The OECD FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index (FDIRRI) is a policy-based tool designed to measure statutory restrictions on foreign direct investment (FDI) across countries and over time. First established in 2003 and last revised in 2022, the FDIRRI serves as a benchmark for evaluating market access and other regulatory barriers to FDI, while also providing a means to monitor and promote FDI policy reforms. The FDIRRI assesses regulatory restrictions in 22 economic sectors, categorised into four policy areas: foreign equity limits, screening and approval, restrictions on key foreign personnel, and other restrictions. Other important aspects of the investment climate (e.g., regulatory transparency, state monopolies, and any preferential treatment for selected investors, such as treaty-covered investors or those in special economic zones), as well as measures implemented for protecting the public order and essential security interests are not considered. Each policy measure is scored on a scale from 0 (fully open to FDI) to 1 (fully closed), with sectoral scores reflecting the sum across all policy categories, capped at 1. Standard sector weights are applied consistently across countries and over time to capture differences in the economic significance of sectors, ensuring that any variation in scores between countries is attributed to policy differences. Data are collected annually and reflect regulatory restrictions as of end December of the indicated year.
Please refer to the FDIRRI webpage for further details on the methodology.
For information on the individual regulatory measures underlying the scores, including extracts of key legislation, explanatory notes and sources, please refer to the OECD FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index - Regulatory Database.