This statistic shows the capital stock of Chinese foreign direct investments (FDI) in Africa from 2014 to 2024. In 2024, China's FDI capital stock in African countries reached approximately **** billion U.S. dollars.

This statistic shows the cash flow of Chinese foreign direct investments (FDI) to Africa from 2014 to 2024. In 2024, approximately **** billion U.S. dollars were directed from China to African countries, a decrease from around **** billion U.S. dollars in the previous year.

China Outward Investment: Africa: Ethiopia data was reported at 100.380 USD mn in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of -139.170 USD mn for 2022. China Outward Investment: Africa: Ethiopia data is updated yearly, averaging 74.290 USD mn from Dec 2003 (Median) to 2023, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 375.300 USD mn in 2019 and a record low of -139.170 USD mn in 2022. China Outward Investment: Africa: Ethiopia data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Commerce. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Investment – Table CN.OB: Outward Direct Investment: by Country.

China Outward Investment: Africa: Kenya data was reported at 191.780 USD mn in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of -322.840 USD mn for 2022. China Outward Investment: Africa: Kenya data is updated yearly, averaging 68.170 USD mn from Dec 2003 (Median) to 2023, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 629.620 USD mn in 2020 and a record low of -322.840 USD mn in 2022. China Outward Investment: Africa: Kenya data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Commerce. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Investment – Table CN.OB: Outward Direct Investment: by Country.

Chinese investment in Africa has rapidly expanded in recent years and garnered significant attention. There has been considerable concern that this investment will increase corruption in African states. However, there has been little academic scrutiny or examination of these claims. This paper proposes and tests the theory that the effect of FDI on corruption is dependent on the source country, specifically proposing and testing the hypothesis that Chinese FDI has a more detrimental effect on corruption than FDI from developed economies. By analyzing a random effects model with pooled cross-sectional, time series data on corruption and foreign direct investment from 52 African countries from 2002-2012 I show that, contrary to the theoretical prediction, investment from Chinese sources does not have a significantly different effect on corruption than foreign investment from developed countries. Though Chinese investors are less deterred by high levels of corruption, their investment in more corrupt countries does not increase overall corruption levels.

China Outward Investment: Africa: Djibouti data was reported at 3.670 USD mn in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4.230 USD mn for 2022. China Outward Investment: Africa: Djibouti data is updated yearly, averaging 4.230 USD mn from Dec 2007 (Median) to 2023, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 104.640 USD mn in 2017 and a record low of -81.060 USD mn in 2018. China Outward Investment: Africa: Djibouti data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Commerce. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Investment – Table CN.OB: Outward Direct Investment: by Country.

This statistic shows the number of Chinese enterprises abroad in 2024, by continent. At the end of 2024, there were 5,689 Chinese companies in North America, whereas 4,119 Chinese enterprises were in Latin American countries.

China (FDI) Foreign Direct Investment: Utilized: Africa: Nigeria data was reported at 6.250 USD mn in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.870 USD mn for 2016. China (FDI) Foreign Direct Investment: Utilized: Africa: Nigeria data is updated yearly, averaging 5.625 USD mn from Dec 1992 (Median) to 2017, with 26 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 55.040 USD mn in 2008 and a record low of 0.020 USD mn in 1997. China (FDI) Foreign Direct Investment: Utilized: Africa: Nigeria data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Commerce. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Investment – Table CN.OA: Foreign Direct Investment: Capital Utilized: by Country.

As of 2023, the stock of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) on the African continent was at its highest in South Africa, at over *** billion U.S. dollars. The Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigera followed with a total stock of roughly *** billion U.S. dollars and *** billion U.S. dollars, respectively. That same year, China's FDI capital stock in Africa reached approximately ** billion U.S. dollars.

