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IW analysis: Foreign investment in Germany rises 50%
🇩🇪 Germany /Economy & Trade

IW analysis: Foreign investment in Germany rises 50%

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Documents & data Context piece
  • Foreign companies invested about 86 billion euros in Germany in 2025, a 50% increase from 2024 and nearly 11% above the 2015-24 median.
  • The figures, based on Bundesbank data, followed a 32% decline in foreign investment in 2024.
  • U.S. investment fell nearly 44% to 11.8 billion euros, reducing the U.S. share of total foreign investment from more than 36% to about 14%.

Foreign companies invested about 86 billion euros in Germany in 2025, according to an analysis by the Cologne-based Institute for Economic Research. The figure marked a sharp rebound from the previous year and stood nearly 11% above the median for 2015 to 2024.

The analysis, based on Bundesbank data, found that foreign investment had fallen by almost 32% in 2024 before stabilizing last year. IW economist Samina Sultan said investment flows could vary widely from year to year and might be distorted by individual large transactions. The figures can also be revised up or down later.

After the almost 32% decline in 2024, foreign investment stabilized again.

— Samina SultanThe IW economist described the change in investment flows between 2024 and 2025.

The biggest change concerned where the capital came from. U.S. companies invested only 11.8 billion euros in Germany in 2025, almost 44% less than in 2024. As a result, the U.S. share of all foreign investment dropped from more than 36% to roughly 14%.

“The countries of origin of the capital shifted significantly in 2025,” Sultan told Reuters. The analysis was still being updated.

The countries of origin of the capital shifted significantly in 2025.

— Samina SultanSultan highlighted the sharp change in the geographic sources of investment.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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