 | Canada | 1,548.8 | 1,496.0 | 1,665.8 | 3.4 | 11.3 | 9.4 |
| 8 | Ireland | 1,424.2 | 1,369.2 | 1,410.1 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 5.4 |
| 9 | Luxembourg | 1,515.8 | 1,155.7 | 1,183.7 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 47.9 |
| 10 | Switzerland | 1,100.4 | 1,038.0 | 1,136.8 | 2.3 | 9.5 | 0.1 |
| 11 | Germany | 1,105.4 | 1,091.6 | 1,128.3 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
| 12 | UK Virgin Islands | 990.2 | 1,028.4 | 1,068.2 | 2.2 | 3.9 | 4.3 |
| 13 | France | 944.6 | 947.2 | 1,012.7 | 2.1 | 6.9 | 4.5 |
| 14 | Brazil | 729.6 | 878.1 | 997.6 | 2.0 | 13.6 | 11.1 |
| 15 | Spain | 799.1 | 812.7 | 897.3 | 1.8 | 10.4 | 5.0 |
| 16 | Australia | 763.6 | 776.8 | 807.4 | 1.6 | 3.9 | 2.6 |
| 17 | Mexico | 592.2 | 662.7 | 778.4 | 1.6 | 17.5 | 7.7 |
| 18 | Malta | 478.8 | 491.5 | 725.7 | 1.5 | 47.7 | 31.2 |
| 19 | Cayman Islands | 548.3 | 572.9 | 601.1 | 1.2 | 4.9 | 4.9 |
| 20 | Belgium | 563.8 | 531.0 | 578.0 | 1.2 | 8.8 | 1.0 |
| - | Other economies | 7,814.0 | 7,813.4 | 8,196.6 | 16.7 | 4.9 | 2.6 |
| - | All economies | 47,156.1 | 44,375.1 | 49,130.8 | 100.0 | 10.7 | 4.5 |
Source: UNCTAD World Investment Report - Annex tables. Last Updated: July 2024.