In 2025, stock markets in the United States accounted for roughly ** percent of world stocks. The next largest country by stock market share was China, followed by the European Union as a whole. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ are the largest stock exchange operators worldwide. What is a stock exchange? The first modern publicly traded company was the Dutch East Industry Company, which sold shares to the general public to fund expeditions to Asia. Since then, groups of companies have formed exchanges in which brokers and dealers can come together and make transactions in one space. Stock market indices group companies trading on a given exchange, giving an idea of how they evolve in real time. Appeal of stock ownership Over half of adults in the United States are investing money in the stock market. Stocks are an attractive investment because the possible return is higher than offered by other financial instruments.

The average for 2022 based on 75 countries was 1225.97 billion U.S. dollars. The highest value was in the USA: 40297.98 billion U.S. dollars and the lowest value was in Bermuda: 0.21 billion U.S. dollars. The indicator is available from 1975 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The market capitalization of companies in the United States was almost six times than that of China as of June 2025, making up a large share of the world's total market capitalization. Listed companies in the U.S. had a total market capitalization of nearly ** trillion U.S. dollars - against ** trillion U.S. dollars recorded by China. Japan followed as the next country in the ranking of nearly ***** trillion U.S. dollars.

The average for 2022 based on 75 countries was 74.88 percent. The highest value was in Hong Kong: 1273.23 percent and the lowest value was in Armenia: 1.29 percent. The indicator is available from 1975 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

As of 2024, the United States was the country with the highest participation rate in stock markets. More than one in two Americans was invested in the stock market, either by direct retail investing or through financial vehicles like life insurance and pension funds. Canada was the second country in the ranking, with a participation rate of ** percent, followed by the Australia, where ** percent of individuals were invested in stock markets.

The value of global domestic equity market increased from ***** trillion U.S. dollars in 2013 to ****** trillion U.S. dollars in 2024. The United States was by far the leading country with the largest share of total world stocks as of 2024. Global market capitalization in different regions The market capitalization of domestic companies listed varied across different regions of the world. As of Decmber 2024, the Americas region had the largest domestic equity market, totaling ** trillion U.S. dollars. This region is home to the NYSE and Nasdaq, which are the two largest stock exchange operators in the world. The market capitalization of these two exchanges alone exceeded ** billion U.S. dollars as of January 2025, larger than the total market capitalization in the Asia-Pacific, and in the EMEA regions in the same period. Largest Stock Exchanges in Latin America As of December 2024, the B3 (Brasil Bolsa Balcao) was the biggest stock exchange in Latin America in terms of market capitalization and the second-largest in terms of number of listed companies. Following the B3 were the Mexican Stock Exchange and the Santiago Stock Exchange in Chile. The most valuable company in Latin America is listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange: Fomento Económico Mexicano, a multinational beverage and retail company headquartered in Monterrey, had a market cap of *** billion U.S. dollars as of March 2025.

The average for 2021 based on 87 countries was 32.21 percent. The highest value was in Venezuela: 991.39 percent and the lowest value was in Botswana: -6.38 percent. The indicator is available from 1984 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2022 based on 14 countries was 103.5 percent. The highest value was in Hong Kong: 794.26 percent and the lowest value was in Azerbaijan: 0 percent. The indicator is available from 1975 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the largest stock exchange in the world, with an equity market capitalization of almost ** trillion U.S. dollars as of November 2025. The following largest three exchanges were the NASDAQ, PINK Exchange, and the Frankfurt Exchange. What is a stock exchange? A stock exchange is a marketplace where stockbrokers, traders, buyers, and sellers can trade in equities products. The largest exchanges have thousands of listed companies. These companies sell shares of their business, giving the general public the opportunity to invest in them. The oldest stock exchange worldwide is the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, founded in the late sixteenth century. Other functions of a stock exchange Since these are publicly traded companies, every firm listed on a stock exchange has had an initial public offering (IPO). The largest IPOs can raise billions of dollars in equity for the firm involved. Related to stock exchanges are derivatives exchanges, where stock options, futures contracts, and other derivatives can be traded.

