World Bank Group · Gross Capital Formation (% of GDP)
Investment (gross capital formation) by country
What share of output does a country invest rather than consume?
Of the 131 countries compared in 2025, Algeria had the highest reading, 45.267%, and Equatorial Guinea had the lowest reading, -3.679%. In the middle country the figure was 22.932%. Among the 74 countries measured in every edition since 1970, the middle one moved from 22.056% to 22.629%.
Share
Investment (gross capital formation) · 2025
Context statistic
Highest of 131Algeria
45.267%012025 · position · derived
The highest and the lowest
The three countries with the highest values of 131 compared, the three with the lowest, and the highest on each continent. This statistic has no better end, so no country is shown as leading.
- 1
- 2
- 3
Lowest in 2025
- 131
Equatorial Guinea-3.679% - 130
Sudan0.734% - 129
Djibouti1.550%
Positions out of 131. This statistic has no better end: the two ends describe size, not success.
02Every measured country
Investment (gross capital formation) on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a higher value. This statistic has no better end, so the shades describe size, not success.
- -3.679–17.407%
- 17.887–21.931%
- 21.938–24.347%
- 24.461–29.157%
- 29.385–45.267%
- No reading in 2025 (55 measured in an earlier edition)
- Asia
27.546%
the middle country, of 28 measured · 52 members
Iran41.773%
Macau12.251%Highest and lowest reading in Asia.
- Europe
22.932%
the middle country, of 39 measured · 49 members
Kosovo34.600%
Luxembourg15.502%Highest and lowest reading in Europe.
- Africa
20.357%
the middle country, of 43 measured · 55 members
Algeria45.267%Equatorial Guinea-3.679%Highest and lowest reading in Africa.
- Americas
20.339%
the middle country, of 19 measured · 48 members
El Salvador26.332%
Venezuela5.927%Highest and lowest reading in Americas.
- Oceania
2 of 21 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, Samoa.
Samoa30.036%
Australia24.461%Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.
- Every region
20 sub-regions, highest middle country first
- Southern Asia
29.525%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 9 members
Iran41.773%
Pakistan14.283%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.
- South-eastern Asia
24.807%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 11 members
Cambodia31.524%
Malaysia20.461%Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Western Africa
24.505%
the middle country, of 12 measured · 16 members
Mauritania44.327%
Burkina Faso17.222%Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.
- Western Asia
24.279%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 19 members
Türkiye31.667%
Azerbaijan18.888%Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.
- Central America
23.388%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 8 members
El Salvador26.332%
Costa Rica15.785%Highest and lowest reading in Central America.
- Eastern Europe
23.169%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Belarus27.122%
Poland17.887%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Northern Europe
23.073%
the middle country, of 10 measured · 13 members
Iceland26.574%
United Kingdom19.688%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Europe.
- Southern Europe
22.815%
the middle country, of 12 measured · 17 members
Kosovo34.600%
Greece17.244%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.
- Western Europe
21.938%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
Switzerland29.488%Luxembourg15.502%Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.
- Eastern Africa
20.120%
the middle country, of 13 measured · 19 members
Tanzania40.682%Djibouti1.550%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Middle Africa
19.850%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 9 members
DR Congo31.653%Equatorial Guinea-3.679%Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.
- South America
17.076%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 12 members
Paraguay25.287%Venezuela5.927%Highest and lowest reading in South America.
- Northern Africa
14.752%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 6 members
Algeria45.267%Sudan0.734%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.
- Australia and New Zealand
1 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia.
Australia24.461%Highest and lowest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Caribbean
3 of 24 measured — too few for a middle: Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico.
Dominican Republic24.704%
Haiti12.060%Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.
- Central Asia
2 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan33.278%
Kyrgyzstan27.965%Highest and lowest reading in Central Asia.
- Eastern Asia
4 of 8 measured — too few for a middle: Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia, South Korea.
Mongolia31.413%Macau12.251%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Northern America
1 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada.
Canada23.154%Highest and lowest reading in Northern America.
- Polynesia
1 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Samoa.
Samoa30.036%Highest and lowest reading in Polynesia.
- Southern Africa
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa.
Lesotho31.233%
South Africa13.871%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Africa.
03The whole field at once
The spread
131 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 22.932%; a quarter are above 27.125%, and a quarter below 19.074%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 186 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first. “=” marks a position shared with another country. World Bank Group ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. A high investment rate describes what an economy is doing with its output, not how well it is doing it, so neither end of this table is better than the other. The ordering is a reading convention rather than a league table, and the indicator carries no good-or-bad colouring anywhere on the site.
