Switzerland ranked 13th globally for foreign direct investment

Switzerland is ranked in 13th place globally in terms of the most attractive countries for foreign direct investment. This is based on the Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index produced by the Zurich-based corporate consulting firm Kearney. The survey, which in 2024 has been carried out in 30 different countries, reflects the views of executives in global companies with annual revenues of at least 500 million US dollars.

Four European countries are ranked ahead of Switzerland: Germany in 5th place, France ranked 6th, Spain in 9th and Italy ranked 11th. Once again, the USA takes top spot – a position it has maintained for the past 12 years in succession. Thereafter come Canada and China, which has leapt from 7th place last year to 3rd in the current rankings. Japan made the same move in reverse by falling from 3rd to 7th position.

On balance, the survey reveals investors’ preference for developed markets, according to the study. However, emerging economies continue to be increasingly represented in the list, with the United Arab Emirates (improvement from 18th place to 8th) and Saudi Arabia (24th to 14th) experiencing “meteoric rises”.

In the optimism ranking, Switzerland is listed in 15th place. This offers insights into how a country’s economic prospects are perceived over the next three years. Accordingly, 10 percent of respondents were rather pessimistic about Switzerland, although in contrast 40 percent were rather optimistic. “A striking 88 percent” of respondents said that they are planning to increase their foreign direct investment activities over the next three years, which reflects a rise of 6 percent versus last year. ce/mm