Top Countries By Stock Market Returns Since 2015

Thinking of becoming a true global investor with investments around the world?

Wondering what financial markets to enter next?

This article was written by Pallavi Rao and originally published by the Visual Capitalist.

This chart, which visualizes annualized returns (in U.S. dollars) between March 15th, 2015–2025 from major stock exchanges in 30 countries, has some insights.

Data is sourced from HelloSafe, a Canadian insurance comparison platform.

The Best Stock Exchanges For Returns Since 2015

The S&P 500 delivered a 17% annualized return in 10 years, the most for major stock exchanges from around the world.

That’s nearly 5x in returns, which means $10,000 invested in 2015 would be almost $50,000 in 2025.

However, major indices from Brazil, India, and Vietnam have also logged between 12–16%.

They’ve handily beaten exchanges in Europe (the DAX and the FTSE) as well as from other parts of Asia (Nikkei).

But also—why has the SSE Composite Index, which tracks the Shanghai stock exchange, not moved at all?

The 2015 Chinese Bubble Explained

Turns out mass inexperienced investing can have major consequences.

In 2015, China’s stock market experienced a surge in retail investor activity, fueled by speculative reading and easy credit.

As a result, the Shanghai Composite Index, which had been climbing rapidly, peaked in June before crashing 30% over the next three weeks.

As of April, 2025, the Shanghai Composite Index has not yet recovered its 2015 high.