Between 2000 and 2001, foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into and out of OECD countries recorded their largest drop in recent decades. Total inflows in the OECD area fell from US dollars (USD) 1.27 trillion to USD 566 billion, or a decline of around 56 per cent. While firm data are not fully available for non-OECD countries, early indications suggest that their share of global FDI increased slightly in 2001, owing to a less sharp decline in inflows. On current estimates, the total 2001 outflows from OECD countries amounted to USD 593 billion, with the OECD area acting as a net exporter of USD 27 billion worth of FDI in 2001 as compared with USD 12 billion in 2000. ...