Foreign investments in Germany increased by around 50% year-on-year in 2025, the German Economic Institute (IW) said on Monday, as skyrocketing UK investment made up for dwindling commitment by US firms.
Direct investment by foreign businesses totalled €86 billion ($99.7 billion) last year, according to IW calculations based on data provided by the German central bank.
The figures point to a recovery after foreign investments slumped by nearly 32% in 2024, the institute said.
However, investments by US businesses decreased notably in 2025 to €11.8 billion, down by nearly 44% compared to the previous year.
The US share in total foreign investment in Germany fell from more than 36% to around 14%.
Meanwhile, investments by UK firms rose by 284% to €26 billion, making Britain the largest foreign investor in Germany with an overall share of close to 31%.
The largest share of foreign investment capital continued to come from Europe, according to the IW.
In 2025, the EU member states (excluding Germany) invested around €43 billion in Germany, accounting for just over half of all foreign investment despite representing a slight decline of 2.7%.
Including the UK, Europe accounted for more than 80% of all foreign investment.
The IW noted that direct foreign investment figures are subject to annual fluctuation and are sometimes distorted by individual large transactions.
The data are also often revised retrospectively. However, the institute still reported an 11% increase in foreign investments for 2025 compared with the median for the years 2015 to 2024.
