At the end of 2011, the EU27 held Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stocks of 4 983 billion euro in the rest of the world, while stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU27 amounted to 3 807 bn, meaning that the EU27 is a net investor in the rest of the world. Both stocks held by the EU27 and those held by the rest of the world have risen steadily between 2008 and 2011, increasing by about 50%, while EU27 stocks held in another Member State have risen by around 20% during the same period. It should be noted however that stocks held in the rest of the world represent about 40% of total EU27 FDI stocks, with 60% held in another EU Member State.

FDI stocks help to quantify the impact of globalisation and provide a measurement of longstanding economic links between countries. They measure the accumulated value of all FDI carried out in the past. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

United States and Switzerland are the main partners of the EU27

As regards EU27 FDI stocks in the rest of the world, the main destinations at the end of 2011 were the United States (1 421 bn euro or 29% of total stocks held by the EU27), Switzerland (598 bn or 12%), Brazil (239 bn or 5%), Canada (222 bn or 4%), Russia (167 bn or 3%), Australia (125 bn or 3%), Hong Kong (124 bn or 2%), Singapore (123 bn or 2%) and China (102 bn or 2%).

As regards FDI stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU27, the leading partners are similar, the main investors being the United States (1 344 bn euro or 35% of total stocks held by the rest of the world), Switzerland (467 bn or 12%), Japan (144 bn or 4%), Canada (138 bn or 4%), Brazil (78 bn or 2%), Norway (75 bn or 2%), Singapore (67 bn or 2%), Hong Kong (64 bn or 2%) and Russia (53 bn or 1%).