Iceland: Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Iceland's foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$) fell US$1.04 billion on 2024 (from US$384.22 million to −US$658.51 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +US$11.92 million and a typical year strayed about US$3.8 billion from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was US$7.01 billion in 2018 and the biggest yearly fall was US$14 billion in 2008. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 28% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2025, Iceland had the 167th highest value of the 174 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Iceland in the 2025 ranking

• Zambia — 164th of 174: −US$255.81 million
• Trinidad and Tobago — 165th of 174: −US$390.11 million
• Croatia — 166th of 174: −US$416.34 million
• Panama — 168th of 174: −US$870.79 million
• South Africa — 169th of 174: −US$4.01 billion
• Russian Federation — 170th of 174: −US$5.46 billion

What this measures

Foreign direct investment refers to direct investment equity flows in an economy. It is the sum of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, and other capital. Direct investment is a category of cross-border investment associated with a resident in one economy having control or a significant degree of influence on the management of an enterprise that is resident in another economy. Ownership of 10 percent or more of the ordinary shares of voting stock is the criterion for determining the existence of a direct investment relationship. This series shows net outflows of investment from the reporting economy to the rest of the world. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Limitations: FDI data do not give a complete picture of international investment in an economy. Balance of payments data on FDI do not include capital raised locally, an important source of investment financing in some developing countries. In addition, FDI data omit nonequity cross-border transactions such as intra-unit flows of goods and services. The volume of global private financial flows reported by the World Bank generally differs from that reported by other sources because of differences in sources, classification of economies, and method used to adjust and disaggregate reported information.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 50 values

Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$) in nearby economies

• Albania — US$341.64 million (2025)
• Armenia — US$74.02 million (2025)
• Austria — −US$6.07 billion (2025)
• Azerbaijan — US$910.2 million (2025)
• Belarus — US$371.08 million (2025)
• Belgium — −US$19.31 billion (2025)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — US$134.26 million (2025)
• Bulgaria — US$1.51 billion (2025)
• Croatia — −US$416.34 million (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Iceland

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$7.73 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$7.45 billion (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$38.58 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 4.96 trillion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$23.12 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 3.59 trillion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$98,324 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 12.63 million (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$58,910 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 9.14 million (2025)
• GNI (current US$)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Iceland's foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$)?

−US$658.51 million in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How does Iceland rank?

167th highest of 174 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$) unusual for Iceland?

In 2025, Iceland's foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$) fell US$1.04 billion on 2024 (from US$384.22 million to −US$658.51 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +US$11.92 million and a typical year strayed about US$3.8 billion from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator BM.KLT.DINV.CD.WD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), note: International Monetary Fund, Balance of Payments database, supplemented by data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and official national sources.; UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); Official… Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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