Each country’s total medal counts are as of 2022, and do not include medals won from the ongoing 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The U.S. might be the world’s third-most populous country but it is the first by a mile when it comes to Olympic medals won. Between 1896–2022, the U.S. won an astounding 3,105 medals at the global event.
They also have the most athletes (nearly 600!) competing at the ongoing 2024 Paris Olympics.
| Country | Population | Medals Won (as of 2022) |
Participants in Paris 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
 India |
1.4B | 58 | 117 |
 China |
1.4B | 900 | 388 |
 U.S. |
342M | 3,105 | 592 |
 Indonesia |
280M | 40 | 29 |
 Pakistan |
246M | 12 | 7 |
 Nigeria |
230M | 35 | 88 |
 Brazil |
218M | 182 | 274 |
 Bangladesh |
175M | 0 | 5 |
 Russia |
144M | 779 | N/A* |
 Mexico |
129M | 101 | 107 |
 Ethiopia |
130M | 79 | 34 |
 Japan |
123M | 690 | 403 |
 Philippines |
119M | 15 | 22 |
 Egypt |
115M | 62 | 148 |
 D.R. Congo |
106M | 0 | 6 |
*Russia has been banned from the 2024 Games due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. A small number of athletes from Russia are competing under the Individual Neutral Athletes delegation (AIN). Population figures are rounded.
China, which until 2023 was the world’s most populous country, has about 400 athletes competing currently and 900 medals won by 2022.
The first, fourth and fifth most populous countries (India, Indonesia and Pakistan) have total medal hauls in the double-digits. Bangladesh (#8 in population) has zero Olympic medals, only one of two nations in the top 15 to do so.
However, Bangladesh has only been an independent country since 1971, when it split from Pakistan.
The other, the Democratic Republic of Congo, has also only been independent from 1960.
It’s apparent that that population doesn’t play a role in Olympic medals, as much as country wealth, furthering the investment in sport infrastructure and facilities to train future Olympians.
But when both combine (like in the case of the U.S. and China) there’s some serious gold to be won.
Source: Visual Capitalist
