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!

With 69 gold medals since 1994, Norway tops the charts for both golds per person and golds per GDP. The Norwegians excel at cross-country skiing, with 29 golds won in this category. The next best is biathlon with 13. What is really impressive though is the success rate of the athletes. In PyeongChang 2018 they sent 109 athletes and won 14 golds. By comparison, the USA sent 242 athletes and won 9 golds.The top dogs of the snow have an average temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius to thank in part for their success. The high levels of snow and ice mean traditional sports are harder to compete in, while winter sports can take centre stage.

Australia overachieves

With an average temperature of 21.65 degrees Celsius, Australia has no right to be collecting Winter Olympic gold medals. However, their haul of 5 since 1994 is a real achievement. 4 of their medals have come in skiing, despite the lack of facilities. The Aussie’s other gold medal came in speed skating. A proactive approach from the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia is part of the reason for this success. They actively convert gymnasts and other athletes over to winter events. This involves overseas training, which is helped by the affluent nature of the country.

Belarus prove money isn’t everything

With a national GDP of $59 billion (less than Myanmar), Belarus would be forgiven for not having a top-class Winter Olympics team. However, they have managed a haul of 8 golds since 1994. 4 biathlon golds and 4 freestyle skiing golds mean the former Soviet nation punches well above its weight in the golds per GDP category, ranking 2nd. Having said that, a population of 9 million means their golds per person stats aren’t as impressive, ranked 12th.With no golds won before Vancouver 2010, Belarus has stepped up their Winter Olympic performance recently. 5 golds in Sochi 2014 provided the nation with its best-ever performance.

Excellent Estonia

Ranking 4th in golds per person and 3rd in golds per GDP, Estonia is worth an honorable mention. This is particularly impressive when you consider their population is a tiny 1.3 million. Their 4 golds all came in cross-country skiing. In fact, their 2 silvers and 1 bronze all came in the same discipline which is clearly a favorite for the nation.Having said that, Estonia missed out on the medals at both the 2014 and 2018 Winter Games and looks to be past its peak. A GDP of just $30 billion suggests they don’t have a lot of resources to throw at young athletes, but a low average temperature of 5.1 degrees Celsius should give them the ideal conditions to prepare.

Vast China ranks pooly

Ranking 13th overall for gold gives the impression that China is a fairly good Winter Olympic nation. However, our metrics reveal that they’re not using their resources efficiently. Placing in last for gold per person and 2nd last for gold per GDP, the global superpower is shown to not be such a force on the snow and ice.

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%)

 

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Maryam Jinadu

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Maryam is a crypto and igaming content writer who has written over 500 web articles since starting in 2018.

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