The dividend yield of the US equity market as referenced by the S&P 500 has hovered around the 2% mark for many years now. This is one of the low yields among the major developed markets.

At 4.18% for the S&P/ASX 200 Index, Australia has the highest dividend yield of all developed markets. Norway has thesecond highest at 4.08% followed by the UK at 4.02%. The linked Bloomberg article notes that Australia has consistently yielded over 4% or more in dividend yields this decade.

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Source: Singapore Loves Dividends, Australia Most Generous, Bloomberg

The key takeaway for American income investors is that they need to cast a wide to gain higher yields. One way to do this is to diversify across many developed markets especially high-yielding ones like Australia and Norway.