2025 Global Rankings: 21st Annual Rankings Report

Foreign Direct Investment

An instance of staying on course is the FDI (Worldwide) ranking in the Global Rankings this year; once more, the United States ranks as the top destination to attract foreign direct investment. The U.S. has led in this category for more than 12 years.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that expenditures by foreign direct investors to “acquire, establish, or expand U.S. businesses” totaled $148.8 billion in 2023, according to preliminary statistics released in early July. Expenditures decreased $57.4 billion, or 28%, from $206.2 billion (revised) in 2022 and were below the annual average of $265.6 billion for 2014-2022. As in previous years, acquisitions of existing U.S. businesses accounted for most of the expenditures.

Meanwhile, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reported these figures for the top three nations for inward FDI in 2023: 

FDI inflows to G20 economies decreased by 34%. They dropped by 28% in OECD G20 economies, and by 46% in non-OECD G20 economies, largely driven by reductions in China and, to a lesser extent, India. Despite this general downward trend in most economies, the United States remained the top destination for FDI inflows worldwide in 2023 (USD 341 billion), followed by Brazil and Canada.

NYC, London, Hong Kong Top Global Financial Centers

In the Financial Centers (Global) category, New York City once again landed in the top position, followed by London repeating at number two, Hong Kong at third, and Singapore at fourth. The global financial centers ranking also includes: San Francisco, CA; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; Shanghai; Shenzen; Seoul; Frankfurt; Dubai; Washington, DC; Dublin; and Geneva at 15.

This year’s ranking took into account several factors, then weighed against the 37th edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 35), published by Long Finance & Financial Centre Futures in March 2025.

The Financial Centers (North America) ranking is also led by Top 5: New York City, with San Francisco, CA; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; and and Washington, DC. 

AI: Growing The Ecosystem

It could be argued that 2024 continued as a breakout year for artificial intelligence (AI). The well-regarded AI Index 2025 Annual Report by Stanford University points out that, on the technical front, this year’s AI Index reports that the number of new large language models released worldwide in 2024 increased substantially over the previous year.

Past years of Business Facilities’ AI ranking looked primarily at capital investments by nation. This year, the evaluation took into account the number of AI models, patents, and jobs. Capital investments remained in place this year.

An interesting finding from the AI Index report is where machine learning models are being developed. According to information in the report: Until 2014, academia led in the release of machine learning models. And that has changed. In 2023, there were 51 machine learning models produced by industry compared with15 from academia. And, 21 notable models were created in 2023 as a result of industry-academia collaborations, which represents a new high.

One reason for industry taking the lead? Creating cutting-edge AI models demands a substantial amount of data, computing power and financial resources, which are not typically accessible in academia.

According to the Stanford report, the U.S. was the leader in number of foundational models originating there in 2023 (105). This was compared to China in the second position (20) and the United Kingdom (8).

Another key takeaway from the Stanford report, related to investments by nation: In 2023, the United States saw AI investments reach $67.2 billion, nearly 8.7 times more than China, the next highest investor.

While private AI investment in China (No. 2) and the European Union, including the United Kingdom (No. 3), declined by 44.2% and 14.1%, respectively, since 2022, the United States experienced an increase of 22.1% in the same time frame—leading the category as No. 1.

Rounding out the 10 nations ranked for Artificial Intelligence (Growth Hubs): Sweden, Canada, France, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Austria, and Israel.

Renewable Energy Leaders

This year’s Global Rankings Report includes a look at the leading nations for Solar Power Installed Capacity and Wind Power Installed Capacity. And, this evaluation drew from data provided by Ember, a global think tank (for solar) and the World Wind Energy Association. 

The ranking looks at installed capacity at the end of 2024, a year in which renewables (all types) accounted for 30% of total power generation globally.

China was the largest market for new solar and wind generation capacity additions last year: It accounted for about 25% of the world’s new solar generation in 2024 and approximately 66% of new wind generation.

The International Renewable Energy agency shared this data:

In absolute terms of renewable electricity generation, Asia led the world in 2022, generating 3 749 TWh, a 9.3% increase driven by solar and hydropower, both offsetting declines in wind energy and bioenergy.

North America came in second for the first time, with 1 493 TWh, up by 8.6% across energy sources, despite a drop in bioenergy. Europe generated 1 462 TWh a small 0.6% decrease from 2021. South America generated 940 TWh, showing an 11.9% increase from 2021 due to a hydropower recovery and a greater role of solar energy. And, In 2023, solar energy was the largest source of renewable capacity at 36.7% or 1 418 GW.

Solar Power, Wind Power And Installed Capacity

The top 5 nations for the Solar Power Installed Capacity in this year’s Business Facilities ranking are: China, United States, Japan, Germany, an India—positions each held in last year’s ranking. These are followed by Brazil, Australia, Spain, Italy, and South Korea.

For the Wind Power Installed Capacity ranking, China and the U.S. are leading and followed by Germany, India, Spain, United Kingdom, Brazil, France, Canada, and Sweden.

The Top 5 in this year’s wind power ranking for installed capacity at the end of 2024 are China, the U.S., Germany, India, and Brazil.

Caribbean GDP Leaders 

The Caribbean region is enticing to business for many reasons. From pharmaceuticals to professional services, these locations are profitable for many. This year’s rankings took a look at Caribbean locations and their GDP per capita. Guyana led the pack, followed by Bahamas and Barbados in the Top 3.