Survey at a glance
Purpose
The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Survey collects financial information relating to direct investment in the UK by enterprises located abroad (inward FDI) and to direct investment abroad by enterprises located in the UK (outward FDI).
In either scenario the foreign investment must be at least 10 per cent of the ordinary shares or voting power.
Data on investments less than 10 per cent which are classed as portfolio investments are collected elsewhere within ONS.
The information is primarily required for measuring the direct investment flows and earnings for the UK balance of payments, which is in turn used as a factor in measuring Gross Domestic Product.
It is also used to measure the international investment patterns between the UK and the rest of the world, either by country or groups of countries.
Inward FDI data indicate which sectors of the economy are of interest to foreign competitors and where long-term growth is expected to be.
Outward FDI indicates which countries of the world are expected to be growth areas and where a company might wish to invest.
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Selection Criteria - The population samples are selected using previously returned International Investment Positions values (Net Book Values)
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Population - Approximately 14,000
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Sample - Approximately 350
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Frequency - Quarterly
Where is the data published?
The data we produce quarterly is not published. The data is delivered to our customer Balance of Payments (National Accounts) who use the quarterly data outputs to produce Balance of Payments quarterly Statistical Bulletins.
