Countries by Gross fixed capital formation (% of GDP)

Bhutan ranks first in gross fixed capital formation as a share of GDP, at 44.61%, more than 23 times the value recorded by last-placed Lebanon at 1.90%. The gap between the top and bottom of the 173-country ranking spans over 42 percentage points. This spread reflects how differently countries allocate resources toward acquiring fixed assets relative to the size of their economies.

Economy category

Ranking 2024

Values shown in %.

Countries by Gross fixed capital formation (% of GDP)
Rank	Country	%
1	Bhutan	44.61
2	Tanzania	41.35
3	China	39.87
4	Vanuatu	37.87
5	Uzbekistan	37.06
6	Palau	35.30
7	Algeria	35.20
8	Maldives	34.84
9	Greenland	34.69
10	Benin	34.67
11	Curaçao	34.05
12	Senegal	34.00
13	Guinea	33.18
14	DR Congo	32.54
15	Kosovo	31.65
16	Cambodia	31.59
17	Panama	31.40
18	Türkiye	31.32
19	Bangladesh	30.70
20	South Korea	30.03
21	Gambia	29.94
22	India	29.90
23	Indonesia	29.15
24	Rwanda	29.11
25	Vietnam	29.02
26	Laos	29.01
27	Bahrain	28.94
28	Saudi Arabia	28.63
29	Lesotho	28.35
30	Tajikistan	28.30
31	Botswana	28.29
32	Iran	28.11
33	Samoa	27.82
34	Brunei	27.70
35	Mongolia	27.17
36	Togo	27.07
37	Timor-Leste	27.01
38	Somalia	26.75
39	Iceland	26.65
40	Republic of Congo	26.54
41	Czechia	26.49
42	Morocco	26.46
43	Tonga	26.16
44	Dominican Republic	26.12
45	Japan	26.08
46	Mauritania	25.79
47	Bahamas	25.75
48	Oman	25.54
49	Kiribati	25.41
50	Romania	25.29
51	Croatia	25.20
52	Sweden	25.10
53	Switzerland	25.05
54	Bosnia and Herzegovina	24.47
55	Albania	24.36
56	Nepal	24.33
57	Kazakhstan	24.32
58	Belgium	24.25
59	Djibouti	24.16
60	Mexico	24.12
61	Guinea-Bissau	24.11
62	Australia	24.09
63	Kyrgyzstan	23.99
64	Honduras	23.93
65	Estonia	23.90
66	Belarus	23.80
67	Serbia	23.80
68	Namibia	23.66
69	Philippines	23.57
70	Austria	23.55
71	North Macedonia	23.49
72	Chile	23.49
73	Denmark	23.33
74	New Zealand	23.21
75	Hungary	23.06
76	Nicaragua	22.91
77	Israel	22.69
78	Canada	22.60
79	Lithuania	22.50
80	Marshall Islands	22.45
81	Latvia	22.41
82	Thailand	22.24
83	Madagascar	22.22
84	El Salvador	22.19
85	Jordan	22.16
86	Italy	22.15
87	Russia	22.13
88	New Caledonia	22.12
89	France	22.10
90	Niger	22.05
91	Finland	21.99
92	Norway	21.99
93	French Polynesia	21.91
94	Singapore	21.90
95	Palestine	21.85
96	United States	21.70
97	Uganda	21.64
98	Zambia	21.60
99	Armenia	21.36
100	Georgia	21.32
101	Belize	21.13
102	Montenegro	21.06
103	Mauritius	20.98
104	Paraguay	20.97
105	Slovenia	20.92
106	Mali	20.79
107	Peru	20.78
108	Ethiopia	20.58
109	Cyprus	20.55
110	Malaysia	20.54
111	Germany	20.46
112	Portugal	20.44
113	Slovakia	20.42
114	Spain	20.29
115	Moldova	19.99
116	Netherlands	19.85
117	Côte d'Ivoire	19.72
118	Sierra Leone	19.55
119	Solomon Islands	19.46
120	Iraq	19.42
121	Gabon	19.14
122	Trinidad and Tobago	18.99
123	Ukraine	18.88
124	Sri Lanka	18.79
125	United Kingdom	18.67
126	Malta	18.47
127	Ecuador	18.41
128	Bulgaria	18.31
129	Cameroon	18.18
130	Turkmenistan	17.64
131	Kenya	17.54
132	Ireland	17.35
133	Seychelles	17.17
134	Burkina Faso	17.16
135	Poland	17.04
136	Brazil	16.91
137	San Marino	16.88
138	Azerbaijan	16.80
139	Kuwait	16.80
140	Bolivia	16.61
141	Colombia	16.59
142	Hong Kong	16.29
143	Uruguay	16.24
144	Guatemala	16.11
145	Eswatini	16.07
146	Greece	16.04
147	Argentina	15.90
148	Costa Rica	15.83
149	Luxembourg	15.38
150	Afghanistan	15.24
151	Tunisia	15.21
152	Central African Republic	15.14
153	Chad	14.90
154	South Africa	14.52
155	Libya	14.27
156	Puerto Rico	13.75
157	Macao	13.74
158	Cuba	12.76
159	Comoros	11.73
160	Egypt	11.70
161	Pakistan	11.46
162	Bermuda	10.95
163	Angola	10.39
164	Haiti	9.94
165	Ghana	9.86
166	Equatorial Guinea	9.07
167	Zimbabwe	7.93
168	Yemen	6.18
169	South Sudan	5.75
170	Syria	4.47
171	Venezuela	3.82
172	Sudan	2.89
173	Lebanon	1.90

