Average Emerging Markets return

Over the last 10 years the Emerging Markets has returned +7.7% a year (CAGR) with dividends reinvested — +4.8% from price alone, and +4.3% after inflation. Since 2006 the annualized figure is +6.9%. Every standard window, through Oct 5, 2026:

Window	Since	Total return /yr	Price only /yr	Dividends /yr	After inflation /yr
1 year	Oct 6, 2025	+12.80%	+10.28%	+2.52%	+9.86%
3 years	Oct 6, 2023	+19.05%	+15.74%	+3.31%	+15.85%
5 years	Oct 5, 2021	+7.13%	+4.00%	+3.14%	+3.17%
10 years	Oct 5, 2016	+7.69%	+4.76%	+2.93%	+4.27%
15 years	Oct 6, 2011	+6.24%	+3.26%	+2.99%	+3.53%
20 years	Oct 5, 2006	+5.74%	+2.89%	+2.84%	+3.11%
21.6 years (all data)	Mar 10, 2005	+6.93%	+4.18%	+2.75%	+4.25%

Annualized (CAGR) from VWO daily closes at exact anniversary dates; inflation adjustment uses CPI (CPIAUCSL). The dividends column is the reinvested-dividend contribution — total return minus price return.

The years behind the average#

“Average” hides how lumpy the ride is: across 20 full calendar years, the market finished positive 65% of the time, with a best year of +76.3% (2009) and a worst of -52.5% (2008). The arithmetic mean of single years is +9.2% and the median +12.2% — but compounding through the crashes brings the realized annualized return to +6.9%. Almost no individual year lands near the average.