Context:

The provided dataset is extracted from yahoo finance using pandas and yahoo finance library in python. This deals with stock market index of the world best economies. The code generated data from Jan 01, 2003 to Jun 30, 2023 that’s more than 20 years. There are 18 CSV files, dataset is generated for 16 different stock market indices comprising of 7 different countries. Below is the list of countries along with number of indices extracted through yahoo finance library, while two CSV files deals with annualized return and compound annual growth rate (CAGR) has been computed from the extracted data.

Number of Countries & Index:

https://www.googleapis.com/download/storage/v1/b/kaggle-user-content/o/inbox%2F15657145%2F90ce8a986761636e3edbb49464b304d8%2FNumber%20of%20Index.JPG?generation=1688490342207096&alt=media" alt="">

Content:

Unit of analysis: Stock Market Index Analysis

This dataset is useful for research purposes, particularly for conducting comparative analyses involving capital market performance and could be used along with other economic indicators.

There are 18 distinct CSV files associated with this dataset. First 16 CSV files deals with number of indices and last two CSV file deals with annualized return of each year and CAGR of each index. If data in any column is blank, it portrays that index was launch in later years, for instance: Bse500 (India), this index launch in 2007, so earlier values are blank, similarly China_Top300 index launch in year 2021 so early fields are blank too.

The extraction process involves applying different criteria, like in 16 CSV files all columns are included, Adj Close is used to calculate annualized return. The algorithm extracts data based on index name (code given by the yahoo finance) according start and end date.

Annualized return and CAGR has been calculated and illustrated in below image along with machine readable file (CSV) attached to that.

To extract the data provided in the attachment, various criteria were applied:

1. Content Filtering: The data was filtered based on several attributes, including the index name, start and end date. This filtering process ensured that only relevant data meeting the specified criteria.

2. Collaborative Filtering: Another filtering technique used was collaborative filtering using yahoo finance, which relies on index similarity. This approach involves finding indices that are similar to other index or extended dataset scope to other countries or economies. By leveraging this method, the algorithm identifies and extracts data based on similarities between indices.

In the last two CSV files, one belongs to annualized return, that was calculated based on the Adj close column and new DataFrame created to store its outcome. Below is the image of annualized returns of all index (if unreadable, machine-readable or CSV format is attached with the dataset).

Annualized Return:

As far as annualised rate of return is concerned, most of the time India stock market indices leading, followed by USA, Canada and Japan stock market indices.

https://www.googleapis.com/download/storage/v1/b/kaggle-user-content/o/inbox%2F15657145%2F37645bd90623ea79f3708a958013c098%2FAnnualized%20Return.JPG?generation=1688525901452892&alt=media" alt="">

Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR):

The best performing index based on compound growth is Sensex (India) that comprises of top 30 companies is 15.60%, followed by Nifty500 (India) that is 11.34% and Nasdaq (USA) all is 10.60%.

The worst performing index is China top300, however this is launch in 2021 (post pandemic), so would not possible to examine at that stage (due to less data availability). Furthermore, UK and Russia indices are also top 5 in the worst order.

https://www.googleapis.com/download/storage/v1/b/kaggle-user-content/o/inbox%2F15657145%2F58ae33f60a8800749f802b46ec1e07e7%2FCAGR.JPG?generation=1688490409606631&alt=media" alt="">

Geography: Stock Market Index of the World Top Economies

Time period: Jan 01, 2003 – June 30, 2023

Variables: Stock Market Index Title, Open, High, Low, Close, Adj Close, Volume, Year, Month, Day, Yearly_Return and CAGR

File Type: CSV file

Inspiration:

• Time series prediction model
• Investment opportunities in world best economies
• Comparative Analysis of past data with other stock market indices or other indices

Disclaimer:

This is not a financial advice; due diligence is required in each investment decision.

