What Countries are the Most and Least Represented at the 2021 Olympics?
I was watching the opening ceremony for the Olympics last night. As each country walked in they showed the country's total population and the number of Olympic athletes they had representing their country. This got me thinking, which countries are the least represented in terms of total population? Bangladesh definitely stood out. They only brought six athletes to the Olympics yet have a population of 164 million people. Some of the other island nations also stood out, having populations below 50k but a handful of Olympic athletes. I wanted to see which nations were most and least represented at the olympics based on population size. There was a lot of data out there on medal count but not so much that I could find about number of athletes compared to country's population size.
To answer the question I pulled a list of athlete counts from here and global population statistics from here and went through and matched up the countries. I had to fill in a couple population sizes, like getting a number 82 million refugees around the world to associate with their 29 Olympic athletes. After matching up the countries' populations to their athlete count I used a Google Sheets formula to divide the total population by athlete count and sorted descending based on that number. With my chart in hand I pasted the result into the very handy Markdown Table Generator to share on my blog.
I'm sure there's more that could be dug into here, like bringing in medal counts and historical information. You could use this info if you were an athlete to determine a country to move to or the IOC could use the data to figure out which nations need to be represented better. Overall though, I just wanted to scratch my curiosity. What nations are most and least represented at the Olympic games this year? View the data below to see for yourself!
| Country Name | 2021 # Olympic Athletes | Total Population | Population per Olympic Athlete |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 6 | 164,689,383 | 27448230.5 |
| Pakistan | 10 | 220,892,340 | 22089234 |
| Tanzania | 3 | 59,734,218 | 19911406 |
| Myanmar | 3 | 54,409,800 | 18136600 |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 7 | 89,561,403 | 12794486.14 |
| India | 125 | 1,380,004,385 | 11040035.08 |
| Iraq | 4 | 40,222,493 | 10055623.25 |
| Indonesia | 28 | 273,523,615 | 9768700.536 |
| Sudan | 5 | 43,849,260 | 8769852 |
| Somalia | 2 | 15,893,222 | 7946611 |
| Afghanistan | 5 | 38,928,346 | 7785669.2 |
| Yemen | 5 | 29,825,964 | 5965192.8 |
| Nepal | 5 | 29,136,808 | 5827361.6 |
| Philippines | 19 | 109,581,078 | 5767425.158 |
| South Sudan | 2 | 11,193,725 | 5596862.5 |
| Cambodia | 3 | 16,718,965 | 5572988.333 |
| Chad | 3 | 16,425,864 | 5475288 |
| Vietnam | 18 | 97,338,579 | 5407698.833 |
| Mali | 4 | 20,250,833 | 5062708.25 |
| Madagascar | 6 | 27,691,018 | 4615169.667 |
| Nigeria | 52 | 206,139,589 | 3964222.865 |
| Malawi | 5 | 19,129,952 | 3825990.4 |
| China | 406 | 1,439,323,776 | 3545132.453 |
| Niger | 7 | 24,206,644 | 3458092 |
| Ethiopia | 36 | 114,963,588 | 3193433 |
| Mozambique | 10 | 31,255,435 | 3125543.5 |
| Burkina Faso | 7 | 20,903,273 | 2986181.857 |
| Zimbabwe | 5 | 14,862,924 | 2972584.8 |
| Syria | 6 | 17,500,658 | 2916776.333 |
| Refugee Olympic Team | 29 | 82,400,000 | 2841379.31 |
| Guinea | 5 | 13,132,795 | 2626559 |
| Central African Republic | 2 | 4,829,767 | 2414883.5 |
| Sri Lanka | 9 | 21,413,249 | 2379249.889 |
| Bolivia | 5 | 11,673,021 | 2334604.2 |
| Mauritania | 2 | 4,649,658 | 2324829 |
| Ghana | 14 | 31,072,940 | 2219495.714 |
| Cameroon | 12 | 26,545,863 | 2212155.25 |
| Uganda | 21 | 45,741,007 | 2178143.19 |
| Rwanda | 6 | 12,952,218 | 2158703 |
