Competing for capital
A comparative study of the policy and regulatory frameworks shaping private investment in infrastructure across nine of the world's largest jurisdictions, plus the European Union.
A decisive moment for infrastructure policy
Six themes shape today's investment landscape, paired with five regulatory patterns governing how that capital is screened and approved.
Read full executive summary →Across the globe, governments are in urgent need of long-duration private capital to fund nationally critical infrastructure. While the policy toolkits differ, the direction of travel is consistent: greater reliance on regulated or quasi-regulated revenue models, expanded state co-investment and risk-sharing, and a renewed focus on accelerating delivery timelines for projects.
Set against the increased drive to mobilise private capital at scale, governments are desperate to preserve regulatory credibility and policy stability over multi-decade investment horizons. Current infrastructure investment opportunities are subject to a multi-layered and interconnected web of foreign investment screening, merger control and sector-specific regulation.
This report assesses ten of the most consequential markets for global investors, looking in detail at the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, the United States, Australia, and the European Union.
Ten jurisdictions, in a race for capital
Country
All ten chapters, in reading order
Investment gap data sources
GI Hub and Oxford Economics (2017), Global Infrastructure Outlook: Infrastructure Investment Needs, 50 Countries, 7 Sectors to 2040. GI Hub →
PwC Canada and Oxford Economics (2026), Mobilizing Canada's US$4.7T Infrastructure Opportunity, June 2026. PwC Canada →
PwC/Oxford Economics estimate that closing the gap between Canada's infrastructure investment (6.6% of GDP) and that of high-performing peers (7.4%) requires an additional US$34 billion annually by 2050, within a forecast cumulative spend of US$4.7 trillion over 2024–2050 (2023 prices). The cumulative figure is a GIIA estimate derived by extrapolating the annual shortfall to 2040 and is not published by PwC.
Derived from BCG (2025), Infrastructure for a Competitive Europe, and PwC and Oxford Economics (2026), Global Infrastructure Outlook 2025–50. BCG → PwC →
GIIA estimate. No national gap assessment exists for France. Derived by allocating BCG's pan-European infrastructure gap of €5.75 trillion to 2040 according to France's share of European GDP (13–16.5%, depending on geographic scope), cross-checked against France's 12% share of European infrastructure investment (PwC, 2026). Likely conservative, as France's projected investment growth to 2050 (+30%) trails the European average (+45%).
IW and IMK (2024), Investitionsbedarfe in der Infrastruktur und für die Transformation. IW Köln →
Derived from Global Infrastructure Hub and Oxford Economics data. InfraCompass →
GIIA estimate. No national gap assessment exists for Italy. Derived by extrapolating an annual investment gap of approximately 0.6% of GDP over the period to 2040. Based on 2017-vintage data and methodology.
BCG (2026), Het fundament onder onze welvaart, May 2026. BCG →
A gross investment requirement covering transport, energy networks, digital infrastructure and housing-related infrastructure; the headline figure does not net off investment already planned or funded.
SEOPAN (2026), Necesidades de inversión en infraestructuras, April 2026. SEOPAN →
Industry estimate comprising €127.3 billion for conservation and maintenance and over €280 billion for new infrastructure and adaptation; does not net off planned funding. Corroborated qualitatively by BBVA Research (2026), which documents Spanish public investment at 2.9% of GDP against an EU average of 3.6%.
EY-Parthenon (2026), Mind the (Investment) Gap 2025, January 2026. EY-Parthenon →
ASCE (2025), 2025 Report Card for America's Infrastructure, March 2025. ASCE →
BCG (2025), Infrastructure for a Competitive Europe, October 2025. BCG →