A stock market can be large without trading frequently, and a smaller market can be very active relative to its own size. World Bank indicator CM.MKT.TRNR is designed to capture that distinction. It measures the turnover ratio of domestic shares: trading in domestic listed equities relative to domestic market capitalization, annualized from monthly observations. The source extract contains 102 countries and separately reported areas, but their latest non-missing observations span 1996–2024. To keep the geographic comparison on one date, the main map and rankings use only the 67 observations actually dated 2024.
Across those 67 same-year observations, the median turnover ratio is 10.43% and the simple mean is 33.89%. The middle half runs from 2.24% to 37.83%. China records 296.65%, Türkiye 253.11%, and Korea 200.76%, while Armenia, Uzbekistan, and Luxembourg are below 0.1%. These figures do not rank the market value of listed companies or investment returns. They show how much trading activity occurred relative to the size of the domestic equity market captured by the indicator.
Table of Contents
The turnover ratio compares trading activity with market capitalization
The World Bank describes CM.MKT.TRNR using electronic order book (EOB) trading in domestic shares divided by month-end domestic market capitalization. The monthly ratio is averaged and annualized by multiplying by 12. A turnover ratio of 100% therefore means that annualized trading activity is roughly equal to the measured market capitalization. A value of 200% means trading activity is about twice market capitalization on that annualized basis.
A ratio above 100% is not inherently unusual because the same shares can be bought and sold repeatedly. Market capitalization is a point-in-time valuation of outstanding listed equity, while trading measures transactions through time. The numerator can therefore exceed the denominator without implying that listed companies doubled in value or that investors earned a 100% return.
Turnover ratio and traded value relative to GDP answer different questions
The World Bank publishes another capital-market measure, stocks traded as a percentage of GDP. That ratio compares equity trading with the size of the entire economy. CM.MKT.TRNR instead compares trading with the capitalization of the domestic equity market itself. The first question is ‘How large was share trading relative to economic output?’ The turnover-ratio question is ‘How active was trading relative to the size of the listed market?’
The numerator definitions are also not perfectly interchangeable. Current WDI metadata for CM.MKT.TRNR focuses on domestic shares traded through the electronic order book, while the total-value-traded-to-GDP series describes the value of traded shares against GDP. For that reason, the two indicators should not be merged merely because both contain the words ‘stocks traded.’ They are complementary market-activity measures with different denominators and statistical definitions.
The 102 latest observations cannot be treated as one current ranking
The source table stores the most recent non-missing value available for each included economy. Of the 102 rows, 67 are from 2024, 3 from 2023, and 7 from 2020–2022. Another 14 have a latest value in 2010–2019, and 11 are from 1996–2009. Putting all 102 into a single ‘current’ league table would mix more than two decades of exchange structure, technology, regulation, listings, and trading behavior.
| Latest observation year | Countries/areas | Share of 102 |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 67 | 65.7% |
| 2023 | 3 | 2.9% |
| 2020–2022 | 7 | 6.9% |
| 2010–2019 | 14 | 13.7% |
| 1996–2009 | 11 | 10.8% |
Older observations remain valid descriptions of their historical reference years, but they are deliberately left out of the 2024 ranking. The map should therefore be read as a synchronized historical snapshot, not as a claim that every economy in the world has a 2024 turnover ratio. A blank country can simply lack a 2024 value in this series.
The 2024 median is 10.43%, while the simple mean is 33.89%
The median of the 67 synchronized observations is 10.43%. The interquartile range extends from 2.24% to 37.83%. The simple country-level mean is much higher at 33.89% because the upper tail contains several markets above 100% and three above 200%. The median is therefore useful when describing a typical observation, while the mean reveals how strongly a small group of high-turnover markets pulls the distribution upward.
| 2024 turnover ratio | Countries/areas |
|---|---|
| Below 1% | 11 |
| 1% to <5% | 15 |
| 5% to <20% | 16 |
| 20% to <50% | 13 |
| 50% to <100% | 6 |
| 100% or more | 6 |
There are 11 observations below 1%, 15 from 1% to below 5%, and 16 from 5% to below 20%. Only 6 are at or above 100%. The 33.89% mean is not a global aggregate turnover ratio. It is an unweighted average in which a small market and a very large market each contribute one country-level observation.
China, Türkiye, and Korea exceed 200% in the 2024 comparison
China has the highest 2024 observation at 296.65%, followed by Türkiye at 253.11% and Korea at 200.76%. Qatar records 171.65%, Brazil 138.05%, and Japan 117.02%. Those six are the only observations at or above 100% in this synchronized set. Viet Nam is 78.39%, the United States 68.50%, Hong Kong SAR 65.86%, India 65.23%, Canada 63.71%, and Thailand 58.09%.
| Country/area | 2024 turnover ratio |
|---|---|
| China | 296.65% |
| Turkiye | 253.11% |
| Korea, Rep. | 200.76% |
| Qatar | 171.65% |
| Brazil | 138.05% |
| Japan | 117.02% |
| Viet Nam | 78.39% |
| United States | 68.50% |
| Hong Kong SAR, China | 65.86% |
| India | 65.23% |
| Canada | 63.71% |
| Thailand | 58.09% |
| Australia | 48.66% |
| Egypt, Arab Rep. | 47.65% |
| Germany | 45.20% |
High turnover is not a forecast of stock returns and should not be interpreted as an investment recommendation. A market can trade heavily while prices fall, and a market can rise strongly without having an exceptionally high turnover ratio. Trading technology, investor composition, volatility, exchange structure, and the set of listed domestic shares can all matter, but this single cross-country indicator cannot establish why any one market records a particular value.
