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ABU DHABI — The United Arab Emirates continues to attract substantial international investment, with foreign direct investment inflows reaching a record US$48.3 billion (AED 177.3 billion) in 2025. The figure represented a 6% year-on-year increase and marked the fourth consecutive year of record FDI inflows.

The latest figures placed the UAE ninth globally among destinations for inbound FDI. The country also recorded 1,562 greenfield investment projects, maintaining its position as the world's second-largest destination by number of greenfield projects for a third consecutive year, according to the UAE Ministry of Investment.

Investment was spread across several growth areas. Manufacturing accounted for about 30% of greenfield FDI capital expenditure, while communications accounted for approximately 29%, driven in part by data-centre and artificial-intelligence infrastructure. Real estate was another important area, supported by continued demand linked to population and wealth migration.

The UAE's investment activity also generated an estimated 65,000-plus jobs through greenfield FDI projects in 2025, across areas including transportation and warehousing, business services, software and IT, automotive manufacturing, financial services and communications.

Dubai has also recorded strong investment activity. According to Dubai government data based on Financial Times' fDi Markets database, the emirate announced 1,253 greenfield FDI projects in 2025, a 10.5% increase from 2024, and accounted for a record 7% share of global greenfield FDI projects.

Looking ahead, the National Investment Strategy 2031 sets a target of raising annual inbound FDI to US$65 billion (AED240 billion) and increasing total FDI stock to AED2.2 trillion (about US$600 billion) by 2031.