Which Countries Have Won the Most Olympic Medals?

The 2022 Winter Olympics will feature thousands of athletes representing a wide variety of countries from across the globe. Some of those countries are perennial medal winners, with their flags constantly getting waved and worn by their athletes on the podium.

However, not every country is as lucky. There are still a plethora of nations that have yet to receive a single medal at any Olympic Games.

Here’s a look at the most and least decorated countries in Olympic history:

Which country has the most Olympic medals?

When it comes to overall Olympic success, it’s the United States and then everyone else.

The U.S. has won a total of 2,960 medals in all the years of competition, according to Olympedia.org. The U.S. holds a number of records when it comes to the Olympics, including the most gold, silver and bronze medals won. After earning 39 golds and 113 podium finishes at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Team USA now owns 1,174 gold medals, 954 silver and 832 bronze. 

The Soviet Union still sits second for total medals (1,204) and golds (473), while Germany is third in both categories (339 golds, 1,056 medals).

Great Britain (964 medals) and France (896 medals) round out the top five in the all-time medal standings.

Which countries have the fewest Olympic medals?

While there are plenty of countries that have never won a medal — and we’ll get to that in a bit — there are also many that have a very small number of medals. In some cases, it’s a singular medal to the country’s name. 

Iraq and Sudan are among the countries that have just one medal. Iraq took home bronze in weightlifting at the 1960 Rome Olympics, while Sudan’s Ismail Ahmed Ismail won silver in the men’s 800m race at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 

Tanzania, Mozambique, Afghanistan and Niger are among the countries with just two medals apiece. For Tanzania, the 1980 Lake Placid Games was the one and only time it medaled at the Olympics. Suleiman Nyambui won silver in the men’s 5000m competition and his countryman, Filbert Bayi, also won silver in the 3000m race. Maria de Lurdes Mutola is the only athlete from Mozambique to win medals. Competing in the women’s 800m, she won bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Games and then gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. 

Afghanistan’s Rohullah Nikpai has brought his country its only two medals, receiving a taekwondo bronze medal in both 2008 and 2012. Niger’s two medals have come from Issaka Daborg, who won a bronze medal in boxing at the 1972 Munich Games, and Abdoul Razak Issoufou, who won silver in taekwondo at the 2016 Rio Games.

Which countries have never won a medal at the Olympics?

There are over 60 countries that have participated but never won an Olympic medal. And there are even more that have medaled but never took home a gold.

Bangladesh is the most-populated country that has yet to win a medal. The country has competed in 10 Summer Games and failed to reach the podium each time. Congo, which has appeared in 13 Summer Games, is the second-highest populated country to not medal yet.

With 21 Summer and 10 Winter appearances, Monaco’s 31 total Olympics without a single medal are the most of any country. Andorra, which has competed in 24 Games (12 Summer, 12 Winter), has the next-longest streak among medal-less countries.

Which country has won the most Olympic medals at a single Games?

The U.S. claimed a record 239 total medals at the third Olympic Games, held back in 1904 in St. Louis. The 1904 Olympics was the first Games held outside of Europe and the first time the three-medal format was used.

The USSR has the second-highest total of medals won at a single Games with 195 at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. It’s hard not to include an asterisk for these Olympics as 66 countries, including the United States, boycotted the Games that year given the political turmoil stemming from the USSR. It was the first time the Olympics had been held in a communist country until the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. 

The United Kingdom picked up 145 medals, good for third-most, at the fourth Olympics, the 1908 London Games.

Which country has won the most Olympic gold medals at a single Games?

Not surprisingly, the U.S. has the record for most gold medals won at a single Olympics. The record was set in Los Angeles in 1984 when the U.S. took home 83 gold medals, which included Carl Lewis matching Jesse Owens’ record with four gold medals and Valerie Brisco-Hooks winning three golds. 

The USSR has the second-most gold medals at a single Games, taking 80 at the controversial 1980 Moscow Olympics. The third-most also goes to the U.S., which won 73 gold medals at the 1904 Olympics.