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EWY and other country ETFs lead global markets in 2025, far outpacing major U.S. equity benchmarks.
GREK rose on Greece's GDP growth and a market status upgrade. EZA was a gainer from the mining industry.
EWP rose on economic lift and bank-led gains, while EPOL benefited from trade-war insulation and EU stimulus.
Wall Street experienced significant volatility in 2025, while international markets remained relatively stable or gained momentum. Trade uncertainty under Trump’s administration has fueled concerns about rising inflation and a slowing U.S. economy, which has worked in favor of international markets. Agreed, international economies, too, faced uncertainties related to Trump tariffs, but the blow on their markets proved to be less severe than what it was for the U.S. market.
2025 Performance Scorecard of U.S. & International ETFs
Note that Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF MAGS is up 25.5% so far this year (as of Dec. 26, 2025), while SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY - Free Report) has gained 18.1%. The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (QQQ - Free Report) is up about 22.3% while SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA - Free Report) has advanced 14.9% in 2025 so far.
Vanguard Tax Managed Fund FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA - Free Report) is up 31.6% this year. Meanwhile, iShares Asia 50 ETF (AIA - Free Report) has jumped about 44% in 2025, and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM - Free Report) has advanced 31.2%. iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU - Free Report) has jumped 37.4%. iShares MSCI ACWI ex US ETF ACWX has grown by 29.7% in price. It means all these international indexes fared better than the key U.S. indexes in 2025.
What Drove International ETFs?
Diversified Exposure: Investors should note that the artificial intelligence (AI) behemoths of the United States — the magnificent seven stocks or the main driving factor of Wall Street in recent years — faced overvaluation concerns and investor worries about payoffs during the year, at times weighing heavily on tech-centric indexes. The Mag 7 group comprises about one-fourth of the S&P 500, while the tech stocks are also the heavier part of the Nasdaq 100.
In contrast, Europe’s STOXX Europe 600 has a more balanced structure, with its top 10 stocks making up only 17% of the index’s market cap, said Christoph Schon, lead principal of investment decision research at Danish investment management firm SimCorp, to CNBC recently. The STOXX Europe 600 has quite a diversified exposure.
Cheaper Valuation: Most international markets and ETFs were undervalued in comparison to U.S. stocks and ETFs. The P/E ratio (trailing twelve months) of EZU stands at 17.83X(per Yahoo Finance), while its U.S. counterpart — Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) — trades at a P/E of 29.19X.
iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ) has a P/E ratio of 16.40X. The ETF EEM trades at a P/E of 15.85X. iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI) trades at a P/E of 10.79X. iShares India 50 ETF (INDY) has a P/E of 22.11X while iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) has a P/E of 10.69X.
Stimulus Abroad: The European Central Bank was on a rate-cut spree earlier in the year. Despite cutting rates at the start of 2025, the ECB halted policy easing due to trade uncertainty in the middle of the year. India and China have also been on a path of policy stimuli (either fiscal or monetary or both). Although the Bank of Japan has been hiking rates, the interest rate backdrop remains low.
In contrast, the United States took a different approach as the Department of Government Efficiency has prioritized budget cuts, reducing federal expenditures rather than expanding them. The Fed stayed put till August and has enacted three rate cuts since September.
Top-Performing Country ETFs in Focus
Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few winning country-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) of 2025.
South Korea
iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY - Free Report) – Up 92.3%
Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF (FLKR) – Up 88.0%
Accommodative monetary policy drove South Korea’s gains this year. Since October last year, the Bank of Korea has cut rates by a cumulative 100 bps to support economic growth. The BoK maintained its base rate at 2.50% in November for the fourth successive meeting, per Trading Economics.
South Korea’s economy grew 1.8% year over year in Q3 of 2025, faster than earlier estimates of 1.7% and the fastest growth since Q2 of 2024, according to Trading Economics. Plus, the BoK expects the economy to advance 1.8% year on year (vs. 1.6% previously) in 2026 and 1.9% in 2027. Upbeat chips and the IT cycle will boost growth more than previously expected, as quoted on ING.com.
Stocks in Greece hit a 15-year high this year due to a combination of strong economic growth, an upgrade to developed market status, fiscal discipline leading to budget surpluses, and strong tourism.
Greece’s economy grew 0.6% sequentially in Q3 2025, following a downwardly revised 0.4% gain in the previous quarter, marking the strongest quarterly growth since Q4 2024, per Trading Economics. On an annual basis, Greece’s GDP increased 2.0% in Q3 2025, surpassing the downwardly revised 1.6% growth in Q2 2025.
South Africa
iShares MSCI South Africa ETF (EZA - Free Report) – Up 77.9%
The South African economy grew 0.5% sequentially in Q3 2025, following an upwardly revised 0.9% growth in the prior period and marking the fourth successive quarter of expansion, per Trading Economics. The South African economy grew 0.5% sequentially in Q3 2025, following an upwardly revised 0.9% growth in the prior period and marking the fourth successive quarter of expansion.Growth in the mining industry likely acted as the catalyst.
Spain’s gross domestic product grew 0.6% quarter-on-quarter in Q3 2025, easing from a downwardly revised 0.7% expansion in Q2, in line with preliminary estimates. A resilient labor market has been a key strength of the Spanish economy, per Reuters. Spain’s key equity index touched its first record in 18 years in late October 2025, thanks to gains in banks.
The Polish economy grew 0.9% sequentially in Q3 of 2025, marking the fastest expansion this year, following 0.8% growth in the preceding three-month period. Poland’s equity market has been among the world’s best performers this year, supported by its relative protection from the global trade war and chances of a spillover boost from Germany's significant fiscal stimulus and spending plans, as mentioned in the Financial Times.
