UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2026, released on July 7, 2026, reports that global foreign direct investment rose 6% to USD 1.6 trillion in 2025, ending two consecutive years of decline. The recovery is fragile and uneven: inflows to developed economies rose 11%, while developing economies recorded only 2% growth, reaching USD 901 billion. The top 20 host economies attracted more than 80% of global flows, and strategic sectors (AI infrastructure and AI-related technologies, advanced and sensitive technologies, semiconductors, energy transition technologies and services, and critical minerals) accounted for 44% of global greenfield project values, up from 16% in 2020. Africa received USD 70 billion, one third above its 2010 to 2024 average but below an exceptional 2024, while least developed countries received USD 43 billion, only 2.7% of global flows. UNCTAD calls on governments to accelerate investment agreement reform, preserving the right to regulate while placing sustainable development at the centre of treaties. The data confirms that investment is being redirected by industrial policy and security screening toward a narrow set of economies and sectors, deepening the marginalization of most developing countries.