San Marino has the most Olympic medals per capita, with 88.6 Summer Olympic medals per million people, while the Bahamas leads for gold medals with 20.5 golds per million. The all-time top 10 for total medals per million population is: 1. San Marino, 2. Hungary, 3. Finland, 4. Sweden, 5. Bahamas, 6. New Zealand, 7. Denmark, 8. Bulgaria, 9. Norway, 10. Jamaica (including Paris 2024).

Generally, the most successful countries in terms of Olympic medals won are also some of the biggest countries in terms of population. This may seem unfair when comparing the success of countries, as the bigger countries have a larger population pool from which to develop athletes. Using per capita data to rank the success of nations at the Olympic Games is an alternative to the popular way of ranking based on just total gold medals won.

Below are tables of the top countries based on the total all-time medals won during the Summer Olympics (including Paris 2024 data), ranked relative to the nation's population (latest UN figures from 2019).

See the complete medal list and population data from which this analysis is derived, and also a discussion of different ranking systems. We have also calculated lists based on medals per GDP.

Small Island Nations Are The Best

Before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Finland was the leading country for Olympic medals per capita, but the recent success of the small nations of Bermuda, Bahamas and San Marino has upended the lists. The two tables below show the ranking based on (1) gold medals won, and (2) total medals won.

Top-ranked teams based on Gold Medals per million population

Atop the list is the Caribbean island country The Bahamas, with its eight gold medals from sailing and athletics (two added in Tokyo 2020), and with a current population of fewer than 400,000 people. For even smaller countries like Bermuda and Grenada, a single gold medal is enough to get them into the top ten.

Rank Country Gold Population Gold/Million
1 Bahamas 8 389,482 20.5
2 Hungary 183 9,684,679 18.9
3 Finland 101 5,532,156 18.3
4 Bermuda 1 62,506 16.0
5 Sweden 150 10,036,379 14.9
6 New Zealand 65 4,783,063 13.6
7 Norway 59 5,378,857 11.0
8 Jamaica 30 2,948,279 10.2
9 Denmark 54 5,771,876 9.4
10 Grenada 1 112,003 8.9

Top-ranked teams based on Total Medals per million population

Tiny San Marino has yet to win a gold medal, though their three medals in Tokyo have shot them to the top of the list of total medals per capita.

Rank Country Total Medals Population Medals/Million
1 San Marino 3 33,860 88.6
2 Hungary 536 9,684,679 55.3
3 Finland 306 5,532,156 55.3
4 Sweden 519 10,036,379 51.7
5 Bahamas 17 389,482 43.6
6 New Zealand 183 4,783,063 38.3
7 Denmark 218 5,771,876 37.8
8 Bulgaria 231 7,000,119 33.0
9 Norway 174 5,378,857 32.3
10 Jamaica 94 2,948,279 31.9

The Caribbean is the place to be

As pointed out in several intelligent comments about the above results, I have come to realize that the figures above may not best represent per capita medals. The data does not account for the number of appearances of each country. For example, it is not fair to compare the total medal count of the UK which has appeared at all 28 Olympic Games with China, which has appeared only 10 times. A better analysis would be to base the analysis on the average number of medals won per attendance, not on the total medal count. After crunching the numbers after the 2021 Olympics, there are a few significant differences to the lists above.

Top-ranked teams based on Average Gold Medals per million population

Small island nations top this list. The Bahamas added two gold medals to their tally in 2021, while Bermuda won their first-ever Olympic gold medal at their 18th appearance at the Games, when Flora Duffy won the women's triathlon. The small nation of Grenada won its first medal, a gold, at the 2012 Olympics, in its eighth appearance at the Games.

We have listed only currently competing countries. If included, the East Germans would be the top-ranked per capita medal winning country based on average medal counts, having produced a large number of gold medals relative to its population in its five appearances at the Olympics between 1968-1988. East Germans won 153 gold medals in five Olympic Games and with an estimated population of 16.1 million at the time, the average gold medals per million population would be 1.90.

