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Kearney: FDI Confidence in Brazil and Mexico Up
But Argentina declined on Kearney’s annual FDI Confidence Index.
BY LATINVEX STAFF
Brazil and Mexico improved on the latest Kearney’s FDI Confidence Index, while Argentina declined.
The index measures foreign direct investor sentiment for different countries. Market rankings are developed based on a weighted score measuring surveyed investors’ likelihood of investing in each market in the next three years. These rankings are not based on Kearney’s judgement, rather on investor responses to its survey.
BRAZIL AND MEXICO
Brazil – Latin America’s top economy — now ranks 18th globally, up three spots from last year.
Meanwhile, Mexico – the region’s second-largest economy – now ranks in 19th place, up six spots from last year.
“Brazil and Mexico both make notable jumps,” Kearney says. “These increases reflect ongoing government efforts to bolster ease of doing business, a factor that investors value highly in both Brazil (27 percent) and Mexico (31 percent).”
To that end, in September 2025, the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services established an online single window to facilitate and expand foreign investment by centralizing investor documentation and services. And in July of last year, Mexico introduced the National Law for the Elimination of Bureaucratic Procedures, which is designed to facilitate faster and more transparent access to government services for both individuals and businesses.
| FDI Confidence Index | |||||
| LA Rk | EM Rk | GL Rk | Country | Value | |
| 1 | 4 | 18 | Brazil | 1.76 | |
| 2 | 5 | 19 | Mexico | 1.74 | |
| 3 | 10 | Argentina | 1.58 | ||
| 4 | 15 | Chile | 1.53 | ||
| 5 | 19 | Colombia | 1.44 | ||
| 6 | 21 | Peru | 1.4 | ||
| 7 | 23 | Uruguay | 1.37 | ||
| LA Rk= Latin America Rank. EM Rk= Emerging Markets Rank. | |||||
| GL Rank= Global Rank | |||||
| Sources: Kearney 2026 FDI Confidence Index; Latinvex | |||||
ARGENTINA, OTHER COUNTRIES
Argentina once again failed to make the global top 25 and its ranking on the separate emerging markets index from Kearney fell from nine last year to ten this year.
Other Latin American countries that made the emerging market index this year include Chile, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay.
Chile kept its 15th place ranking, while Colombia moved up one spot to 19th, Peru up three spots to 21st and Uruguay up two spots to 23rd.
“Peru’s three-rank improvement may be attributable to the May 2025 launch of a deregulation package to boost the competitiveness and efficiency of the market’s investment climate,” Kearney says.
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