International ETFs: global, ex-US, developed, emerging

The geography vocabulary, and why 'global' and 'international' are not synonyms.

The labels have specific meanings. Global (or 'world') funds can include U.S. stocks, often 60%+ of the weight. International (or 'ex-US') funds exclude the U.S. entirely. Developed-markets funds hold rich, liquid markets (Japan, UK, Europe, Australia); emerging-markets funds hold faster-growing but riskier markets (China, India, Taiwan, Brazil); frontier funds go a step further out.

Classification differs by index provider (South Korea is developed to FTSE but emerging to MSCI), so two 'emerging markets' funds can differ meaningfully. This site classifies funds from their actual reported country weights and shows the weights on each fund page.

Currency is the second dimension: an unhedged international fund's return = local market return + currency moves; hedged share classes strip the currency effect for a small cost. Both choices are legitimate; they are just different exposures.