South Africa and Egypt rank among top emerging markets for FDI confidence in 2025
South Africa and Egypt are the only African nations to feature in the latest ranking of emerging markets for foreign direct investment (FDI) confidence in 2025, based on a survey conducted by Kearney.
South Africa saw the most significant improvement in the rankings, climbing from 11th to 7th place globally with an FDI confidence score of 1.48. It also recorded $661 million in FDI inflows during the first quarter of 2025, a 56% increase compared to the final quarter of 2024.
Egypt ranks 13th, with an FDI confidence score of 1.33, maintaining its position as one of Africa’s leading investment destinations.
Emerging markets often attract foreign investors with prospects for higher economic growth and diversification.
Globally, 11 of the top 25 emerging markets are located in Asia and the Middle East. China (including Hong Kong) continues to lead as the top destination for FDI confidence in 2025, despite a recent slowdown in capital inflows that hit multi-year lows in 2023.
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia remain in second and third place, respectively. Brazil and India, two of the largest emerging economies by GDP, round out the top five, with Brazil overtaking India in this year’s confidence rankings.