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Direct Investment by Country and Industry, 2023
The U.S. direct investment abroad position, or cumulative level of investment, increased $364.0 billion to $6.68 trillion at the end of 2023, according to statistics released today by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The increase reflected a $147.1 billion increase in the position in Europe (chart 1), primarily in Ireland, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. By industry, holding company affiliates had the largest increase.
The foreign direct investment in the United States position increased $227.0 billion to $5.39 trillion at the end of 2023. The increase mainly reflected a $96.0 billion increase in the position from Canada and an $86.1 billion increase from Europe, primarily a $58.9 billion increase from Germany. By industry, affiliates in manufacturing increased the most, increasing $58.6 billion to a total investment position of $2.22 trillion.
U.S. direct investment abroad (tables 1 – 6)
U.S. multinational enterprises (MNEs) invest in nearly every country, but their investment in affiliates in five countries accounted for more than half of the total U.S. direct investment abroad position at the end of 2023. The position was largest in the United Kingdom ($1,057.6 billion), followed by the Netherlands ($980.4 billion) and Luxembourg ($532.5 billion). Ireland ($491.2 billion) and Canada ($451.6 billion) rounded out the top five.
By industry of the directly owned foreign affiliate, investment was largest in holding companies, which accounted for 48.8 percent of the overall position abroad in 2023. Manufacturing affiliates were second largest, with 14.9 percent, and finance and insurance affiliates were third largest, with 13.6 percent, of U.S. investment. By industry of the U.S. parent, investment by manufacturing MNEs accounted for 50.6 percent of the position, followed by MNEs in finance and insurance (15.0 percent).
U.S. MNEs earned income of $577.2 billion in 2023 on their cumulative investment abroad, a 2.3 percent increase from 2022. Dividends, or repatriated profits, decreased $61.1 billion, or 17.6 percent, to $285.3 billion in 2023.
Foreign direct investment in the United States (tables 7 – 10)
By country of the foreign parent, four countries accounted for half of the total foreign direct investment in the United States position at the end of 2023. The Netherlands was the top investing country with a position of $717.5 billion, followed by Japan ($688.1 billion), Canada ($671.6 billion), and the United Kingdom ($630.1 billion).
By country of the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO), the entity at the top of the global ownership chain, Japan ($783.3 billion) remained the top investing country in terms of position at the end of 2023. Canada ($749.6 billion) was second, and Germany ($657.8 billion) moved up one position to replace the United Kingdom ($635.6 billion) as the third-largest investing country. On the UBO basis, investment from the Netherlands and Luxembourg was much lower than by the country of foreign parent, indicating that much of the investment from foreign parents in these countries was ultimately owned by investors in other countries.
Foreign direct investment in the United States was concentrated in the U.S. manufacturing sector, which accounted for 41.2 percent of the position. There was also sizable investment in finance and insurance (10.6 percent) and wholesale trade (10.0 percent). Foreign MNEs earned income of $268.6 billion in 2023 on their cumulative investment in the United States, a 7.0 percent decrease from 2022.
| Table A. Updates to Previously Published Statistics1 [Billions of dollars] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. direct investment abroad | Foreign direct investment in the United States | |||
| Previously published | Revised | Previously published | Revised | |
| 2021 | 6,369 | 6,230 | 5,038 | 5,066 |
| 2022 | 6,581 | 6,313 | 5,255 | 5,167 |
| 1. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis statistics for U.S. direct investment abroad and foreign direct investment in the United States for 2021–2022 are revised with this release to incorporate newly available and revised source data. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis | ||||
Next release: July 2025
Direct Investment by Country and Industry, 2024
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