One of the great things about sports is that, in theory, anyone can reach the top with enough talent, hard work, and luck. 

However, becoming an athlete takes a lot of investment. Certain countries tend to rise to the top, investing heavily in developing athletes and sporting infrastructure and placing a strong cultural emphasis on sports.

The picture varies considerably by sport, with countries having different priorities and cultural backgrounds. Determining which countries produce the best athletes can be tricky, as there are various metrics for measuring success.

To do this, the online casino and online slots experts at Gambling Zone have analyzed countries' performances at world championships and the Olympic Games and how likely you are to be an Olympic athlete depending on your nationality.

The World’s Most Successful Sporting Countries

To determine which countries have produced the best athletes, we’ve compared them on their number of world championships across ten popular sports and gold medals at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

Because some world championships are played more frequently than others (and some haven’t been played for as long), we’ve given each country a score based on its successes in all ten sports rather than simply adding together the total number of wins.

1) United States - 8.99 out of 10

The United States is undoubtedly the dominant force in world sports, with many championships across multiple sports. In basketball, the U.S. leads with five FIBA Basketball World Cup titles and 11 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup titles, showing their global dominance.In tennis, the U.S. has secured 32 Davis Cup titles and 18 Billie Jean King Cup titles. The country also excels in swimming and athletics, with 254 swimming gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships and 195 at the World Athletics Championships. Additionally, its athletes have secured 1,091 gold medals at the Summer Olympics and 114 golds at the Winter Olympics.

2) United Kingdom - 8.75 out of 10

The UK (including its constituent countries) is prominent in global sports and comes second. For example, in cricket, England have four Women’s World Cups and one for the men’s team.

They also have a strong tennis tradition, with ten Davis Cup titles for Great Britain and a proud rugby heritage, with two World Cups for England’s women's team and one for the English men’s team.

3) Australia - 7.00 out of 10

In third, Australia is another sporting powerhouse, particularly noted for its achievements in cricket and swimming. 

They lead the world in cricket, with six men’s Cricket World Cup titles and seven Women's Cricket World Cup titles, underlining their dominance. Australia is also strong in swimming, with 101 swimming gold medals in the World Aquatics Championships.

What Is The Top Sport For Each Country?

Looking at each country’s highest-scoring sport, athletics dominates across a wide range of countries. For example, nations such as Jamaica, Kenya, and Ethiopia are renowned for their prowess in track events, particularly sprinting and long-distance running. However, countries from all over the world have athletics as their top sport, including those from Europe (e.g., Bulgaria, Poland) and the Americas (e.g., Bahamas, Ecuador), showing the universal appeal of athletics.

Baseball has strong roots in the Americas and parts of East Asia, in countries like Japan, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. Baseball is a big part of these countries’ cultures and is supported by strong domestic leagues and training facilities.

Similarly, basketball is the top-performing sport in the United States and Spain, with both countries having well-developed leagues (NBA in the US and Liga ACB in Spain).

Cricket is primarily dominated by countries within the Commonwealth, like India, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Rugby union is another regionalised sport, coming top in New Zealand and South Africa, both known for their historical success in the sport.

The Countries That Produce The Most Athletes

Making it as an elite athlete depends on many factors, but where you’re born, and your country’s sporting infrastructure play a part, and it differs by sport, too.

To get an idea of the number of athletes produced by each nation, we’ve looked at the number of athletes each sent to the 2024 Olympics, comparing this against the population. Note that countries with populations of fewer than a million people were excluded, as even having one or two athletes from these countries skews the results unfairly.

1) Slovenia - 42.43 athletes per million people

Population: 2.1 million

Athletes: 90

Slovenia leads the rankings with an impressive 42.43 athletes per million people. Despite its small population of just over two million, Slovenia has produced 90 Olympic athletes across 17 sports for the 2024 Games, their largest-ever delegation. They came away with two gold medals, one in the women's 63kg judo and one in the women’s combined sport climbing.

2) New Zealand - 37.33 athletes per million people

Population: 5.2 million

Athletes: 195

New Zealand follows closely behind with 37.33 athletes per million people. Known for its rich sporting heritage, particularly in rugby, sailing, and rowing, New Zealand has a long-standing tradition of punching above its weight on the global sports stage. The country is known for having world-class training facilities, strong government support and a culture of playing sports from a young age.

3) Ireland - 25.46 athletes per million people

Population: 5.3 million

Athletes: 134

Ireland ranks third with 25.46 athletes per million people. Despite a relatively small population, the country has steadily increased its Olympic participation. Its athletes participate in a wide range of sports, from boxing to equestrian events, and 2024 was their most successful Games to date, with four gold medals and seven in total.

The Country That Produces Most Track & Field Athletes - Jamaica (19.11 per million people)

In track and field, one country stands out: Jamaica. With 19.11 athletes per million people, Jamaica is more than double that of second-placed Trinidad and Tobago. With just under three million people, Jamaica consistently punches above its weight and sent 54 track and field athletes to the 2024 Games.

The Country That Produces The Most Swimmers - Lithuania (2.44 per million people)

Lithuania, with a population of around 2.9 million, produced seven swimmers at the Olympics this year, for 2.44 per million people. The increase in interest in swimming in Lithuania can be partly attributed to the success of Rūta Meilutytė, who won gold in the women's 100m breaststroke in 2012, inspiring a new generation of Lithuanian swimmers.

The Country That Produces The Most Cyclists - New Zealand (3.83 per million people)

One of the sports New Zealand is a powerhouse in is cycling, particularly track cycling. The nation of just over 5 million people produced 20 cyclists for the most recent Games, 3.83 per million people. The country has invested significantly in cycling infrastructure, including world-class velodromes and training facilities.

The Country That Produces The Most Rowers - New Zealand (3.83 per million people)

Like cycling, New Zealand sent 20 athletes to the rowing event at Paris 2024, more per person than any other major nation. New Zealand has long been a powerhouse in the sport of rowing, with the sport widely practiced at the school and club levels. The country has also invested heavily in rowing, and the Rowing New Zealand program, based at Lake Karapiro, is one of the best in the world.

Methodology

To determine the world’s most successful sporting countries, we analyzed each nation on the number of wins they had in the following:

• FIFA World Cup
• FIFA Women's World Cup
• Cricket World Cup
• Women's Cricket World Cup
• Rugby World Cup
• Women's Rugby World Cup
• FIBA Basketball World Cup
• FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup
• Davis Cup
• Billie Jean King Cup
• World Athletics Championships
• World Aquatics Championships (excluding open water swimming)
• UCI Road World Championships
• Baseball World Cup
• World Baseball Classic
• Ice Hockey World Championships
• IIHF World Women's Championship
• Summer Olympic Games
• Winter Olympic Games

We then combined the wins in each sport (for example, the men’s and women’s World Cups for soccer). Each country was then given a normalized score out of ten for each sport, and an average of these scores was taken.

In instances where countries have gained independence, only wins for the new nation are counted unless the sport’s governing body recognizes wins from the original country. For example, Czechoslovakia splitting into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. 

On the other hand, if multiple countries united into one, we added wins from all nations to the total of the new country. For example, West and East Germany unifying into modern-day Germany.

Any wins competing as neutral athletes were not included.

To determine the countries that produce the most athletes, we took the number of athletes that each country took to the 2024 Summer Olympics and calculated this per million people according to population data from the World Bank. Note that for this section, countries with fewer than a million people were excluded to avoid the data skewing in favour of these smaller countries.

All data correct as of August 12th, 2024, including the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.