Transparency & Methodology

Data Sources

Our commitment to data quality, transparency, and proper attribution

FDIstats uses data from multiple authoritative sources. We believe in transparency about how our data is collected and processed.

All Data is Live: We fetch live data from four official APIs: World Bank (global FDI flows), Australian Bureau of Statistics (quarterly positions), IMF CDIS (bilateral relationships), and OECD (sector breakdown). All data is refreshed daily and cached for performance.

Live API Data

Data fetched in real-time from official APIs, cached for performance.

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World Bank Open Data

Live API
Official Site

Our primary data source for global FDI flows. The World Bank API provides real-time access to FDI inflows and outflows for 200+ countries from 1970 to present.

Used for:

Global FDI flows, country rankings, Australia time series, regional comparisons

Indicators

BX.KLT.DINV.CD.WD

Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$)

BM.KLT.DINV.CD.WD

Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$)

Coverage

200+ countries, 1970-present

Update Frequency

Annual (typically with 1-year lag)

License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)

API Endpoint

https://api.worldbank.org/v2/
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Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

Live API
Official Site

Official Australian government statistics on international investment position. Provides quarterly data on foreign investment in Australia and Australian investment abroad.

Used for:

Australian quarterly FDI positions, investment by country, investment by industry

Indicators

BOPIP.POS.FIA

Foreign Investment in Australia - Position

BOPIP.POS.AIA

Australian Investment Abroad - Position

Coverage

Australia, quarterly data from 2020

Update Frequency

Quarterly (released ~2 months after quarter end)

License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)

API Endpoint

https://api.data.abs.gov.au/
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IMF Coordinated Direct Investment Survey (CDIS)

Live API
Official Site

Bilateral FDI position data showing which countries invest in which other countries. Live data from the IMF Data API showing investment relationships between major economies.

Used for:

Bilateral FDI matrix, who-invests-where visualization, investment relationships

Indicators

CDIS_I

Inward direct investment positions by partner country

CDIS_O

Outward direct investment positions by partner country

Coverage

12 major economies, bilateral matrix

Update Frequency

Daily refresh (source updates annually)

License

IMF Terms and Conditions

API Endpoint

https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/api/
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OECD FDI Statistics

Live API
Official Site

Industry sector breakdown of FDI flows. Live data from the OECD SDMX API showing distribution of investment across different industries and sectors.

Used for:

Sector/industry breakdown charts, Australia vs Global sector comparison

Indicators

FDI_MAIN

FDI flows and positions by industry

Coverage

Global and Australia sector breakdown

Update Frequency

Daily refresh (source updates quarterly)

License

OECD Terms and Conditions

API Endpoint

https://sdmx.oecd.org/public/rest/

Reference Sources

Authoritative sources we reference for context, validation, and educational content. API integration planned for future releases.

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UNCTAD World Investment Report

API integration planned

The definitive annual publication on global FDI trends. Used for context, trends analysis, and educational content.

View Source
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DFAT Trade & Investment

Reference only

Australian government resources on foreign investment policy and benefits.

View Source
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Productivity Commission

Reference only

Australian research on foreign investment benefits and policy frameworks.

View Source
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Reserve Bank of Australia

Reference only

Analysis of foreign investment trends and their impact on the Australian economy.

View Source

Methodology

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Live Data Collection

  • World Bank API fetched on request
  • Responses cached in Vercel Blob storage
  • Cache expires after 24 hours
  • Stale cache served while refreshing
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Multi-Source Integration

  • Four live API sources for comprehensive coverage
  • ABS SDMX API for Australian quarterly data
  • IMF Data API for bilateral FDI relationships
  • OECD SDMX API for industry sector breakdown
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Data Processing

  • Values converted to USD billions
  • Missing values shown as gaps (not interpolated)
  • Country codes: ISO 3166-1 alpha-3
  • Time series aligned to calendar years
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Quality Assurance

  • Source data not modified or adjusted
  • Discrepancies between sources noted
  • Update timestamps displayed
  • Cache status indicated in headers

Important Notes

Full Live Integration

All data on FDIstats is now sourced from live APIs. World Bank, ABS, IMF CDIS, and OECD data are all fetched in real-time and cached for performance. Data refreshes automatically every 24 hours.

Data Revisions

FDI statistics are subject to revision as reporting countries update their figures. Historical data may change as sources release revised estimates.

Not Investment Advice

This data is provided for research and informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment, financial, legal, or tax advice.

Using This Data

Attribution Guidelines

When using or citing data from FDIstats, please include attribution to both FDIstats and the original data source:

Source: FDIstats.com, data from World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0)

For bilateral or sector data, cite as: "FDIstats.com, based on IMF CDIS / OECD FDI Statistics"

Questions About Our Data?

If you have questions about our data sources, methodology, or want to suggest additional data integrations, please get in touch.

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