Team GB are the 20th most successful nation in the Summer Olympics relative to their population – despite competing in every modern Olympics and being third in the all-time table, according to new research.
The study, by Bonuscodebets.co.uk, analysed every country to have competed in the Summer Olympics since its inception in 1896 and looked at their medal haul per capita, finding that the Brits only just break the top 20 – and are behind countries such as San Marino and the Bahamas. Team GB has 916 medals for the country of 67 million people – one medal per 73,501 people.
Surprisingly, top of the table are European underdogs San Marino. The data shows that with three Olympic medals, and a population of just 33,745, San Marino punches well above its weight in the games – having won one medal for every 11,248 people in the landlocked country. The nation achieved success in shooting and wrestling in Tokyo 2020 to win their first ever medals – and also becoming the smallest country ever to win an Olympic medal.
Finland are second to San Marino, having won a whopping 305 medals for a population of just 5.5 million people – a medal for every 18,167 people. The country was a powerhouse at the Summer Olympics in the early 20th Century – their most successful Olympics being 37 medals in Paris in 1924, placing them second in the medal table that year.
Hungary, with a medal for every 19,002 people, comes third, and Sweden comes fourth with one for every 20,707 people – both of these nations being helped by competing in almost all Olympics tournaments, with Sweden missing just one and Hungary sitting out two. The Bahamas joins them in the top five, dominating track races in recent years to also be the nation with the most gold medals per capita.
Top five Summer Olympic countries ranked by population per medal
| Rank | Country | Total population per medal |
| 1 | San Marino | 11,248 |
| 2 | Finland | 18,167 |
| 3 | Hungary | 19,002 |
| 4 | Sweden | 20,707 |
| 5 | The Bahamas | 24,710 |
Looking at other Olympic heavyweights, the USA – despite being the overall all-time leader for medals – are way down in 39th in the per capita table, with one medal per 126,243 people.
Despite their recent dominance and regularly topping the medal table in recent summer Olympics, China are ranked all the way down in 101st – with a population of 1.4 billion, they only have one medal per 2.2 million people
The data shows there to be two a key hub where countries far exceed their size to achieve Olympic success –the Caribbean. Many small island nations were among those who succeeded relative to their populations. As well as The Bahamas, Bermuda and Jamaica also ranked in the top 10.
In the case of The Bahamas and Jamaica, this comes down to their dominance at athletics – with all but one of Jamaica’s 87 medals have come in athletics, where they are known for being a powerhouse at sprinting with legends such as Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser Price. Not bad for a nation of just 2.8 million people!
Interestingly, the most populous country to have never won an Olympic medal is Bangladesh. Despite competing in 10 summer Olympics, they have only sent 43 athletes to compete at the games, with none of them achieving a podium finish – an astonishing feat for a nation of 170 million people.
A spokesperson for Bonuscodebets.co.uk said: “Whilst Britain is still one of the best countries at the Summer Olympics, looking at their feats compared to smaller countries makes Team GB’s achievements seem a lot less impressive – but they still fare far better than the US and China.
“For anyone hoping to achieve their dreams of securing an Olympic podium, your best chance is by representing the countries that get the best results for their population – swim for San Marino, fence for Finland or cycle for a country in the Caribbean!”
