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Participating Countries

Below is a list of all the 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) that are currently recognized by the International Olympic Committee, repesenting most countries and several terriortories from around the world.



Five countries have been represented at all Summer Olympic Games – Greece, Great Britain, France, Switzerland, and Australia, though not always as part of official teams. Switzerland is on this list even though they boycotted the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne - they had competed in the equestrian events several months earlier in Stockholm. France did not send a team to the 1904 Games but a lone Frenchman did compete for the USA and a mixed team. Also in 1896 Great Britain competed as part of the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland', while Australia participated in 1908 and 1912 as part of a combined Australasia team with New Zealand. Therefore, out of these five nations only Greece has participated under its own flag in all modern summer Olympic Games.

On the other hand, the Vatican City is one sovereign state never to have competed in an Olympics.

A few of the places listed below are territories/regions rather than countries, though they all participate at the Olympic Games under this name.

* dependent territory rather than a country

Non-Countries

Past Competing Countries / Territories / Combined (Mixed) Teams

Over time there have been changes to borders, and countries merging and separating, so there is a history of countries participating at the Olympics that no longer exist or no longer compete under that name. Also on many occasions mixed teams with athletes from more than one country have participated. Examples include the Australasia team from 1908-1912 including athletes from Australian and New Zealand. Past countries such as Czechoslovakia, USSR and Yugoslavia have now split into smaller regions. There are many more examples, see the articles about Past Participating Countries.

Existing countries/territories/regions with no or unrecognized Olympic committees

In 2013, the International Olympic Committee insisted that it does not recognize National Olympic Committees for Abkhazia or South Ossetia after the Russian Olympic Committee listed the two Georgian rebel regions as separate entities on its database for the Sochi 2014 Olympics and Paralympics. The IOC recognizes an NOC for Georgia (which has jurisdiction over the whole territory of Georgia) but does not recognize an NOC for Abkhazia or South Ossetia.

Notes



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