International stocks have been thriving in 2025, but buying individual stocks from other countries isn’t always easy. One workaround is an international stock ETF — an exchange-traded fund that does the work of researching and investing in foreign stocks for you.

But what kind of international ETF may be best for you? They come in a few different varieties, including global “ex-U.S.” ETFs, continent-specific or regional ETFs, and single-country ETFs. Below, we’re taking a look at the differences between these categories, and some of the best performers from each.

Ex-U.S. ETFs are the broadest category of international ETFs — they’re funds that invest in global stocks, but exclude American stocks, hence “ex-U.S.” Below are the seven best-performing ex-U.S. ETFs in the last year.

Source: Finviz. Data is current as of June 2, 2025, and is intended for informational purposes only.

Regional ETFs invest in stocks from a specific grouping of countries, such as Latin America. Many invest in stocks from a specific continent, such as Africa, Asia or Europe. Below are the seven best-performing regional ETFs in terms of one-year returns.

Source: Finviz. Data is current as of June 2, 2025, and is intended for informational purposes only.

Then there are single-country ETFs, which, as their name implies, exclusively invest in stocks from a specific non-U.S. country. Below are the seven single-country ETFs with the highest one-year returns.

Source: Finviz. Data is current as of June 2, 2025, and is intended for informational purposes only, not for trading purposes.