Every major stock index around the world climbed through 2019. Here are the 12 top performers.

Reuters

Traders work on the floor at the NYSE in New York

• Despite the US-China trade war and recession fears, 2019 marked a winning year for stock-market investors around the world.
• Every major global index grew through the year, with many breaching record highs as central banks cut interest rates and positive earnings reports drove stocks higher.
• Here are the 12 best-performing indexes of 2019 among G20 members.
• Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.

Stock investors faced trade war escalation and numerous recession warnings, yet 2019 still marked a winning year for equities.

Every major global stock index climbed through the past year, with many notching record highs as central banks slashed rates and positive earnings reports pulled shares higher.

Even some of the most embattled economies posted double-digit growth in the 12-month period. China's economy slowed to its slowest pace in decades and Germany's manufacturing industry tumbled into recession, yet both countries' main indexes grew more than 24% through the year.

Here are the 12 best-performing indexes around the world, ranked in ascending order. Only G20 members were included, and performance figures are as of US market close on December 9.