Showing 25 of 186 countries
Values for 2025. The change column compares 2025 with 2024 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
051970–2025 · 56 reference years
Over time
Each point is one reference year from 1970.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 74 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 131 | 22.932% | 19.074% – 27.125% | 22.629% |
| 2024 | 169 | 23.119% | 19.168% – 26.845% | 22.754% |
| 2023 | 174 | 22.982% | 19.310% – 27.410% | 22.975% |
| 2022 | 175 | 24.201% | 19.716% – 27.764% | 24.112% |
| 2021 | 175 | 23.084% | 18.908% – 28.141% | 23.430% |
| 2020 | 175 | 22.347% | 18.008% – 27.543% | 21.541% |
| 2019 | 174 | 23.241% | 19.379% – 27.624% | 22.670% |
| 2018 | 176 | 23.004% | 19.627% – 27.964% | 22.873% |
| 2017 | 176 | 23.366% | 19.660% – 27.820% | 22.785% |
| 2016 | 176 | 23.181% | 19.277% – 28.576% | 22.612% |
| 2015 | 177 | 23.860% | 19.480% – 28.416% | 23.004% |
| 2014 | 175 | 23.134% | 19.379% – 28.600% | 22.869% |
| 2013 | 174 | 23.488% | 19.045% – 28.994% | 22.669% |
| 2012 | 172 | 24.066% | 19.135% – 28.825% | 23.599% |
| 2011 | 171 | 23.620% | 19.365% – 27.810% | 23.414% |
| 2010 | 171 | 23.142% | 19.526% – 28.368% | 22.410% |
| 2009 | 171 | 22.326% | 18.672% – 28.655% | 21.175% |
| 2008 | 170 | 25.706% | 21.038% – 31.557% | 24.097% |
| 2007 | 168 | 24.755% | 20.521% – 30.501% | 23.432% |
| 2006 | 166 | 23.494% | 19.539% – 28.591% | 22.398% |
| 2005 | 165 | 22.931% | 18.888% – 27.623% | 21.668% |
| 2004 | 162 | 22.660% | 18.776% – 26.542% | 21.439% |
| 2003 | 161 | 21.988% | 18.429% – 26.051% | 21.055% |
| 2002 | 160 | 21.586% | 18.529% – 25.185% | 20.818% |
| 2001 | 159 | 22.253% | 18.617% – 26.150% | 21.981% |
| 2000 | 158 | 22.238% | 18.140% – 26.070% | 22.274% |
| 1999 | 154 | 21.594% | 17.696% – 26.267% | 21.978% |
| 1998 | 154 | 22.797% | 18.718% – 27.376% | 22.877% |
| 1997 | 152 | 22.267% | 18.012% – 26.462% | 22.165% |
| 1996 | 152 | 22.278% | 18.530% – 27.213% | 21.695% |
| 1995 | 151 | 21.939% | 18.191% – 26.734% | 21.421% |
| 1994 | 142 | 21.772% | 17.599% – 26.988% | 21.819% |
| 1993 | 141 | 20.685% | 17.031% – 27.250% | 20.999% |
| 1992 | 137 | 21.600% | 17.785% – 27.861% | 21.975% |
| 1991 | 135 | 22.145% | 16.852% – 27.363% | 21.845% |
| 1990 | 135 | 23.332% | 17.786% – 28.991% | 23.310% |
| 1989 | 122 | 23.230% | 16.970% – 27.980% | 23.960% |
| 1988 | 121 | 22.778% | 17.765% – 26.751% | 23.201% |
| 1987 | 120 | 22.416% | 17.151% – 25.677% | 22.377% |
| 1986 | 119 | 21.680% | 18.049% – 25.725% | 21.705% |
| 1985 | 118 | 21.690% | 17.647% – 27.012% | 21.517% |
| 1984 | 118 | 22.239% | 17.102% – 27.487% | 22.448% |
| 1983 | 117 | 22.375% | 18.042% – 28.891% | 22.253% |
| 1982 | 115 | 24.965% | 19.336% – 30.872% | 24.041% |
| 1981 | 114 | 25.315% | 20.672% – 32.271% | 24.836% |
| 1980 | 111 | 26.536% | 20.043% – 30.836% | 26.233% |
| 1979 | 99 | 25.607% | 19.977% – 29.669% | 25.265% |
| 1978 | 100 | 24.697% | 21.125% – 29.572% | 24.410% |
| 1977 | 100 | 24.552% | 20.105% – 29.390% | 24.353% |
| 1976 | 99 | 24.774% | 19.406% – 29.211% | 23.824% |
| 1975 | 96 | 23.506% | 19.201% – 28.978% | 23.242% |
| 1974 | 94 | 25.204% | 18.090% – 30.562% | 25.585% |
| 1973 | 94 | 23.069% | 16.869% – 27.762% | 23.121% |
| 1972 | 94 | 21.936% | 16.797% – 28.055% | 21.936% |
| 1971 | 94 | 22.508% | 15.920% – 27.986% | 23.727% |
| 1970 | 94 | 21.286% | 15.406% – 28.642% | 22.056% |
062024 → 2025
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Rose most
before → after
Gambia29.939% → 40.386% · 31st → 5th+10.447
Tunisia7.858% → 15.232% · 163rd → 117th+7.373
Mozambique17.655% → 24.196% · 136th → 55th+6.541- Kyrgyzstan21.527% → 27.965% · 99th → 32nd+6.438
- El Salvador20.122% → 26.332% · 118th → 39th+6.210
Fell most
before → after
Central African Republic23.631% → 9.304% · 78th → 126th−14.326- Equatorial Guinea5.054% → -3.679% · 165th → 131st−8.733
Senegal34.727% → 26.877% · 12th → 36th−7.850
Namibia26.013% → 18.675% · 54th → 102nd−7.338
Botswana36.204% → 29.157% · 8th → 27th−7.047
131 countries were measured in both 2024 and 2025. The field changed from 169 to 131 countries, so a place can move for reasons that have nothing to do with the country itself.
07Across every edition
