Canada's overseas investment and foreign direct investment in the country both grew by more than 5 percent last year, Statistics Canada said Thursday.

Statistics showed that Canada's direct investment abroad increased 37 billion Canadian dollars (36.75 billion U.S. dollars) to 711.6 billion Canadian dollars (706.86 billion U.S. dollars) in 2012.

The United States remained the top destination for Canadian direct investment, followed by Britain. Norway, Chile and Australia also saw more investment from Canadian firms last year.

The level of foreign direct investment in Canada grew 34.6 billion Canadian dollars (34.37 billion U.S. dollars) to 633.9 billion Canadian dollars (629.68 billion U.S. dollars), or a 5.8-percent increase, mainly due to more funds from Europe and the Unites States.

While the United States remains by far the largest foreign direct investor in Canada, the past decade has seen a gradual decline in the country's share of direct investment in Canada from 64.9 percent in 2002 to 51.5 percent in 2012, Statistics Canada said.

In 2012, 52.9 percent of Canada's total direct investment abroad was in the industries of finance, insurance and management. Endi

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