FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT FLOWS IN AFRICAN ECONOMICS: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Abstract

This research investigates Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows in African economies from 2000 to 2025 through a detailed bibliometric study. The research applies bibliometric tool Biblioshiny interface to analyze Scopus-indexed academic publications. which reveal intellectual and conceptual and social structures of FDI discourse focused on Africa. The analysis of 500 research documents revealed important publication patterns together with prominent authors and leading journals and influential institutions and main contributing countries. The temporal analysis demonstrated that publications about FDI in Africa increased substantially after 2010 because of rising academic and policy interest in FDI‟s role in African economic development. The main keywords in the research were economic growth, Africa, investment, development and FDI which demonstrate a strong thematic interest in how investments affect economic change. The research collaboration networks between African countries and China and the United States and the United Kingdom were evident in the country connections. The thematic analysis showed that sustainability and infrastructure investment have become new research directions. This bibliometric research both tracks the historical development and current research areas of FDI studies in African settings while offering essential knowledge for researchers and investors and policymakers who need to understand African FDI flow patterns and discover new research paths.