Investment (gross capital formation) in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
76.782%
Gross capital formation (% of GDP)
Lowest reading on record
-15.678%
Gross capital formation (% of GDP)
Biggest rise between editions
+48.066
-3.746% → 44.320%
Biggest fall between editions
−57.200
44.320% → -12.880%
Biggest change since first measured
+33.496
6.890% → 40.386%
Highest most often
16 of 56
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About investment (gross capital formation)
Gross capital formation is the share of a year’s output a country put into building things rather than consuming them — roads, plant, housing, plus the change in inventories, which is why the figure can dip slightly below zero. It is the standard read on how much an economy is investing in its own future.
What the number is: Gross capital formation (% of GDP).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Economy & Innovation and Money & Public Finance, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Economy & InnovationMoney & Public FinanceWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where investment (gross capital formation) is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Gross Savings (% of GDP)World Bank Group · 117 countries in commonρ 0.56
Moves against
Where investment (gross capital formation) is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Female-Headed HouseholdsUN DESA Population Division · 91 countries in commonρ −0.40
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 332 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
The countries at either end
More from World Bank Group
11Questions
Investment (gross capital formation): questions and answers
Which country has the highest investment (gross capital formation)?
Algeria, at 45.267%, among the 131 countries compared in 2025.
Which country has the lowest investment (gross capital formation)?
Equatorial Guinea, at -3.679%, among the 131 countries compared in 2025.
How many countries does the Gross Capital Formation (% of GDP) cover?
131 in 2025, and 186 at least once across all editions. The number measured varies from 94 to 177 between editions.
What is the world average investment (gross capital formation)?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 131 compared in 2025, the figure was 22.932%.
Is this World Bank Group’s own ranking?
No. World Bank Group publishes the values but ranks nobody; the position on this page is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values, and equal values share a position.
How often is the Gross Capital Formation (% of GDP) published?
This site holds 56 reference years, 1970–2025, all recalculated in World Bank Group’s 2026 report on one method — not 56 separate publications.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From World Bank Group, under CC BY 4.0. Pulled from the World Bank’s indicator API (NE.GDI.TOTL.ZS). 58 country-years the Bank records as exactly 0 are treated as missing — Ethiopia has a 30-year run and Venezuela a 21-year one, both flanked by ordinary figures, so they are gaps written as a number. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Gross Capital Formation (% of GDP) — World Bank Group
Pulled from the World Bank’s indicator API (NE.GDI.TOTL.ZS). 58 country-years the Bank records as exactly 0 are treated as missing — Ethiopia has a 30-year run and Venezuela a 21-year one, both flanked by ordinary figures, so they are gaps written as a number.
Newest edition
Report year 2025Data year 2025
Cite the source as: World Bank. World Development Indicators. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-09-06.
How this page reads the numbers
- World Bank Group ranks nobody on this measure. The position is derived by Nations Inquiry by ordering the published values; equal values share a position.
- This statistic has no better end, so the page describes higher and lower values and never calls a country a leader.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Investment (gross capital formation) by country: Gross Capital Formation (% of GDP), data from World Bank Group. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/gross-capital-formation