Analysis

Gross fixed capital formation measures the share of GDP directed toward acquiring fixed assets. According to the World Bank World Development Indicators (indicator NE.GDI.FTOT.ZS), it includes acquisitions less disposals of fixed assets during the accounting period, including certain specified expenditures on services that add to the value of non-produced assets. Values are expressed as a percentage of GDP, which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period. The dataset covers 173 countries, with 169 of 173 (97.7%) having data from the last seven years, and 100% of datapoints rated as official-quality. The reference year is 2024, with 153 of 173 countries (88.4%) reporting data for that year. Fifteen extreme outliers were identified using a 3-standard-deviation threshold.

The top of the ranking is led by Bhutan (rank 1, 44.61%), Tanzania (rank 2, 41.35%), and China (rank 3, 39.87%). Vanuatu (rank 4, 37.87%) and Uzbekistan (rank 5, 37.06%) also appear in the top five. Other notable high-ranking countries include Algeria (rank 7, 35.20%), Maldives (rank 8, 34.84%), Benin (rank 10, 34.67%), and Senegal (rank 12, 34.00%). Several Asian economies rank highly: South Korea (rank 20, 30.03%), India (rank 22, 29.90%), Indonesia (rank 23, 29.15%), and Vietnam (rank 25, 29.02%) all exceed 29%. High values tend to cluster among economies with active infrastructure development activity or large resource-sector investments, though the data alone does not establish causation.

The middle of the ranking, roughly ranks 80 through 120, includes a wide range of economies. Canada sits at rank 78 (22.60%), the United States at rank 96 (21.70%), and Germany at rank 111 (20.46%). Several large European economies cluster in the low-to-mid 20s. Toward the lower end of the ranking, South Africa falls at rank 154 (14.52%), Pakistan at rank 161 (11.46%), and Angola at rank 163 (10.39%). The bottom five are Ghana (rank 165, 9.86%), Equatorial Guinea (rank 166, 9.07%), Zimbabwe (rank 167, 7.93%), Yemen (rank 168, 6.18%), South Sudan (rank 169, 5.75%), Syria (rank 170, 4.47%), Venezuela (rank 171, 3.82%), Sudan (rank 172, 2.89%), and Lebanon (rank 173, 1.90%). Ireland ranks 132nd at 17.35%, notably low among high-income European Union members.

This metric has several limitations. Gross fixed capital formation captures the value of assets acquired net of disposals but does not indicate asset quality, productive efficiency, or whether investment is concentrated in productive or non-productive sectors. Cross-country comparability can be affected by differences in national accounting conventions and the timing of large one-off infrastructure or resource projects. Countries with significant foreign-financed investment may show high ratios that are not fully reflected in domestically generated output. The 15 extreme outliers flagged in the viability check suggest that some values may reflect structural anomalies or irregular reporting rather than sustained investment patterns. Data for some countries reflects years prior to 2024, which may reduce comparability for this specific reference year.

Methodology

Data is sourced from the World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code NE.GDI.FTOT.ZS, with a reference year of 2024. Gross fixed capital formation is defined as including acquisitions less disposals of fixed assets during the accounting period, including certain specified expenditures on services that add to the value of non-produced assets. The indicator is expressed as a percentage of GDP, which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period. The ranking covers 173 countries, exceeding the minimum coverage threshold of 80. Of these, 169 (97.7%) have data from within the last seven years, and 100% of datapoints are classified as official quality. Data for 153 of 173 countries (88.4%) is from 2024 directly; remaining countries use the most recent available year. Fifteen extreme outliers were identified at the 3-standard-deviation threshold. The value range spans 1.90% (Lebanon) to 44.61% (Bhutan), a spread of 2,250.8%. Average year-over-year change across the dataset is 8.8%, well within the 50% volatility threshold. No microstates under 1 million population are included in the dataset.

Sources

World Bank