The Best Performing International ETFs over the Last 10 Years
Updated as of: March 9, 2026
Advisors often look beyond domestic borders for portfolio diversification opportunities and attractive equity valuations in other countries. While the U.S. stock market is currently valued around a staggering $60 trillion, it accounts for only half of the world’s market capitalization.
International investing helps advisors’ clients gain exposure to the other half of total worldwide market capitalization, and ETFs enable convenient access to a basket of underlying equities in a specific country, region, or ex-US as a whole through a single investment vehicle.
This article contains the best-performing international ETFs from the last year all the way back to the past decade, with data routinely updated by YCharts.
To create this list, we analyzed the entire ETF universe using the YCharts Fund Screener to find the best-performing international equity ETFs that are US-domiciled on a 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year basis. (ETFs with leveraged or inverse attributes as well as those in the alternative currency strategy and options arbitrage strategy peer groups were excluded to focus on long-term investment vehicles that align with broader financial planning goals)
Table of Contents
Looking for the best-performing ETFs overall? Check out our analysis on the Best Performing ETFs over the Last 10 Years here.
Best Performing International ETFs in the Last Year
These are the top-performing international ETFs over the past year, as of February 28, 2026.
| Symbol | Name | 1 Year Total Returns (Monthly) | Net Expense Ratio | Share Class Assets Under Management | Peer Group Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EWY | iShares MSCI South Korea ETF | 183.18% | 0.59% | $17,932,336,776 | Pacific Ex Japan Funds |
| FLKR | Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF | 173.71% | 0.09% | $500,554,985 | Pacific Ex Japan Funds |
| EART | Global X Rare Earth & Critical Materials ETF | 158.02% | 0.59% | $45,880,452 | International Multi-Cap Value |
| MKOR | Matthews Korea Active ETF | 148.98% | 0.79% | $106,797,650 | Pacific Ex Japan Funds |
| EPU | iShares MSCI Peru and Global Exposure ETF | 134.47% | 0.59% | $605,825,042 | Latin American Funds |
| EMEQ | Nomura Focused Emerging Markets Equity ETF | 109.24% | 0.86% | $313,365,900 | Emerging Markets Funds |
| LENS | Sarmaya Thematic ETF | 104.97% | 0.75% | $50,649,784 | Global Multi-Cap Value |
| FTHF | First Trust Emerging Markets Human Flourishing ETF | 103.65% | 0.75% | $93,521,496 | Emerging Markets Funds |
| EMDM | First Trust Bloomberg Emerging Mkt Democracies ETF | 97.28% | 0.75% | $21,415,658 | Emerging Markets Funds |
| EZA | iShares MSCI South Africa ETF | 96.17% | 0.59% | $1,088,342,271 | Emerging Markets Funds |
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Best Performing International ETFs in the Last 3 Years
These are the top-performing international ETFs on an annualized basis between March 1st, 2023 and February 28, 2026.
| Symbol | Name | 3 Year Total Returns (Monthly) | Annualized 3 Year Total Returns (Monthly) | Net Expense Ratio | Share Class Assets Under Management | Peer Group Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPU | iShares MSCI Peru and Global Exposure ETF | 265.22% | 54.00% | 0.59% | $605,825,042 | Latin American Funds |
| EWY | iShares MSCI South Korea ETF | 178.14% | 40.63% | 0.59% | $17,932,336,776 | Pacific Ex Japan Funds |
| EPOL | iShares MSCI Poland ETF | 177.11% | 40.46% | 0.59% | $638,076,570 | European Region Funds |
| FLKR | Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF | 173.44% | 39.84% | 0.09% | $500,554,985 | Pacific Ex Japan Funds |
| DXJ | WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 163.82% | 38.18% | 0.48% | $6,408,414,545 | Japanese Funds |
| OPPJ | WisdomTree Japan Opportunities Fund | 161.40% | 37.75% | 0.58% | $234,115,065 | Japanese Funds |
| COLO | Global X MSCI Colombia ETF | 154.80% | 36.58% | 0.62% | $133,579,844 | Latin American Funds |
| GREK | Global X MSCI Greece ETF | 141.59% | 34.18% | 0.56% | $301,356,571 | Emerging Markets Funds |
| FLJH | Franklin FTSE Japan Hedged ETF | 139.93% | 33.87% | 0.09% | $141,437,729 | Japanese Funds |
| FRDM | Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF | 137.08% | 33.34% | 0.49% | $2,876,642,728 | Emerging Markets Funds |
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Best Performing International ETFs in the Last 5 Years
These are the top-performing ETFs on an annualized basis between March 1, 2021 and February 28, 2026.
