Foreign investment in Spain reached over €28.21 billion in 2023, the average of the last five years

Foreign investment in Spain reached over €28.21 billion in 2023, according to data published today by the Foreign Investment Register of the Secretary of State for Trade, available at DataInvex.

In an international context marked by great uncertainty, foreign investment in 2023 is at the average of the last 5 years, which shows the strength of the Spanish economy and the confidence that investors have in our country.

Of particular note is the increase in 2023 in investment projects aimed at increasing productive capacity and employment in our country, which increased by nearly 12% compared to 2022, standing at €5.68 billion. In addition, the last quarter of 2023 saw a rebound in this investment, both gross and net, which increased by 52% and 79% compared to the third quarter, respectively.

By country, the US was the leading source of investment flows to Spain (28.9%), followed by the UK (13.1%), Germany (10.6%) and France (9.2%). Investments from other countries, such as Australia, Switzerland, Canada and Mexico, increased their weight, demonstrating the diversification of confidence in our country.

By sector, 54.3% of total foreign investment in Spain went to the services sector, 42.2% to the industrial sector and 3% to construction, with investment in wholesale trade, telecommunications, electricity and fuels standing out as subsectors.

Foreign investment by autonomous community

The Community of Madrid continues to be the main destination for more than 54% of foreign investment, although its weight is down compared to the average of the last five years. Catalonia and the Valencia Community are in second and third places, respectively, with an increase in foreign investment in both regions.

Increased foreign investment in value-added projects

Spain is proving to be enormously attractive to international investors, consolidating a volume of investment attraction in of around €30 billion per year, compared to €20 billion 10 years ago, in 2014.

Our country maintains a competitive position as a preferred destination for foreign investment. As the latest 'Investment Trend Monitor' report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows, compared to a 28% drop in foreign direct investment in the main developed economies in 2023, foreign direct investment in Spain only fell by 18.5%.

Foreign direct investment in Spain has been very satisfactory in terms of volume and also in terms of quality, as can be seen in the sharp increase in investment projects for new production capacity in our country. According to the FDI Markets database of the Financial Times, Spain ranks fourth among the countries in the world with the highest number of new projects for production facilities (known as greenfield) in the period 2018-2023, behind only the US, the UK and Germany.

Much of this investment is going primarily to high value-added sectors. According to the same FDI Markets source, in 2023 Spain was the largest global recipient of greenfield projects in the renewable energy sector. It was also the 3rd country to receive the most projects involving R&D activities, the 5th country with the most projects received related to artificial intelligence and the 10th largest recipient of greenfields in the ICT and internet infrastructure sector.

Non official translation