Kathmandu, June 25 -- Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Nepal has declined by nearly 70 percent over the past six years, casting a shadow over the country's ambitions to graduate to middle-income status by next year.

According to the World Investment Report 2025: International Investment in the Digital Economy, released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) last Thursday, Nepal's FDI inflow dropped to $57 million in 2024, down from $185 million in 2019-a sharp fall of 69.18 percent.

The decline reflects a broader regional trend. South Asia's total FDI inflow shrank to $34.56 billion in 2024 from $58 billion in 2019. India, the region's largest economy, saw its FDI drop to $27.55 billion from $50.55 billion ...