• 2015 half-year gain: 28.5%

Stock are about as hot as the Jamaican sun this year.

Like Argentina, Jamaica also recently defaulted on its debt. Its $9 billion default in 2013 was much smaller than Argentina's default, but the global financial crisis hit the island nation hard.

Jamaica's economy, fueled by agriculture and tourism, contracted three times between 2009 and 2012. But Jamaica has had modest economic growth the past two years, and it's slated to have its best year of growth in almost a decade in 2015, according to projections from the International Monetary Fund.

The positive economic vibes in Jamaica are driving stocks up this year.

Related: Everyone wants to go to Cuba. Too bad for the rest of the Caribbean

NEXT: Denmark