Foreign Direct Investments in the Economy of the rf Have More than Halved Due to Western Sanctions
4/16/2025
In 2022–2025, foreign direct investments (FDI) into russia’s economy decreased by 56.6 %, from $497.7 billion to $216 billion. This is the lowest level since 2009. The total amount of losses of russia’s economy due to the outflow of FDI is 282 billion US dollars.
The main reason is the curtailment of Western companies’ activities after the imposition of sanctions against the rf in 2022.
In 2022-2024, 9.5 % of foreign companies completely ceased their activities in russia, and 32.2 % reduced their work. During this time, companies from Iran, China, South Korea, and the UAE kept working. As of the first half of 2024, the biggest investors in the rf were individuals and legal entities from belarus (5131 companies), China (3763), Kyrgyzstan (1695), Kazakhstan (1063), Uzbekistan (889), Türkiye(519) and Armenia (542).
The following industries suffered the most from the decrease in investments: trade (80 % of the lost foreign investments), finance (70 %), science and technology (40 %); mining and manufacturing (20 %).
The decline in foreign direct investments is a result of Western sanctions and the increasing isolation of the russian economy. The countries “friendly” to the rf cannot compensate for the pre-war investment volumes, as the toughening of the sanctions regime and trade restrictions prevents them from expanding their business and actively cooperating with the rf.
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