| Symbol | Name | 5 Year Total Returns (Monthly) | Annualized 5 Year Total Returns (Monthly) | Net Expense Ratio | Share Class Assets Under Management | Peer Group Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DXJ | WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 239.76% | 27.71% | 0.48% | $6,408,414,545 | Japanese Funds |
| GREK | Global X MSCI Greece ETF | 232.44% | 27.16% | 0.56% | $301,356,571 | Emerging Markets Funds |
| ARGT | Global X MSCI Argentina ETF | 231.42% | 27.08% | 0.59% | $742,654,797 | Latin American Funds |
| OPPJ | WisdomTree Japan Opportunities Fund | 218.82% | 26.10% | 0.58% | $234,115,065 | Japanese Funds |
| EPU | iShares MSCI Peru and Global Exposure ETF | 211.66% | 25.53% | 0.59% | $605,825,042 | Latin American Funds |
| FLJH | Franklin FTSE Japan Hedged ETF | 169.77% | 21.95% | 0.09% | $141,437,729 | Japanese Funds |
| HEWJ | iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF | 164.04% | 21.43% | 0.49% | $744,735,376 | Japanese Funds |
| DBJP | Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF | 162.70% | 21.31% | 0.45% | $606,220,907 | Japanese Funds |
| EWP | iShares MSCI Spain ETF | 147.80% | 19.90% | 0.50% | $1,847,820,568 | European Region Funds |
| EPOL | iShares MSCI Poland ETF | 143.58% | 19.49% | 0.59% | $638,076,570 | European Region Funds |
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Best Performing International ETFs in the Last 10 Years
These are the top-performing ETFs on an annualized basis between March 1, 2016 and February 28, 2026.
| Symbol | Name | 10 Year Total Returns (Monthly) | Annualized 10 Year Total Returns (Monthly) | Net Expense Ratio | Share Class Assets Under Management | Peer Group Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPU | iShares MSCI Peru and Global Exposure ETF | 488.44% | 19.39% | 0.59% | $605,825,042 | Latin American Funds |
| ARGT | Global X MSCI Argentina ETF | 443.01% | 18.44% | 0.59% | $742,654,797 | Latin American Funds |
| DXJ | WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 433.02% | 18.22% | 0.48% | $6,408,414,545 | Japanese Funds |
| OPPJ | WisdomTree Japan Opportunities Fund | 404.10% | 17.56% | 0.58% | $234,115,065 | Japanese Funds |
| EWT | iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | 393.80% | 17.32% | 0.59% | $8,319,198,117 | China Region Funds |
| GREK | Global X MSCI Greece ETF | 379.33% | 16.97% | 0.56% | $301,356,571 | Emerging Markets Funds |
| IOO | iShares Global 100 ETF | 356.15% | 16.39% | 0.40% | $7,899,447,221 | Global Large-Cap Core |
| HEWJ | iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Japan ETF | 345.97% | 16.13% | 0.49% | $744,735,376 | Japanese Funds |
| DBJP | Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF | 345.35% | 16.11% | 0.45% | $606,220,907 | Japanese Funds |
| DGT | State Street SPDR Global Dow ETF | 293.08% | 14.67% | 0.50% | $558,765,737 | Global Large-Cap Value |
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What Was the Growth of $10,000 in the Top International ETFs Over the Last 10 Years?
The best-performing international ETF in the last 10 years was the iShares MSCI Peru and Global Exposure ETF (EPU). A $10,000 investment into this Peru-focused ETF 10 years ago would be worth $58,840 today on a total return basis.
Right behind EPU was the Global X MSCI Argentina ETF (ARGT), with the iShares Global 100 ETF (IOO) in seventh place; investing $10,000 into ARGT back in 2016 would’ve turned into a little over $54K with dividend reinvestment, and that same principal invested into IOO would have returned just over $45K. Despite its international focus, IOO has moved mostly in tandem with the S&P 500 over that time period due to a 50% holdings overlap between IOO and SPY.
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