There is no doubt that the East Germans had some talented athletes and a very well-organized sports development program, though it is now known that systematic doping took place which would account for an unfair boost in their medal count. Also considering it is no longer in existence as such, I am happy to ignore the East German results, which leave The Bahamas as the most successful country per capita.

Rank Country Olympics Gold Population Avg Golds Avg Gold/Million
1 Bahamas 18 8 389,482 0.4 1.14
2 Grenada 11 1 112,003 0.1 0.81
3 Bermuda 20 1 62,506 0.1 0.80
4 Hungary 28 187 9,684,679 6.7 0.69
5 Finland 27 101 5,532,156 3.7 0.68
6 Estonia 14 10 1,325,648 0.7 0.54
7 Slovenia 9 10 2,078,654 1.1 0.53
8 Kosovo 3 3 1,873,000 1.0 0.53
9 Sweden 29 151 10,036,379 5.2 0.52
10 Jamaica 19 27 2,948,279 1.4 0.48

Top-ranked teams based on Average Total Medals per million population

Bahamas jumped up to top this list after the 2016 Olympics but five years later, even with a few more medals, they are down the list. After the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the tiny nation of San Marino has jumped to the top thanks to three medals in their 15th appearance at the Games.

San Marino would even beat the mighty East German team if they were included, with 409 total medals in five Olympic Games and an estimated population of 16.1 million, the average medals per million population for East Germany would be 5.08.

Rank Country Olympics Total Medals Population Avg Medals Avg Medals/Million
1 San Marino 15 3 33,860 0.2 5.91
2 Grenada 11 3 112,003 0.3 2.43
3 Bahamas 18 17 389,482 0.9 2.42
4 Finland 27 306 5,532,156 11.3 2.05
5 Hungary 28 536 9,684,679 19.1 1.98
6 Estonia 14 36 1,325,648 2.6 1.94
7 Sweden 29 519 10,036,379 17.9 1.78
8 Jamaica 19 94 2,948,279 4.9 1.68
9 Slovenia 9 31 2,078,654 3.4 1.66
10 Bermuda 20 2 62,506 0.1 1.60

💡 Pro Tip: When comparing Olympic performance across countries, considering both total medals and average medals per Olympics attended provides a more complete picture of sustained athletic excellence over time.

Table Notes

  • The data includes all medals won at the Summer Olympic Games (including Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022, and Paris 2024). The original medal list source: Wikipedia.
  • The population data was extracted from the Wikipedia page: List_of_countries_by_population, which contained the most recently known population data.
  • We have updated the information in the table. The information now shows the results from Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022, and Paris 2024.

Further Analysis

Of course, there are also some other issues with the current analysis. In most cases the most current population data is used for analysis here, even though many of the medals were won during earlier Olympics where the population would have been lower.

The assumption is that the relative populations between countries are similar over time, but this is probably not always the case. This analysis also assumes an even distribution of medals over time, which is also not correct. Finland may historically be a good performing country per capita, but they have not been as successful as they have been in the past.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which country has the most Olympic medals per capita?

San Marino has the most Olympic medals per capita, with 3 Summer Olympic medals for a population of about 33,860, or 88.6 medals per million people. Hungary (55.3) and Finland (55.3) are next.

Which country has the most Olympic gold medals per capita?

The Bahamas has the most Olympic gold medals per capita, with 8 golds for a population of under 400,000, or 20.5 gold medals per million people. It also leads when golds are averaged per Olympic appearance.

Why do small countries rank so high for Olympic medals per capita?

With a very small population, each medal counts for a lot. For countries like Bermuda and Grenada, a single gold medal is enough to place them in the top ten for gold medals per million people.

Would East Germany top the per capita rankings?

East Germany would lead the average gold medals per million table (1.90) if included, but it no longer exists and its results were boosted by systematic doping, so it is excluded. San Marino's average total medals per million would still beat East Germany's 5.08.

How are Olympic medals per capita calculated?

A country's all-time Summer Olympic medal count is divided by its population in millions. The average-based tables first divide the medal count by the number of Olympic Games the country has attended, then divide by population in millions.

Do these rankings include Paris 2024?

Yes. The medal counts include all Summer Olympic Games up to and including Paris 2024.