Botswana has emerged as one of Africa’s strongest performers in attracting greenfield foreign direct investment, ranking 11th globally in the latest fDi Intelligence Greenfield FDI Performance Index 2026, a Financial Times-owned source of foreign direct investment data and analysis.
The ranking measures greenfield FDI projects rather than traditional FDI flows. Greenfield investment occurs when a foreign company establishes a new operation such as a factory, mine, office, data centre or renewable-energy facility, rather than buying an existing company. That distinction matters for Botswana because greenfield projects can bring new productive capacity, technology and supply-chain opportunities into an economy.
The ranking places Botswana among five African economies in the global top 15, alongside Namibia, Rwanda, Morocco and Zambia. Namibia ranked second globally, Rwanda third, Morocco seventh and Zambia eighth. Botswana recorded an index score of 3.9, meaning its share of global greenfield foreign investment projects was almost four times larger than what would be expected from the size of its economy.
However, the index should not be interpreted as a measure of the absolute size of Botswana’s foreign investment. Rather, it measures whether the country attracts more greenfield projects than its economic size would normally imply. The index, published by fDi Intelligence in July, assessed 98 economies that attracted at least 10 greenfield FDI projects during 2025. An index score above 1 means a country attracted a larger share of global greenfield projects than its share of global GDP.
‘Africa had five countries in the global top 15 for their FDI project attraction, the highest of any region,’ fDi Intelligence said, highlighting the strong showing by Morocco, Zambia and Botswana in addition to Namibia and Rwanda.
The United Arab Emirates topped the ranking with a score of 19.21, followed by Namibia at 7.74, Rwanda at 6.99 and Costa Rica at 6.5. Botswana’s 3.9 score puts it well above the global benchmark of 1. For policymakers, the result offers a positive signal at a time when Botswana is seeking to diversify its economy beyond diamonds. The challenge will be converting investment interest into projects that generate sustained employment, exports, technology transfer and stronger domestic supply chains.
A score of 1.0 means a country’s share of global projects is broadly in line with its share of global GDP. A score above 1.0 indicates that the country is outperforming its economic weight in attracting greenfield projects, while a score below 1 indicates underperformance. The 2026 edition uses 2025 investment data from fDi Markets and GDP data from the International Monetary Fund. It is therefore best understood as a measure of a country’s relative investment-attraction performance, rather than a ranking of the countries receiving the largest absolute amounts of FDI.