In 2025, Germany appears to have experienced a significant surge in foreign direct investment. According to the German Economic Institute (IW), foreign companies poured roughly €96 billion into the country, more than doubling the €43 billion invested the previous year. This marks the first time in several years that inflows from abroad have exceeded the outflows of German firms investing overseas.
Based on figures from the Deutsche Bundesbank, the IW estimates that the net balance of foreign direct investment in 2025 was around €10 billion in favor of Germany. Excluding the special circumstances of the first COVID‑19 year, this is the first surplus since 2003. Over the period from 2000 to 2024, German companies have been a net outflow of about €25 billion per year on average.
Jürgen Matthes, a trade researcher at the IW, emphasized that Germany’s predictability is increasingly valuable in an uncertain global environment. He warned that President Donald Trump’s unpredictable threats could harm not only Germany’s partners but also the U.S. economy in general. Matthes argued that legal certainty and calculability give Germany a competitive edge as a location for investment.
