Comparing what a country's listed companies are worth with what its whole economy produces in a year shows how much of national wealth is tied up in the stock market, and how much investors are willing to pay for it. In 2025 the typical country was at 41%, but Hong Kong's listed companies were worth over 14 times its annual output, and 14 of the 66 countries with data were above 100%. Part of that gap is real, and part of it is an accounting quirk rather than a sign of a "bigger" market.

The short version

• The median stock market value was 41% of GDP in 2025. Of the 66 countries, 36 were below 50%, 16 were between 50% and 100%, and 14 were above 100%.
• Hong Kong (1,425%), South Africa (327%), Switzerland (241%), the United States (224%) and Canada (199%) had the highest ratios among the larger markets. India was at 135%.
• The ratio has risen since 2000 in 36 of 46 countries with data in both years, with the median going from 26% to 41%. South Africa, South Korea, Japan and Canada gained the most. Luxembourg, Switzerland and Singapore fell.
• The ratio compares a stock of wealth (company value at one date) with a flow (a year of output), and it includes companies that earn most of their money abroad. A high number does not mean the local economy is large relative to its stock market in any simple sense.

The first chart shows the 24 highest ratios in 2025.

What the ratio measures

The indicator is the share price times the number of shares for all domestic companies listed on a country's exchanges, divided by that country's GDP. It excludes investment funds, and values are taken at the end of the year. Because share prices swing, the ratio can move by tens of points in a single year. The United States, for example, was at 78% in 2008 and 224% in 2025.

Why some ratios are so high

GDP counts what is produced inside a country. Stock market value counts the whole worth of companies listed there, wherever they operate. So the ratio is high where listed companies are large relative to the home economy.

• Listings by foreign or mainland firms. Hong Kong's exchange hosts many large companies whose business is mostly in mainland China, and the Johannesburg exchange hosts several big groups that earn most of their money outside South Africa. Their value counts in the numerator while their profits are mostly not in the local GDP.
• Large multinationals at home. Switzerland and the United States are home to global groups that sell around the world.
• Valuation. Markets that are priced richly relative to earnings produce a higher ratio, regardless of the size of the economy.
• Small economies with a few big companies. One large listing can move the ratio a lot.

The reverse is also true. Countries where many firms are privately held, state-owned or only lightly traded have low ratios even if the economy is large. For related reading, see our article on US stock returns against the rest of the world.

The ratio has risen in most places since 2000

The second chart compares 2000 and 2025 for the ten countries with the largest rises and the six with the largest falls, among 45 countries with data in both years (Hong Kong is excluded because its scale would swamp the chart; it rose from 363% to 1,425%).

The change from 2000 is partly the dot-com peak, when many ratios were unusually high, and partly 2025 being a strong year for equities in many places. A single end-year reading can mislead, so treat the change as a rough direction, not a trend line.

The largest markets in absolute terms

Among the 68 countries with a 2025 value in US dollars the combined value is about US$133 trillion, and the United States alone is just over half of it.

What this does and does not show

• Missing countries. Only 66 countries have a 2025 value. The United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Russia are not in it, because their series stop in earlier years. The picture is therefore not a complete world ranking.
• India needed a correction. The World Bank series gives India 267% (US$10.6 trillion) for 2025, but the number of listed companies jumped from 2,673 to 8,510, which suggests the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange were added together and most companies counted twice. We use the NSE's own figure instead, a market value of Rs 474 lakh crore, or 135% of GDP, close to the 136% the World Bank series shows for 2024. The NSE figure is our substitution, not a World Bank value, and India's 2025 market value in US dollars is derived from it.
• Stock against flow. The numerator is a value at one date and the denominator is a year of output, so 100% does not mean "the market equals the economy" in a literal sense.
• Home versus abroad. The ratio does not tell us how much of listed companies' profit is earned in the country, so it says little about how important the stock market is to local households or firms.
• Only listed domestic companies. Private companies, state-owned firms and funds are excluded, so a low ratio is not evidence of a small economy or an underdeveloped financial system on its own.
• Exchange definitions differ, for example on dual listings and on how foreign companies are treated. Recent years are also revised.

Method and data

• Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator CM.MKT.LCAP.GD.ZS (market capitalisation of listed domestic companies, % of GDP), compiled from World Federation of Exchanges data, accessed October 2026, under the CC BY 4.0 licence (terms of use).
• Download: all countries through the World Bank API, 1988 to 2025. Absolute market values come from the companion series CM.MKT.LCAP.CD (current US$).
• India 2025: NSE annual highlights for 2025 (market value Rs 474 lakh crore, 135% of GDP), used in place of the World Bank value, which appears to double count. India's US dollar value is 135% of the World Bank's 2025 GDP for India.
• Filters: individual economies only (regional and income aggregates dropped). Changes since 2000 use only countries with data in both 2000 and 2025.
• Our work: charts and calculations are our own derived work and are not endorsed by the World Bank or the World Federation of Exchanges.

Correction, 31 October 2026: an earlier version of this article showed India at 267% of GDP in 2025, using a World Bank value that appears to count two exchanges twice. Thanks to the readers who flagged it. India is now shown at 135%, using the National Stock Exchange's own figure, and the charts, table and totals have been updated. See "Method and data" for details.