How Many Countries Compete in the Olympics?
The Olympic Games have been a staple event for the world community since its modern resurgence in 1896 when 14 countries took part. For most of its existence, countries from all continents (except for Antarctica) have sent athletes to compete. Cities on all continents, besides Africa and Antarctica, have also hosted the games for winter and summer events.
There are 195 countries at this time, almost all of which have official Olympic committees that form the national teams competing. Throughout the history of the Olympics, several countries that do not currently exist but have participated, like Yugoslavia or West Germany, have also been involved.
North America
North America has sent athletes to compete in the Olympics since the beginning, with the United States taking part in the first 1896 games and again every year (except in 1980 in Moscow, in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan). The USA has been an integral part of the Olympics, both having the most medals won (a whopping 3,094 total in both the summer and winter, with 126 grabbed at the Paris Olympics alone) and hosting the most games within its borders, a total of eight (four winters and four summers, with another Summer Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles and Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2034 on the way).
Other notable North American countries include Canada and Mexico, which both first joined the games in 1900. Canada has hosted three games and generally sends a wide array of athletes to both the Winter and Summer Olympics. Mexico, on the other hand, lacks the climate to train for cold-weather sports. It focuses primarily on summer events and has hosted the event once in Mexico City in 1968.
Here is a complete list of North American countries that took part in the 2024 Paris Olympics:
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Aruba
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Bermuda
- Cayman Islands
- Canada
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- Dominica
- El Salvador
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Jamaica
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- Panama
- Puerto Rico
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago
- United States of America
- Virgin Islands, United Kingdom
- Virgin Island, United States
South America
For such a large and populous continent, it may be surprising that only one Olympic Games has ever been hosted on its soil, in Brazil, at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics. There currently are no successful bids to host the games in South America in the future either. It has, however, been a part of the Olympics since its modern inception, with Chile reportedly participating in the 1896 Athens Olympics (conflicting records on whether or not this is true have made cause for debate about this, however). It is certain that Southern American Nations participated in the next games in 1900, with Argentina, Peru, and Colombia sending athletes to Paris.
Brazil has won more medals than any other South American nation, with a total of 170. Argentina comes second at 80, and Colombia is third with 38.
Here are the South American countries that took part in the 2024 Paris Olympics:
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Guyana
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Suriname
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
Europe
Europe is the birthplace of the Olympics, both modern and ancient. Starting in Greece, the Olympic games have been held in Europe dozens of times, with almost all of the countries within it, from past to past, participating at certain points. France has hosted the second-most Olympic games, with six under their belt- three in the summer (all in Paris) and three in the winter. In fact, the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924 was set in Chamonix in the heart of France's Alps region.
Other prolific European host nations include the United Kingdom (3 Summer Olympics), Italy (1 Summer Olympics and 2 Winter Olympics), and Germany (1 Summer Olympics and 2 Winter Olympics). Europe is on track to host more, with the 2026 Olympic Winter Games set to be in Milan, Italy, and the 2030 Winter Games to be in the French Alps again.
Current political turmoil has notably caused some major European countries, like Russia and Belarus, to be banned from the 2024 games (both of which still sent athletes as independents). These are the countries from Europe that were represented at the recent Paris Olympics in 2024:
- Albania
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Cyprus
- Croatia
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Spain
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Great Britain
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Iceland
- Israel
- Italy
- Kosovo
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- North Macedonia
- Malta
- Republic of Moldova
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Türkiye
- Ukraine
Asia
Asia has a longstanding history with the Olympics, with many countries often participating and several games having been hosted within it. Most notable is Japan, which has hosted the third most Olympic games at four, an impressive feat since two Olympics that were set to take place within its borders were previously canceled- the 1940 Winter Games and Summer Games were canceled due to Japan's invasion of China in 1937 and World War II). China has hosted one summer and one winter Olympics, both in its capital of Beijing, and has netted over 700 medals during its entire history with the games.
In modern times, Asia, from the Middle East to its far east and southern regions, generally sends a majority of its nations to the Olympics. These are the Asian countries that went to Paris in 2024:
- Afghanistan
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Bhutan
- Brunei Darussalam
- Cambodia
- People’s Republic of China
- Republic of Korea
- Hong Kong, China
- India
- Indonesia
- Islamic Republic of Iran
- Iraq
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Kuwait
- Lao People’s Democratic Republic
- Lebanon
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mongolia
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestine
- Philippines
- Qatar
- Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
- Saudi Arabia
- Singapore
- Sri Lanka
- Syrian Arab Republic
- Tajikistan
- Chinese Taipei
- Thailand
- Democratic Rep. of Timor-Leste
- Turkmenistan
- United Arab Emirates
- Uzbekistan
- Vietnam
- Yemen
Africa
Africa has never hosted an Olympics, and we are only now seeing in more recent years widespread inclusion of its many nations in the Olympics. Although the country of South Africa has been involved on and off in the games since as far back as 1904 in St. Louis, no country on the continent had taken part in the Winter Games until 1960, when South Africa sent figure skaters to Olympic Valley (formerly Squaw Valley) in California. Since then, only 15 African nations have ever participated in the Winter Olympics.
Kenya has won more medals than any other African country, 124 in total. South Africa comes next with 95, and Ethiopia is third with 62. As you may imagine, most of these medals were won in summer events.
Here are the African countries that participated in the 2024 Paris Olympics, a huge improvement in turnout since the continent's first involvement over 120 years ago:
- Algeria
- Angola
- Benin
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Cabo Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Congo
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Equatorial Guinea
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Morocco
- Mauritius
- Mauritania
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Uganda
- Rwanda
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- United Republic of Tanzania
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Oceania
The Olympics considers Oceania a distinct region, with island countries like Australia, Samoa, Fiji (which also hosted the Olympic surfing events in 2024), New Zealand, and several others making up the region. Oceania has been represented by the games since the start, with Australia being one of the 14 countries that attended Athens in 1896.
Only one Olympic Games has been hosted in the region- the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney. However, Brisbane, also in Australia, has been successful with their bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics. Despite its somewhat small population (especially when compared to other high-ranking countries around the world), Australia has amassed an impressive 610 medals, combined across the entire history of the Olympics.
- American Samoa
- Australia
- Cook Islands
- Fiji
- Guam
- Kiribati
- Marshall Islands
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Nauru
- New Zealand
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Solomon Islands
- Samoa
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
With 203 distinct Olympic committees worldwide participating in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, this longstanding sporting event remains a testament to how we can truly connect over sport. Stay tuned for future news and information on the past, present, and future of the Olympics.