| Togo | 4 | 8,278,724 | 2069681 |
| Sierra Leone | 4 | 7,976,983 | 1994245.75 |
| Burundi | 6 | 11,890,784 | 1981797.333 |
| United Arab Emirates | 5 | 9,890,402 | 1978080.4 |
| Haiti | 6 | 11,402,528 | 1900421.333 |
| Senegal | 9 | 16,743,927 | 1860436.333 |
| Republic of the Congo | 3 | 5,518,087 | 1839362.333 |
| Laos | 4 | 7,275,560 | 1818890 |
| Benin | 7 | 12,123,200 | 1731885.714 |
| Libya | 4 | 6,871,292 | 1717823 |
| Liberia | 3 | 5,057,681 | 1685893.667 |
| Thailand | 42 | 69,799,978 | 1661904.238 |
| Angola | 20 | 32,866,272 | 1643313.6 |
| El Salvador | 5 | 6,486,205 | 1297241 |
| Oman | 4 | 5,106,626 | 1276656.5 |
| Iran | 66 | 83,992,949 | 1272620.439 |
| Saudi Arabia | 29 | 34,813,871 | 1200478.31 |
| Papua New Guinea | 8 | 8,947,024 | 1118378 |
| Malaysia | 30 | 32,365,999 | 1078866.633 |
| Lesotho | 2 | 2,142,249 | 1071124.5 |
| Palestine | 5 | 5,101,414 | 1020282.8 |
| Algeria | 44 | 43,851,044 | 996614.6364 |
| Peru | 34 | 32,971,854 | 969760.4118 |
| Ivory Coast | 28 | 26,378,274 | 942081.2143 |
| Paraguay | 8 | 7,132,538 | 891567.25 |
| Tajikistan | 11 | 9,537,645 | 867058.6364 |
| Lebanon | 8 | 6,825,445 | 853180.625 |
| Nicaragua | 8 | 6,624,554 | 828069.25 |
| Mexico | 164 | 128,932,753 | 786175.3232 |
| Turkey | 108 | 84,339,067 | 780917.287 |
| Guatemala | 23 | 17,915,568 | 778937.7391 |
| Egypt | 133 | 102,334,404 | 769431.609 |
| Zambia | 24 | 18,383,955 | 765998.125 |
| Morocco | 50 | 36,910,560 | 738211.2 |
| Jordan | 14 | 10,203,134 | 728795.2857 |
| Colombia | 71 | 50,882,891 | 716660.4366 |
| Brazil | 302 | 212,559,417 | 703839.1291 |
| Turkmenistan | 9 | 6,031,200 | 670133.3333 |
| Venezuela | 44 | 28,435,940 | 646271.3636 |
| Kenya | 85 | 53,771,296 | 632603.4824 |
| Gambia | 4 | 2,416,668 | 604167 |
| United States | 613 | 331,002,651 | 539971.6982 |
| Uzbekistan | 63 | 33,469,203 | 531257.1905 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 4 | 1,968,001 | 492000.25 |
| Honduras | 21 | 9,904,607 | 471647.9524 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 7 | 3,280,819 | 468688.4286 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 3 | 1,402,985 | 467661.6667 |
| East Timor | 3 | 1,345,654 | 448551.3333 |
| Gabon | 5 | 2,225,734 | 445146.8 |
| Russian Olympic Committee | 328 | 145,934,462 | 444922.1402 |
| Panama | 10 | 4,314,767 | 431476.7 |
| Ecuador | 41 | 17,643,054 | 430318.3902 |
| Costa Rica | 12 | 5,094,118 | 424509.8333 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 16 | 6,524,195 | 407762.1875 |
| Chinese Taipei | 59 | 23,816,775 | 403674.1525 |
| Kuwait | 11 | 4,270,571 | 388233.7273 |
| Solomon Islands | 2 | 686,884 | 343442 |
| Chile | 57 | 19,116,201 | 335371.9474 |
| South Africa | 177 | 59,308,690 | 335077.3446 |
| Albania | 9 | 2,877,797 | 319755.2222 |
| Uruguay | 11 | 3,473,730 | 315793.6364 |
| Eswatini | 4 | 1,160,164 | 290041 |
| Comoros | 3 | 869,601 | 289867 |
| Ukraine | 155 | 43,733,762 | 282153.3032 |
| Eritrea | 13 | 3,546,421 | 272801.6154 |
| Singapore | 22 | 5,850,342 | 265924.6364 |
| North Macedonia | 8 | 2,083,374 | 260421.75 |
| Argentina | 174 | 45,195,774 | 259745.8276 |
| Djibouti | 4 | 988,000 | 247000 |
| Namibia | 11 | 2,540,905 | 230991.3636 |
| Azerbaijan | 44 | 10,139,177 | 230435.8409 |
| Japan | 552 | 126,476,461 | 229124.0236 |
| Brunei | 2 | 437,479 | 218739.5 |
| South Korea | 236 | 51,269,185 | 217242.3093 |
| Moldova | 19 | 4,033,963 | 212313.8421 |
| Kazakhstan | 93 | 18,776,707 | 201900.0753 |
| Germany | 425 | 83,783,942 | 197138.6871 |
| Suriname | 3 | 586,632 | 195544 |
| Bhutan | 4 | 771,608 | 192902 |
| Romania | 101 | 19,237,691 | 190472.1881 |
| Tunisia | 63 | 11,818,619 | 187597.127 |
| Finland | 30 | 5,540,720 | 184690.6667 |