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Best-Performing Country ETFs of 2025
Key Takeaways
Wall Street experienced significant volatility in 2025, while international markets remained relatively stable or gained momentum. Trade uncertainty under Trump’s administration has fueled concerns about rising inflation and a slowing U.S. economy, which has worked in favor of international markets. Agreed, international economies, too, faced uncertainties related to Trump tariffs, but the blow on their markets proved to be less severe than what it was for the U.S. market.
2025 Performance Scorecard of U.S. & International ETFs
Note that Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF MAGS is up 25.5% so far this year (as of Dec. 26, 2025), while SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY - Free Report) has gained 18.1%. The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (QQQ - Free Report) is up about 22.3% while SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA - Free Report) has advanced 14.9% in 2025 so far.
Vanguard Tax Managed Fund FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA - Free Report) is up 31.6% this year. Meanwhile, iShares Asia 50 ETF (AIA - Free Report) has jumped about 44% in 2025, and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM - Free Report) has advanced 31.2%. iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU - Free Report) has jumped 37.4%. iShares MSCI ACWI ex US ETF ACWX has grown by 29.7% in price. It means all these international indexes fared better than the key U.S. indexes in 2025.
What Drove International ETFs?
Diversified Exposure: Investors should note that the artificial intelligence (AI) behemoths of the United States — the magnificent seven stocks or the main driving factor of Wall Street in recent years — faced overvaluation concerns and investor worries about payoffs during the year, at times weighing heavily on tech-centric indexes. The Mag 7 group comprises about one-fourth of the S&P 500, while the tech stocks are also the heavier part of the Nasdaq 100.
In contrast, Europe’s STOXX Europe 600 has a more balanced structure, with its top 10 stocks making up only 17% of the index’s market cap, said Christoph Schon, lead principal of investment decision research at Danish investment management firm SimCorp, to CNBC recently. The STOXX Europe 600 has quite a diversified exposure.
Cheaper Valuation: Most international markets and ETFs were undervalued in comparison to U.S. stocks and ETFs. The P/E ratio (trailing twelve months) of EZU stands at 17.83X (per Yahoo Finance), while its U.S. counterpart — Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) — trades at a P/E of 29.19X.
iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ) has a P/E ratio of 16.40X. The ETF EEM trades at a P/E of 15.85X. iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI) trades at a P/E of 10.79X. iShares India 50 ETF (INDY) has a P/E of 22.11X while iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) has a P/E of 10.69X.
Stimulus Abroad: The European Central Bank was on a rate-cut spree earlier in the year. Despite cutting rates at the start of 2025, the ECB halted policy easing due to trade uncertainty in the middle of the year. India and China have also been on a path of policy stimuli (either fiscal or monetary or both). Although the Bank of Japan has been hiking rates, the interest rate backdrop remains low.
In contrast, the United States took a different approach as the Department of Government Efficiency has prioritized budget cuts, reducing federal expenditures rather than expanding them. The Fed stayed put till August and has enacted three rate cuts since September.
Top-Performing Country ETFs in Focus
Against this backdrop, below we highlight a few winning country-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs) of 2025.
South Korea
iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY - Free Report) – Up 92.3%
Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF (FLKR) – Up 88.0%
Accommodative monetary policy drove South Korea’s gains this year. Since October last year, the Bank of Korea has cut rates by a cumulative 100 bps to support economic growth. The BoK maintained its base rate at 2.50% in November for the fourth successive meeting, per Trading Economics.
South Korea’s economy grew 1.8% year over year in Q3 of 2025, faster than earlier estimates of 1.7% and the fastest growth since Q2 of 2024, according to Trading Economics. Plus, the BoK expects the economy to advance 1.8% year on year (vs. 1.6% previously) in 2026 and 1.9% in 2027. Upbeat chips and the IT cycle will boost growth more than previously expected, as quoted on ING.com.
Greece
Global X MSCI Greece ETF (GREK - Free Report) – Up 79.2%
Stocks in Greece hit a 15-year high this year due to a combination of strong economic growth, an upgrade to developed market status, fiscal discipline leading to budget surpluses, and strong tourism.
Greece’s economy grew 0.6% sequentially in Q3 2025, following a downwardly revised 0.4% gain in the previous quarter, marking the strongest quarterly growth since Q4 2024, per Trading Economics. On an annual basis, Greece’s GDP increased 2.0% in Q3 2025, surpassing the downwardly revised 1.6% growth in Q2 2025.
South Africa
iShares MSCI South Africa ETF (EZA - Free Report) – Up 77.9%
The South African economy grew 0.5% sequentially in Q3 2025, following an upwardly revised 0.9% growth in the prior period and marking the fourth successive quarter of expansion, per Trading Economics. The South African economy grew 0.5% sequentially in Q3 2025, following an upwardly revised 0.9% growth in the prior period and marking the fourth successive quarter of expansion.Growth in the mining industry likely acted as the catalyst.
Spain
iShares MSCI Spain ETF (EWP - Free Report) – Up 77.5%
Spain’s gross domestic product grew 0.6% quarter-on-quarter in Q3 2025, easing from a downwardly revised 0.7% expansion in Q2, in line with preliminary estimates. A resilient labor market has been a key strength of the Spanish economy, per Reuters. Spain’s key equity index touched its first record in 18 years in late October 2025, thanks to gains in banks.
Poland
iShares MSCI Poland ETF (EPOL - Free Report) – Up 76.7%
The Polish economy grew 0.9% sequentially in Q3 of 2025, marking the fastest expansion this year, following 0.8% growth in the preceding three-month period. Poland’s equity market has been among the world’s best performers this year, supported by its relative protection from the global trade war and chances of a spillover boost from Germany's significant fiscal stimulus and spending plans, as mentioned in the Financial Times.