Foreign investment in Switzerland fell by just under a quarter last year

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• In 2025, the number of foreign investment projects in Europe fell by 7% and in Switzerland by 24%
• Investment by US companies in Europe on a par with the previous year; 7% decline in Switzerland
• US companies remained the largest investors in Switzerland in 2025, while German companies halved their projects from 14 to 7
• Swiss companies invested less in other European countries in 2025, with a decline in investment projects of around 13%

Zurich, 21 May 2026 – The auditing and consulting firm EY Switzerland has published the latest edition of the European Attractiveness Survey¹, which analyzes the investment projects of foreign companies in Europe. The current edition of the analysis shows that foreign direct investment in Switzerland has fallen significantly. The number of investment projects announced by foreign companies in Switzerland fell by 24% year-on-year in 2025 from 111 to 84, mirroring the downward trend that can be seen in the rest of Europe. Across Europe, a total of 5,026 investment projects were announced last year by foreign investors – a decline of 7% (2024: 5,383) – making it the lowest level of investment activity since 2014.

France still tops the European rankings, despite the number of investment projects falling by 17% to 852 (2024: 1,025). The UK retained second spot, with the number of projects falling by 14% to 730 (2024: 853). In third place was Germany with 548 projects, down 10% from 608 in 2024. Some locations bucked the trend and saw increases, most notably Spain (up 7% to 376 projects), Poland (up 10% to 285), the Netherlands (up 8% to 159) and Turkey (up 20% to 383).

Swiss companies continue to be important investors in Europe

Swiss companies continued to be active investors in other European countries in 2025, albeit to a lesser extent than in the previous year: the number of investment projects by Swiss companies fell by 13% to 214, resulting in the creation of 7,583 new jobs in the corresponding target countries (2024: 11,872). This means that Switzerland remains the sixth largest source of investment in Europe. Globally, the United States is still top (943 projects, 44,128 jobs), followed by Germany (484 projects, 22,047 jobs), the United Kingdom (360 projects, 11,084 jobs), France (295 projects, 12,207 jobs) and China (261 projects, 26,140 jobs).

In 2025, Swiss companies invested primarily in France (35 investment projects, 1,260 jobs), Germany (34 projects, 851 jobs), Spain (17 projects, 171 jobs), Poland (17 projects, 583 jobs), Turkey (17 projects, 502 jobs) and Italy (15 projects, 1,324 jobs).

Commenting on the development of Switzerland as an investment location, André Bieri, Markets Leader Switzerland and Liechtenstein at EY, said: “Despite declining investment, Switzerland continues to act as a gateway to Europe for US companies, which is why investment from the United States remains high. The relocations tend to mean newly created jobs with very high added value. Switzerland continues to offer well-known location factors, combined with legal certainty and an attractive tax system. An established environment for research and development as well as for new technologies and corresponding talent are other drivers that make our country stand out.”

Commenting on the ongoing decline in investment in Europe, Bieri said: “It is mainly production sites in EU countries that are being affected by a slowdown in investment as a result of the protectionist initiatives launched by the United States, such as large funding programs and tariffs in favor of domestic production. At the same time, geopolitical developments have led to uncertainty, primarily concerning the risk of a recession in the United States which could spill over to Europe. Pressure on Europe continues to grow. It is important to prove that predictability, planning security and the rule of law are vital within Europe. Switzerland is setting an example in this respect, but cannot go it alone without close coordination with the European Union and is heavily dependent on economic developments there.”

US‑Investment remains stable – German projects in Switzerland halved

US corporations reduced their investment in Switzerland slightly year-on-year from 27 to 25 projects in 2025 (down 7%), creating 158 new jobs (2024: 131). Commenting on this, André Bieri said: “This number may seem low at first glance. However, it should be borne in mind that Switzerland typically creates jobs with very high value added – especially compared to other European countries, where many of the new jobs created are routine.”

This means that the United States was once again the largest investor in Switzerland in 2025. While Germany followed the United States in 2024, German companies significantly reduced their investment projects in Switzerland from 14 to 7 (down 50%) last year, as well as reducing the number of new jobs created from 123 to 14. France (nine projects) and the United Kingdom (nine projects) thus overtook Germany in terms of investment in Switzerland, followed by China (four projects), Belgium (three projects) and Japan (three projects).

¹ The European Attractiveness Survey covers investment projects that lead to the creation of new locations and jobs, but does not include portfolio and M&A investment.

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