World Investment Report 2020

The 30th edition of the World Investment Report looks at the prospects for foreign direct investment and international production during and beyond the global crisis triggered by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. The Report not only projects the immediate impact of the crisis on investment flows, but also assesses how it could affect a long-term structural transformation of international production. The theme chapter of the Report reviews the evolution of international production networks over the past three decades and examines the configuration of these networks today. It then projects likely course changes for the next decade due to the combined effects of the pandemic and pre-existing megatrends, including the new industrial revolution, the sustainability imperative and the retreat of laissez faire policies. The system of international production underpins the economic growth and development prospects of most countries around the world. Governments worldwide will need to adapt their investment and development strategies to a changing international production landscape. At the request of the UN General Assembly, the Report has added a dedicated section on investment in the Sustainable Development Goals, to review global progress and propose possible courses of action.