China Outward Investment: Africa: Burundi data was reported at -0.780 USD mn in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2.970 USD mn for 2022. China Outward Investment: Africa: Burundi data is updated yearly, averaging 2.060 USD mn from Dec 2009 (Median) to 2023, with 13 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.610 USD mn in 2021 and a record low of -1.900 USD mn in 2019. China Outward Investment: Africa: Burundi data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Commerce. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Investment – Table CN.OB: Outward Direct Investment: by Country.

In 2024, the total stock of FDI from China in South Africa amounted to about **** billion U.S. dollars. This was an increase from **** billion U.S. dollars in the previous year.

Key information about China Direct Investment Abroad

• China Direct Investment Abroad expanded by 39.9 USD bn in Sep 2025, compared with a growth of 30.1 USD bn in the previous quarter.
• China Direct Investment Abroad: USD mn data is updated quarterly.
• It is available from Mar 1998 to Sep 2025 and averaged 15.1 USD bn throughout the period.
• The data reached an all-time high of 70.8 USD bn in Jun 2024 and a record low of -754.0 USD mn in Sep 2000.

• In the latest reports of China, Current Account recorded a surplus of 195.6 USD bn in Sep 2025.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased by 8.5 USD bn in Sep 2025.
• Its Foreign Portfolio Investment increased by 8.3 USD bn in Jun 2025.
• The country's Nominal GDP was reported at 4,953.4 USD bn in Sep 2025.

China (FDI) Foreign Direct Investment: Utilized: Africa: Kenya data was reported at 3.090 USD mn in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.060 USD mn for 2016. China (FDI) Foreign Direct Investment: Utilized: Africa: Kenya data is updated yearly, averaging 0.800 USD mn from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2017, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.090 USD mn in 2017 and a record low of 0.020 USD mn in 2015. China (FDI) Foreign Direct Investment: Utilized: Africa: Kenya data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Commerce. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Investment – Table CN.OA: Foreign Direct Investment: Capital Utilized: by Country.

Between 2014 and 2018, ** percent of FDI into Africa originated from China. Chinese direct investment on the African continent represented the main source of FDI, whereas the United States and France held ***** percent of the total FDI, respectively.

As of 2020, the total stock of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in the construction sector on the African continent amounted to ***** billion U.S. dollars. Compared to the preceding year, this was an increase in value from around ** billion U.S. dollars. Overall, Chinese FDI stock in the construction sector in Africa increased gradually and only dropped in 2019. The construction sector received the highest value of Chinese FDI in Africa in 2020.

China (FDI) Foreign Direct Investment: Utilized: Africa: Tanzania data was reported at 0.510 USD mn in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.120 USD mn for 2016. China (FDI) Foreign Direct Investment: Utilized: Africa: Tanzania data is updated yearly, averaging 0.400 USD mn from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2017, with 13 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 16.290 USD mn in 2013 and a record low of 0.080 USD mn in 2010. China (FDI) Foreign Direct Investment: Utilized: Africa: Tanzania data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Commerce. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Investment – Table CN.OA: Foreign Direct Investment: Capital Utilized: by Country.

China (FDI) Foreign Direct Investment: Utilized: Africa: Cameroon data was reported at 0.040 USD mn in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 0.050 USD mn for 2015. China (FDI) Foreign Direct Investment: Utilized: Africa: Cameroon data is updated yearly, averaging 0.185 USD mn from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2016, with 14 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5.900 USD mn in 2004 and a record low of -0.180 USD mn in 2007. China (FDI) Foreign Direct Investment: Utilized: Africa: Cameroon data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Commerce. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Investment – Table CN.OA: Foreign Direct Investment: Capital Utilized: by Country.

