EU investors held €9.48 trillion in foreign direct investment (FDI) stock in countries outside the bloc at the end of 2025, down 2.3% on the previous year.
Net FDI stocks — the value of direct ownership stakes such as subsidiaries and significant shareholdings — fell from €9.70 trillion in 2024 to €9.48 trillion in 2025, Eurostat reported on Thursday.
Investment stocks held in the EU by non-EU residents also declined, slipping 2.8% to €6.99 trillion from €7.19 trillion a year earlier.
FDI stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU have been falling since 2022, when they reached €7.88 trillion — the highest level since 2013.
Where the money is concentrated
The United States accounted for the largest share of EU FDI stocks held outside the bloc, absorbing 29.4% or €2.79 trillion at the end of 2025, Eurostat said.
The UK was the second-largest destination with €1.88 trillion, or 19.8%, followed by Switzerland at €812 billion (8.6%), Brazil at €310 billion (3.3%) and Canada at €246 billion (2.6%).
In the opposite direction, the United States was also the largest source of FDI stocks held in the EU, with €2.08 trillion or 29.7%.
The UK followed with €1.26 trillion (18.1%), ahead of Switzerland with €602 billion (8.6%), the Cayman Islands with €323 billion (4.6%) and Japan with €249 billion (3.6%).
Eurostat said so-called Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) — corporate structures often used to hold assets or manage financing — made up 26.2% of total EU FDI stocks held abroad and 33.3% of FDI stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU at the end of 2025.
