Australia invests substantial amounts of money in other economies. At the end of 2023, the total amount of Australian money invested overseas was valued at $3.8 trillion.
Where does Australia invest?
The United States and the United Kingdom remain the two largest destination economies for Australian investment. At the end of 2023, Australian investments in the US totalled $1.2 trillion and our investment in the UK was valued at $732 billion.
Australian investment in Asia has increased dramatically over the past decade. Between 2013 and 2023, the value of our investments into major Asian economies (China, Hong Kong (SAR of China), India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Taiwan and all ASEAN members) has doubled from $221 billion to $442 billion.
The table below shows the top 20 economies where Australia invests (as at the end of 2023). Totals are in A$ billion and represent total investment, which includes direct, portfolio and other types of investment.
Where does Australia invest?
| 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 | 1,115.0 | 1,065.2 | 1,196.0 | 31.3 | 12.3 | 10.2 |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 528.6 | 822.9 | 732.1 | 19.2 | -11.0 | 11.3 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 104.1 | 153.7 | 172.0 | 4.5 | 11.9 | 9.5 |
| 4 | Japan | 129.1 | 126.0 | 135.5 | 3.5 | 7.6 | 2.0 |
| 5 | Canada | 92.2 | 106.2 | 109.2 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 6.6 |
| 6 | Cayman Islands | 95.0 | 105.2 | 101.9 | 2.7 | -3.2 | 6.2 |
| 7 | France | 65.4 | 81.0 | 91.2 | 2.4 | 12.6 | 12.0 |
| 8 | Germany | 101.5 | 72.8 | 83.2 | 2.2 | 14.2 | -0.5 |
| 9 | Singapore | 59.3 | 74.2 | 75.9 | 2.0 | 2.3 | -0.9 |
| 10 | Hong Kong (SAR of China) | 63.8 | 77.3 | 74.7 | 2.0 | -3.4 | 4.2 |
| 11 | Ireland | 49.8 | 48.8 | 68.2 | 1.8 | 39.8 | 33.6 |
| 12 | Netherlands | 51.6 | 57.6 | 56.5 | 1.5 | -1.8 | 5.7 |
| 13 | China | 70.2 | 59.7 | 55.3 | 1.4 | -7.3 | -7.8 |
| 14 | Bermuda | 39.4 | 42.1 | 41.7 | 1.1 | -1.0 | 2.0 |
| 15 | Switzerland | 35.7 | 37.1 | 40.1 | 1.0 | 8.1 | 7.2 |
| 16 | Luxembourg | 22.5 | 27.4 | 31.1 | 0.8 | 13.5 | 9.1 |
| 17 | Republic of Korea | 27.3 | 27.3 | 29.8 | 0.8 | 9.4 | 6.8 |
| 18 | Papua New Guinea | 24.9 | 25.8 | 26.4 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 11.0 |
| 19 | Taiwan | 20.7 | 17.3 | 22.9 | 0.6 | 32.6 | 13.3 |
| 20 | India | 20.4 | 18.0 | 22.2 | 0.6 | 23.9 | 5.0 |
| - | All economies | 3,321.7 | 3,652.6 | 3,822.9 | 100.0 | 4.7 | 8.2 |
Based on ABS catalogue 5352.0.
Last updated: June 2024.
How does this compare with other economies?
Australia is the 15th-largest international foreign direct investor globally.
The table below shows how our level of direct outward investment compared with other economies in 2023. Yearly values are in US$ billion.
Economies ranked by direct foreign outward 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 | 9,667.6 | 7,982.8 | 9,433.9 | 21.3 | 18.2 | 6.8 |
| 2 | Netherlands | 3,626.6 | 3,395.4 | 3,386.3 | 7.6 | -0.3 | 9.8 |
| 3 | China | 2,785.2 | 2,754.8 | 2,939.1 | 6.6 | 6.7 | 8.1 |
| 4 | Canada | 2,402.1 | 2,287.8 | 2,746.9 | 6.2 | 20.1 | 12.2 |
| 5 | Germany | 2,135.6 | 2,078.0 | 2,179.2 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.9 |
| 6 | Japan | 1,935.7 | 1,948.6 | 2,132.6 | 4.8 | 9.4 | 5.4 |
| 7 | United Kingdom | 2,376.9 | 2,168.5 | 2,124.2 | 4.8 | -2.0 | 2.1 |
| 8 | Hong Kong (SAR of China) | 1,999.5 | 1,975.5 | 2,028.5 | 4.6 | 2.7 | 2.4 |
| 9 | Singapore | 1,560.6 | 1,638.6 | 1,792.3 | 4.0 | 9.4 | 12.3 |
| 10 | Luxembourg | 1,878.1 | 1,594.8 | 1,679.1 | 3.8 | 5.3 | 44.7 |
| 11 | France | 1,563.8 | 1,544.5 | 1,635.7 | 3.7 | 5.9 | 1.9 |
| 12 | Switzerland | 1,473.9 | 1,316.3 | 1,473.0 | 3.3 | 11.9 | 0.4 |
| 13 | Ireland | 1,489.6 | 1,200.1 | 1,336.4 | 3.0 | 11.4 | 5.9 |
| 14 | Belgium | 717.8 | 685.5 | 770.5 | 1.7 | 12.4 | 5.6 |
| 15 | Australia | 624.9 | 655.3 | 710.6 | 1.6 | 8.4 | 6.4 |
| 16 | Malta | 464.8 | 477.3 | 695.9 | 1.6 | 45.8 | 73.3 |
| 17 | Republic of Korea | 605.1 | 647.6 | 682.0 | 1.5 | 5.3 | 11.5 |
| 18 | Spain | 557.6 | 567.9 | 630.2 | 1.4 | 11.0 | 1.7 |
| 19 | Italy | 561.8 | 558.6 | 584.0 | 1.3 | 4.5 | 0.6 |
| 20 | Sweden | 469.8 | 519.6 | 527.2 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 7.2 |
| - | Other economies | 4,489.4 | 4,572.1 | 4,893.0 | 11.0 | 7.0 | 1.9 |
| - | All economies | 43,385.9 | 40,569.6 | 44,380.6 | 100.0 | 9.4 | 3.7 |
Source: UNCTAD World Investment Report - Annex tables.
Last Updated: July 2024.