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

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Iraq's foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$) fell 3.8% on 2024 (from US$438.7 million to US$421.9 million).

Across the 19 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2024), the average change was +57.6% and a typical year strayed about 110.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 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 325.3% in 2008 and the biggest yearly fall was 97.4% in 2007. 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 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$25.41 million a year. A straight line explains 41% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

How it compares

In 2025, Iraq had the 63rd 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 Iraq in the 2025 ranking

• Papua New Guinea — 60th of 174: US$538.99 million
• Kazakhstan — 61st of 174: US$468.52 million
• Kenya — 62nd of 174: US$430.24 million
• Kosovo — 64th of 174: US$415.06 million
• North Macedonia — 65th of 174: US$400.07 million
• Costa Rica — 66th of 174: US$383.56 million

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 21 values

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

• Afghanistan — US$30.79 million (2021)
• Algeria — US$47.61 million (2025)
• Bahrain — US$550 million (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — US$695.9 million (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — US$103.99 million (2025)
• Israel — US$14.72 billion (2025)
• Jordan — US$97.89 million (2025)
• Kuwait — US$2.99 billion (2025)
• Lebanon — US$265.36 million (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Iraq

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$98.45 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$73.93 billion (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$254.37 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 330.68 trillion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$188.32 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 207.34 trillion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$5,410 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 7.03 million (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$4,005 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 4.41 million (2025)
• GNI (current US$) — US$254.8 billion (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

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

US$421.9 million in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2005?

It is up 375.65% from US$88.7 million in 2005 (8.11% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$490 million in 2012 and the lowest US$7.9 million in 2007.

How does Iraq rank?

63rd highest of 174 economies with data for 2025.

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

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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