Comparison of price-to-earnings ratio in stock markets of each country

Graph and download economic data for Stock Market Capitalization to GDP for United States (DDDM01USA156NWDB) from 1975 to 2020 about market cap, stock market, capital, GDP, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Stock Market Total Value Traded to GDP for United States (DDDM02USA156NWDB) from 1975 to 2019 about market cap, stock market, trade, GDP, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Number of Listed Companies for United States (DDOM01USA644NWDB) from 1975 to 2019 about companies, stock market, and USA.

Between 2015 and 2025, the S&P 500 recorded a ** percent annualized return, the highest among major stock markets worldwide. Second in the ranking were Bovespa and BSE Sensex, the main indices for the Brazilian and for the Indian stock markets, with ** percent annualized returns.

Key information about Taiwan Market Capitalization: % of GDP

• Taiwan Market Capitalization accounted for 287.1 % of its Nominal GDP in Dec 2024, compared with a percentage of 240.9 % in the previous year
• Taiwan Market Capitalization: % Nominal GDP is updated yearly, available from Dec 1962 to Dec 2024
• The data reached an all-time high of 287.1 % in Dec 2024 and a record low of 6.1 % in Dec 1968

CEIC calculates Market Capitalization as % of Nominal GDP from annual Market Capitalization and annual Nominal GDP. Market Capitalization is calculated as the sum of the Market Capitalizations of Common and Preferred Stocks. Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation provides Market Capitalization in local currency. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan provides Nominal GDP in local currency. Market Capitalization as % of Nominal GDP prior to 1981 is calculated from Nominal GDP with reference year 2016.


Further information about Taiwan Market Capitalization: % of GDP

• In the latest reports, All Listed Stocks recorded a monthly P/E ratio of 23.3 in Oct 2025
• Month End closed at 27,626.5 points in Nov 2025

Graph and download economic data for Stock Market Turnover Ratio (Value Traded/Capitalization) for China (DDEM01CNA156NWDB) from 2003 to 2020 about ratio, stock market, and China.

Japan's main stock market index, the JP225, rose to 49553 points on December 2, 2025, gaining 0.51% from the previous session. Over the past month, the index has declined 3.78%, though it remains 26.25% higher than a year ago, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from Japan. Japan Stock Market Index (JP225) - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on December of 2025.

Key information about Japan Market Capitalization

• Japan Market Capitalization accounted for 7,586.336 USD bn in Oct 2025, compared with a percentage of 7,443.760 USD bn in the previous month
• Japan Market Capitalization is updated monthly, available from Jan 1957 to Oct 2025
• The data reached an all-time high of 7,586.336 USD bn in Oct 2025 and a record low of 4.473 USD bn in Aug 1957

CEIC converts monthly Market Capitalization into USD. Japan Exchange Group Inc. provides Market Capitalization in local currency. The Federal Reserve Board period end market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. Market Capitalization covers Tokyo Stock Exchange only, which is not the only equity market in the country but is highly representative. Before July 2013 Total Market Capitalization of TSE covers TSE 1st Section Shares, 2nd Section Shares and Mothers Shares. Since July 2013, Total Market Capitalization of TSE also covers Market Capitalization of Tokyo Pro Market Shares, JASDAQ Standard Shares and JASDAQ Growth Shares. On April 2022, the stock market was restructured into three new market segments (Prime Market, Standard Market, and Growth Market) replacing previous four market divisions: 1st Section, 2nd Section, Mothers, and JASDAQ (Standard and Growth).

Key information about United States Market Capitalization: % of GDP

• United States Market Capitalization accounted for 155.0 % of its Nominal GDP in Dec 2022, compared with a percentage of 205.0 % in the previous year
• US Market Capitalization: % Nominal GDP is updated yearly, available from Dec 1975 to Dec 2022
• The data reached an all-time high of 205.0 % in Dec 2021 and a record low of 36.7 % in Dec 1978

The World Bank provides annual Market Capitalization as % of Nominal GDP. Market Capitalization includes domestic companies listed at the end of the year and excludes investment companies, mutual funds and other collective investment vehicles