The world’s stock markets have on the whole delivered solid returns for investors in 2013, but the list of the best performers includes some surprising names.

Investors brave enough to plough their cash into shares in Venezuela would have quintupled their money in 2013.

The Caracas Stock Exchange, which lists just 15 Venezuelan shares, has returned a whopping 452pc in 2013, according to data firm Morningstar.

But British investors have missed out on these stellar returns, as none of the 1,500-odd funds available to UK investors has a single penny in shares listed on the exchange.

The strong stock market returns have come despite the anti-capitalist policies of the former president, Hugo Chavez, who died in March. Mr Chavez was not a fan of the private sector and during his 14-year reign regularly seized company assets. In turn this discouraged foreign investors from putting their money into companies in the South American region.

But investors should be cautious about history repeating itself in 2014. The main reason for the Venezuelan stock market’s strong performance has been the fear that the country is on the verge of a currency crisis, rather than investors warming to its new president, Nicolás Maduro.

Domestic investors are seeking to protect their bolivars from devaluation and inflation by buying the few stocks available on the local exchange – pushing up prices, said Barclays Wealth. Venezuela’s government devalued the bolivar by 32pc in February.

There are other surprises among the top 10 stock markets of 2013. A number of debt-ridden economies, such as Iceland and Greece, make the list, with rises of 38pc and 35pc respectively. Ireland, which suffered heavily during the financial crash but has been able to borrow on the open market again, also features, with its stock market returning 35pc.

Elsewhere two frontier markets, Zambia and Nigeria, also make the list. Such markets have been touted as the next generation of emerging economies.

Both nations have rapidly growing young populations, so in theory should benefit from the rise in domestic consumption, which should lead to more foreign investors putting money into their stock markets.

Less of a surprise is to see Japan’s Jasdaq index and America’s technology-heavy Nasdaq exchange in the top 10.

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