Montenegro: Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Montenegro's foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) rose 0.08 percentage points on 2024 (from 7.24% to 7.32%).

Across the 17 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2024), the average change was −1.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.87 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above 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 15.88 percentage points in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 18.95 percentage points in 2010. 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 less than 1% 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, Montenegro had the 25th highest value of the 182 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 Montenegro in the 2025 ranking

• Liberia — 22nd of 182: 9.53%
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 23rd of 182: 8.87%
• Lao PDR — 24th of 182: 7.68%
• St. Lucia — 26th of 182: 7.3%
• Dominica — 27th of 182: 6.84%
• Nicaragua — 28th of 182: 6.76%

What this measures

Foreign direct investment is the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest (10 percent or more of voting stock) in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor. It is the sum of equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in the balance of payments. This series shows net inflows (new investment inflows less disinvestment) in the reporting economy from foreign investors, and is divided by GDP.

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 weighted average.

All 19 values

Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Albania — 6.06% (2025)
• Armenia — 2.42% (2025)
• Austria — -2.02% (2025)
• Azerbaijan — 0.49% (2025)
• Belarus — 1.76% (2025)
• Belgium — -3.97% (2025)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 2.61% (2025)
• Bulgaria — 3.73% (2025)
• Croatia — 2.85% (2025)
• Cyprus

More economic policy & debt data for Montenegro

• Adjusted savings, mineral depletion (current US$) — US$651,532 (2021)
• Medium and high-tech manufacturing value added (% manufacturing value added) — 14.86% (2024)
• Adjusted savings, carbon dioxide damage (current US$) — US$105.26 million (2021)
• GDP (current US$) — US$9.23 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 8.17 billion (2025)
• GDP, linked series (current LCU) — 8.17 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$5.47 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 4.66 billion (2025)
• GDP, PPP (current international $) — 22.07 billion (2025)
• GDP, PPP (constant 2021 international $)

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 Montenegro's foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP)?

7.32% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2007?

It is down 18.13 percentage points from 25.45% in 2007. The highest value was 37.27% in 2009 and the lowest 5.2% in 2016.

How does Montenegro rank?

25th highest of 182 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) unusual for Montenegro?

In 2025, Montenegro's foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) rose 0.08 percentage points on 2024 (from 7.24% to 7.32%). Across the 17 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2024), the average change was −1.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.87 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above 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 BX.KLT.DINV.WD.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics and Balance of Payments databases, International Monetary Fund (IMF); International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB); World Bank GDP estimates, World Bank (WB); OECD GDP estimates, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.