Large differences remain within the same regions
Several East Asian markets are high, but the pattern is not uniform across Asia. China, Korea, and Japan are all above 100%, while Kazakhstan is 0.73%, Azerbaijan 0.44%, and Uzbekistan 0.05%. Thailand is 58.09%, Malaysia 36.92%, and India 65.23%. The map therefore shows clusters and contrasts rather than a single continent-wide level.
Europe is also mixed. Germany records 45.20%, Poland 41.10%, Greece 37.58%, and Spain 36.64%, while Luxembourg is 0.09%, Belarus 0.27%, Bulgaria 2.17%, and Croatia 1.02%. In South America, Brazil stands out at 138.05%, while Chile is 11.19%, Colombia 6.79%, and Peru 4.65%. These gaps make country-level mapping more informative than a broad regional label.
Low turnover does not mean there is no stock market, and high turnover does not prove market quality
The lowest 2024 observations include Armenia at 0.0437%, Uzbekistan 0.0543%, Luxembourg 0.0935%, Zambia 0.1863%, and Belarus 0.2685%. Seychelles is 0.3229%, Azerbaijan 0.4372%, Bermuda 0.5835%, Kazakhstan 0.7267%, and Tanzania 0.9049%. Those numbers mean the domestic share trading captured by this series was small relative to the corresponding market capitalization. They do not prove that equity markets or corporate financing were absent.
Turnover ratio is only one liquidity-related measure. A fuller assessment can require bid–ask spreads, order-book depth, trading costs, concentration, free float, and the distribution of activity across securities. Cross-country comparability can also be affected by reporting and accounting differences. The ratio is most useful as a standardized first view of trading intensity, not as a one-number score of market quality.
Market capitalization and turnover separate market size from trading intensity
Green Map’s market-capitalization-to-GDP page asks how large listed equity markets are relative to national output. The turnover ratio asks something different: how much domestic equity trading occurs relative to the market’s own capitalization. A country can have a very large listed market and moderate turnover, a smaller listed market with very active trading, or high values on both dimensions.
The two pages should not be combined numerically without aligning their dates. The current Green Map market-cap comparison centers on 2025, while this turnover map uses 2024. They can be read together to understand the concepts of size and activity, but calculating a new ratio or causal relationship from different reference years would be misleading.
Data source and mapping method
The statistical source is World Bank World Development Indicators series CM.MKT.TRNR – Stocks traded, turnover ratio of domestic shares (%). The World Bank identifies the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) database as the source and currently defines the measure using electronic order book domestic-share trading relative to month-end domestic market capitalization, annualized from monthly observations. Its metadata also warns that cross-country comparability can be limited by reporting and accounting differences.
- World Bank DataBank – CM.MKT.TRNR metadata
- World Bank – Stocks traded, turnover ratio of domestic shares (%)
- World Federation of Exchanges – Statistics
All map statistics, distribution counts, and rankings on this page are recalculated from the 67 observations dated 2024. World Bank regional and income-group aggregates are excluded. ISO-3 codes match 61 observations directly to the Natural Earth low-resolution boundary layer. Hong Kong SAR, Bahrain, Bermuda, Malta, Mauritius, and Seychelles have statistical observations but may not appear as independent filled polygons at this scale; their values remain in the tables and calculations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a 200% stock-market turnover ratio mean?
Under World Bank CM.MKT.TRNR, it means annualized domestic-share trading activity is about twice the market capitalization measured for the indicator. Shares can trade repeatedly, so the ratio can exceed 100%; it is not a 200% investment return.
What is Korea’s stock-market turnover ratio in 2024?
Korea records about 200.76% in the synchronized 2024 data, behind China at 296.65% and Türkiye at 253.11%. The figure measures trading intensity and does not predict returns.
Is turnover ratio the same as stocks traded as a percentage of GDP?
No. Turnover ratio compares trading activity with domestic market capitalization, while traded value as a percentage of GDP compares share trading with the size of the national economy. They use different denominators and answer different questions.
Why does the comparison use 67 observations instead of all 102 latest values?
The 102 latest observations span 1996–2024. Restricting the map and main ranking to the 67 values actually dated 2024 avoids mixing different market eras into one country ranking.
Related Articles
The pages below help separate equity-market size, capital-market financing, and broad economic growth from the turnover ratio measured here.
- How Large Are Listed Equity Markets Relative to GDP? 2025
- Corporate Bond Issuance vs GDP – Latest Country Map and 2021 Comparison
- Global GDP Growth Map – Country Patterns in 2025
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