| Botswana | 13 | 2,351,627 | 180894.3846 |
| Dominican Republic | 60 | 10,847,910 | 180798.5 |
| Great Britain | 376 | 67,886,011 | 180547.9016 |
| Poland | 210 | 37,846,611 | 180221.9571 |
| Qatar | 16 | 2,881,053 | 180065.8125 |
| Hong Kong | 42 | 7,496,981 | 178499.5476 |
| Armenia | 17 | 2,963,243 | 174308.4118 |
| Cuba | 68 | 11,326,616 | 166567.8824 |
| Bulgaria | 42 | 6,948,445 | 165439.1667 |
| France | 398 | 65,273,511 | 164003.7965 |
| Italy | 372 | 60,461,826 | 162531.7903 |
| Kosovo | 11 | 1,768,172 | 160742.9091 |
| Mauritius | 8 | 1,271,768 | 158971 |
| Austria | 60 | 9,006,398 | 150106.6333 |
| Spain | 320 | 46,754,778 | 146108.6813 |
| Maldives | 4 | 540,544 | 135136 |
| Slovakia | 41 | 5,459,642 | 133162 |
| Georgia | 30 | 3,989,167 | 132972.2333 |
| Belize | 3 | 397,628 | 132542.6667 |
| Greece | 83 | 10,423,054 | 125578.9639 |
| Guyana | 7 | 786,552 | 112364.5714 |
| Portugal | 92 | 10,196,709 | 110833.7935 |
| Vanuatu | 3 | 307,145 | 102381.6667 |
| Canada | 370 | 37,742,154 | 102005.8216 |
| Serbia | 86 | 8,737,371 | 101597.3372 |
| Israel | 90 | 8,655,535 | 96172.61111 |
| Belgium | 121 | 11,589,623 | 95782.00826 |
| Belarus | 101 | 9,449,323 | 93557.65347 |
| Czech Republic | 115 | 10,708,981 | 93121.57391 |
| Cyprus | 13 | 1,207,359 | 92873.76923 |
| Cape Verde | 6 | 540,000 | 90000 |
| Iceland | 4 | 341,243 | 85310.75 |
| Switzerland | 106 | 8,654,622 | 81647.37736 |
| Puerto Rico | 37 | 2,860,853 | 77320.35135 |
| Mongolia | 43 | 3,278,290 | 76239.30233 |
| Sweden | 134 | 10,099,265 | 75367.64925 |
| Malta | 6 | 441,543 | 73590.5 |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | 3 | 219,159 | 73053 |
| Norway | 75 | 5,421,241 | 72283.21333 |
| Croatia | 59 | 4,105,267 | 69580.79661 |
| Lithuania | 41 | 2,722,289 | 66397.29268 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 22 | 1,399,488 | 63613.09091 |
| Netherlands | 274 | 17,134,872 | 62536.0292 |
| Jamaica | 50 | 2,961,167 | 59223.34 |
| Hungary | 166 | 9,660,351 | 58194.88554 |
| Latvia | 33 | 1,886,198 | 57157.51515 |
| Denmark | 105 | 5,792,202 | 55163.82857 |
| Australia | 478 | 25,499,884 | 53347.03766 |
| Bahrain | 32 | 1,701,575 | 53174.21875 |
| Luxembourg | 12 | 625,978 | 52164.83333 |
| Ireland | 116 | 4,937,786 | 42567.12069 |
| Estonia | 33 | 1,326,535 | 40198.0303 |
| Kiribati | 3 | 119,449 | 39816.33333 |
| Slovenia | 53 | 2,078,938 | 39225.24528 |
| Federated States of Micronesia | 3 | 116,326 | 38775.33333 |
| Andorra | 2 | 77,265 | 38632.5 |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 3 | 110,940 | 36980 |
| Dominica | 2 | 71,986 | 35993 |
| Barbados | 8 | 287,375 | 35921.875 |
| Aruba | 3 | 106,766 | 35588.66667 |
| Guam | 5 | 168,775 | 33755 |
| Bermuda | 2 | 62,278 | 31139 |
| Fiji | 29 | 896,445 | 30911.89655 |
| Marshall Islands | 2 | 59,190 | 29595 |
| Virgin Islands | 4 | 104,425 | 26106.25 |
| Samoa | 8 | 198,414 | 24801.75 |
| Bahamas | 16 | 393,244 | 24577.75 |
| New Zealand | 223 | 4,822,233 | 21624.36323 |
| Seychelles | 5 | 98,347 | 19669.4 |
| Grenada | 6 | 112,523 | 18753.83333 |
| Montenegro | 34 | 628,066 | 18472.52941 |
| Tonga | 6 | 105,695 | 17615.83333 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 6 | 97,929 | 16321.5 |
| Cayman Islands | 5 | 65,722 | 13144.4 |
| British Virgin Islands | 3 | 30,231 | 10077 |
| American Samoa | 6 | 55,191 | 9198.5 |
| Liechtenstein | 5 | 38,128 | 7625.6 |
| San Marino | 5 | 33,931 | 6786.2 |
| Monaco | 6 | 39,242 | 6540.333333 |
| Palau | 3 | 18,094 | 6031.333333 |
| Tuvalu | 2 | 11,792 | 5896 |
| Nauru | 2 | 10,824 | 5412 |
| Cook Islands | 6 | 17,564 | 2927.333333 |
If you're a huge nerd, aspiring Olympic athlete or curious like me you can see the full data as a CSV file by clicking on this link or as a GitHub gist.