UAE turns record FDI into more jobs than OECD average

Dubai: The UAE attracted a record $48.3 billion in foreign direct investment in 2025, up 6 per cent, and a fourth consecutive record. That now equals 3.1 per cent of global flows. But what is the country doing with all that capital? A new white paper argues that the UAE knows how to turn capital into jobs, skills and technology. 

According to a study from White Paper Media Consulting (WPM), a UAE-based strategic research house, nations no longer have to only attract foreign capital, they also have to show the real returns on FDI in the intangible value it embeds within the host economies. And UAE has become a fitting example of having managed to do so. 

The UAE ranked ninth globally for FDI inflows and first in the Middle East, ahead of other countries in the GCC. It also announced 1,562 greenfield projects worth $34.1 billion in capital expenditure, or 1.8 per cent of the global total. That places it second worldwide by project count for a third year running.

Create value through jobs

The jobs data stands out the most. The UAE created about 2,816 jobs for every $1 billion of greenfield FDI between 2019 and 2023, up from 2,265 in the previous five years. The OECD average stood at 2,318 and 1,880 over the same periods. That gives the UAE 498 more jobs per $1 billion, roughly 21 per cent higher. Its jobs intensity also grew 24 per cent between the two periods, against 23 per cent for the OECD. 

The UAE is not an OECD member. The white paper from White Paper Media Consulting (WPM), titled “Beyond the Numbers: The Transformative Intangible Impact of FDI”, benchmarks it against the OECD FDI Qualities framework. It also draws on Ireland, Singapore, Israel, Costa Rica and Malaysia. 

The paper contends the next phase of FDI will be measured in patents, skills transferred, data ecosystems and clean technologies commercialised, not just volumes. It traces the UAE’s path from a Foundation Phase (1985 to 2005) of market liberalisation and infrastructure to today’s role as a global capital and technology hub.

What has worked for the UAE

Government measures carry much of the weight. A 2021 amendment to the Commercial Companies Law made 100 per cent foreign ownership standard for most mainland activities. The Golden Visa launched in November 2018. A 9 per cent federal corporate tax took effect on June 1, 2023, with no tax on profits up to Dh375,000.

The National Investment Strategy 2031 sets the direction. It aims to triple the cumulative FDI balance to Dh2.2 trillion by 2031. It targets Dh240 billion in annual inflows. The 2025 haul reaches about 74 per cent of that annual goal. FDI stock stood at Dh1.17 trillion at the end of 2025.

The paper identifies seven policy shifts. They include extending free zone spillovers to the mainland and prioritising research-intensive investment. They also include embedding skills transfer requirements in major projects and leading on intellectual property and data governance.

Living by example

Space42 and ICEYE are building satellites on UAE soil. Microsoft has committed $15.2 billion and pledged to skill one million people. The UAE has also pledged $30 billion to the Alterra climate fund.

Yazad Darasha, co-founder and director of WPM, frames the shift as a change of contest. “The country has positioned itself at the front of the race for capital,” he says. “What we set out to map in this paper is the harder, more valuable contest: converting investment into skills, technology, and economic velocity.”

But one can’t overlook the risks. UNCTAD warns that geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic uncertainty could weigh on capital-intensive sectors such as infrastructure and energy. UAE outward investment also fell to $63 billion in 2025 from $77 billion.