Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa jumped by a record 75% in 2024, according to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2025.

The increase was driven by a $35-billion megaproject backed by the United Arab Emirates, which aims to transform a stretch of the country’s Mediterranean coastline into a major tourism, residential, business and financial hub. The size of the investment made Egypt the top African recipient of foreign direct investment and the ninth-largest globally.

Meanwhile, South Africa, which typically vies with Egypt for the top spot for foreign direct investment, fell to seventh place, behind Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

South Africa’s strong showing in 2021 was largely due to a one-off share exchange between Prosus NV and Naspers, which inflated its foreign investment figures.

Angola’s FDI has been in negative territory for the past few years due to the repatriation of investments by foreign companies, especially in the oil sector.