The data uploaded here consists of summaries of the findings of four small-scale questionnaire surveys undertaken in Addis Ababa and Kampala. These questionnaires were intended to explore the local effects of specific Chinese investments in urban infrastructure, specifically in the form of transport infrastructure and industrial parks. There were two questionnaires undertaken in Addis Ababa (on the effects of the new Light Rail Transit system on a particular neighbourhood, and on aspects of working/living conditions in a Chinese Industrial Park) and two in Kampala (on the usage of the new Kampala-Entebbe Expressway and on its consequences for a neighbourhood along the route). Being small in scale, these surveys are not intended for statistical analysis but to provide some basic indicative information relating to the Chinese-financed projects noted above. They questionnaires were used to inform and complement a range of semi-structured interviews.
Please note therefore that the data uploaded comprises only a small proportion of the overall data collected, most of which was qualitative and took the form of semi-structured interviews. See below for more detail on the data collected and why most of it is not possible to upload. If interested in discussing this data, please contact the PI.

Much of the African continent is currently undergoing an 'urban revolution': societies that until recently have been overwhelmingly rural and agriculture-based are inexorably, and often rapidly, urbanising. This has profound implications for African states and societies, especially given the limited economic base of many cities on the continent. It is also throwing up new challenges for traditional aid donors such as the World Bank, Britain and the US, who have long been inclined to focus much of their effort on rural poverty. Meanwhile, the increased engagement between emerging global powers and countries on the African continent has attracted widespread attention in recent years, particularly with respect to the role of China as an aid donor, investor and source of migrants. Some have talked of a 'new scramble for Africa' akin to that of the arrival of the European powers in the late nineteenth century, and debates about whether this is ultimately good or bad for Africans are ongoing. While there is a large and growing body of research on Chinese engagement in Africa, and considerable scholarship focusing on African urban growth patterns and urban development prospects, there is very little research exploring the interrelationship between these two trends. The urban dimension of Chinese engagement is a key issue, however, particularly as (unlike many Western donors) China has no objection to funding major urban infrastructure and construction projects and has developed a number of Special Economic Zones on the fringes of African cities. This project therefore aims to address critical gaps in existing research. It will do so by researching direct and indirect impacts of Chinese engagement in the two strategically-selected African states of Ethiopia and Uganda, with particular attention to the 'core' cities of Addis Ababa and Kampala respectively. It will also explore how interactions between Chinese agencies, other emerging powers investing in Africa, 'traditional' donors and African governments are shaping the way urban development challenges and opportunities are understood and acted upon. The research will be pursued through exploring three critical issues: the governance of urban land, particularly with respect to Chinese approaches to leasing land to finance urban development; major urban infrastructure projects and their impacts on low-income groups; and efforts to create mass industrial and service sector employment. A range of methods will be employed to build a rich picture of the impacts of Chinese urban engagement in each case, including interviews with African municipal and national governments, international donors, investors, and Chinese migrant business people; small-scale surveys and focus groups with urban communities; gathering background quantitative data; analysing policy documents and tracing ideas and discourses across international documentary material and policy fora; and undertaking co-productive urban site analysis with a range of international actors. I will undertake an institutional visit to the Lincoln Institute Centre for Urban Development and Land Policy at Peking University (PKU) as part of the research programme, liaise with institutional partners in the two research countries, and convene three workshops in strategic locations across the two-year project. As well as the academic community, the research will be of interest to local and national governments in African states, international policy makers (including a range of UN organisations), multilateral and bilateral aid donors, and development NGOs. The strategies for achieving impact are detailed in the Impact Summary and Pathways to Impact.

China Outward Investment: Africa: Senegal data was reported at 58.570 USD mn in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of -211.220 USD mn for 2022. China Outward Investment: Africa: Senegal data is updated yearly, averaging 8.750 USD mn from Dec 2003 (Median) to 2023, with 18 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 213.400 USD mn in 2020 and a record low of -211.220 USD mn in 2022. China Outward Investment: Africa: Senegal data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Commerce. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Investment – Table CN.OB: Outward Direct Investment: by Country.

As of 2020, the total stock of Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in the financial intermediation sector in Africa amounted to **** billion dollars. Compared to the preceding year, this was a drop in value from **** billion U.S. dollars. Overall, Chinese FDI stock in the financial intermediation sector in the African continent fluctuated, peaking in 2017 while being at its lowest in 2015. The construction sector recorded the highest Chinese FDI stock in 2020.