Gold medals per person and GDP since 1994
Rank | Country name | Country | Golds | Golds per person | Golds per GDP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Germany | DEU | 76 | 0.91 | 20.10 | |
Norway | NOR | 69 | 12.73 | 188.33 | |
USA | USA | 58 | 0.18 | 2.79 | |
Canada | CAN | 58 | 1.54 | 36.24 | |
Russia | RUS | 49 | 0.34 | 33.47 | |
Switzerland | CHE | 31 | 3.58 | 43.79 | |
Netherlands | NLD | 31 | 1.81 | 34.98 | |
Austria | AUT | 30 | 3.33 | 69.30 | |
South Korea | KOR | 29 | 0.57 | 18.28 | |
Sweden | SWE | 23 | 2.28 | 43.47 | |
Italy | ITA | 22 | 0.36 | 11.90 | |
France | FRA | 20 | 0.31 | 7.84 | |
China | CHN | 13 | 0.01 | 0.87 | |
Japan | JPN | 12 | 0.09 | 2.44 | |
Czech Republic | CZE | 9 | 0.84 | 37.19 | |
Finland | FIN | 8 | 1.44 | 29.87 | |
Belarus | BLR | 8 | 0.85 | 138.63 | |
Poland | POL | 6 | 0.16 | 10.33 | |
Australia | AUS | 5 | 0.20 | 3.75 | |
Estonia | EST | 4 | 3.02 | 131.29 | |
Great Britain | GBR | 4 | 0.06 | 1.52 | |
Croatia | HRV | 4 | 0.97 | 70.46 | |
Slovakia | SVK | 3 | 0.55 | 29.44 | |
Ukraine | UKR | 3 | 0.07 | 21.09 | |
Slovenia | SVN | 2 | 0.96 | 38.61 | |
Latvia | LVA | 1 | 0.53 | 30.29 | |
Kazakhstan | KAZ | 1 | 0.05 | 6.03 | |
Hungary | HUN | 1 | 0.10 | 6.67 | |
Bulgaria | BGR | 1 | 0.14 | 0.62 | |
Uzbekistan | UZB | 1 | 0.03 | 16.73 |
Golds per person = Number of golds ÷ population (millions) Golds per GDP = Number of golds ÷ GDP (trillions)
Sometimes you need to look beyond the standard medal table to see which nations are performing well. So we’re showing you who competes above expectations when you consider the nation’s population and GDP. A greater population means you have a better chance of winning a medal and more money means the country has more to invest into sporting facilities and offer greater opportunities.
We start at the 1994 Winter Olympics because that was the first winter game without the USSR. The USSR were a huge medal winner so a time span both with and without them gives inconsistent data.
We have also used similar metrics to work out who really wins the summer Olympics.
Norway are the kings!
Australia overachieves
Belarus prove money isn’t everything
Excellent Estonia
Vast China ranks pooly
10 of their 13 gold medals have come in short-track speed skating. Speed Skating was only introduced to the Winter Olympics in 1992 and has been dominated by China, Japan and South Korea. Without this event, China’s performance would be incredibly weak. The hosts of the 2022 Winter Games will want to see improvement across the board.
European domination
Europe has won almost 70% of all Winter Olympic gold medals since 1994. North America takes 20% of the gold although USA and Canada are the only 2 nations contributing towards the total. Asia’s performance is disappointing given its size and climate. Conditions in some parts are perfect for winter sports, however, this hasn’t brought a wealth of athletes through.
No African nation has ever won a medal at the Winter Olympics, let alone a gold. They’re joined on a golden duck by South America. The obvious reason for this is the weather, however, the Andes in Argentina and Chile give good conditions for winter sports. Australia has proved you don’t need a vast amount of snow to compete, so the continent’s return of 0 medals is poor.
Continent | Golds |
---|---|
Europe | 405 (69.6%) |
North America | 116 (19.9%) |
Asia | 56 (9.6%) |
Oceania | 5 (0.9%) |
Africa | 0 (0%) |
South America | 0 (0%) |
Maryam Jinadu
Author
Maryam is a crypto and igaming content writer who has written over 500 web articles since starting in 2018.
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