The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) said this could be attributed to the continued political and economic instability in the southern African region, which includes Zimbabwe, and in the eastern African region taking in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.

The latest preliminary preview showed that flows into Africa dropped 13% to $9,1bn, dragged down by poor performances from the continent's main recipients. Flows to other African countries were more or less stable. Foreign direct investment into north Africa increased last year to $2,6bn, while flows to sub-Saharan Africa were down to 6,4bn from $7,9bn in 1999.

Within sub-Saharan Africa, the Southern African Development Community remained the most important subregion in terms of investment inflows, which nonetheless dropped to $3,9bn in 2000 compared to $5,3bn in 1999.

But despite this decline, investment flows to the continent were much higher than in the early 1990s, as African countries have made considerable efforts to enhance their investment climates.

Unctad's forthcoming World Investment Report 2001, to be launched in September, will analyse these estimates and provide details at country, regional and international levels. The main theme of the report will be foreign direct investment and linkages to local enterprises.