Germany and the USA share the top spot in Winter Olympic medal rankings this century, with both nations claiming 172 medals each since 2001.
- Norway sits in second place with 170 medals, just two behind the joint leaders, while collecting the most gold medals (65) of any country.
- Canada ranks third with 147 medals, with all top four nations earning more than double the average medal count of 51 per country.
A new study by football shirt retailer UKSoccerShop has revealed that Germany and the USA are jointly the most successful nations at the Winter Olympics in the 21st century, with both countries winning 172 medals – around 237% more than the average medal haul per nation since 2001.
The research analysed data from Olympics.com to determine which countries have been most successful at the Winter Games since 2001, ranking nations based on total medals won across all winter sports disciplines.
Great Britain findings:
Great Britain ranks joint 16th alongside Belarus with 16 medals in total – around 69% below the average for the century (51 medals). Belarus holds the edge on golds, with eight compared to Team GB’s five, and the figures underline how much ground Britain still has to make up to compete consistently with the world’s leading winter sports nations.
Top 10 Winter Olympics medal winners in the 21st century
| Rank | Country | Total medals | Gold medals | Percentage above average |
| =1 | Germany | 172 | 68 | 237% |
| =1 | USA | 172 | 55 | 237% |
| 2 | Norway | 170 | 65 | 233% |
| 3 | Canada | 147 | 53 | 188% |
| 4 | Russia | 126 | 32 | 147% |
| 5 | Austria | 106 | 32 | 108% |
| 6 | Netherlands | 86 | 34 | 69% |
| 7 | Sweden | 80 | 29 | 57% |
| =8 | Switzerland | 75 | 33 | 47% |
| =8 | France | 75 | 24 | 47% |
| 9 | Italy | 64 | 15 | 25% |
| =10 | Korea | 63 | 24 | 24% |
| =10 | China | 63 | 22 | 24% |
At the top of the table, Germany and the USA are tied on overall medals, though Germany edges ahead on golds, with 68 to the USA’s 55. In both cases, their totals are more than three times higher than the average of 51 medals per country this century.
Norway sits just behind the joint leaders in second place with 170 medals – only two fewer than Germany and the USA. That puts the country around 233% above the average, alongside a gold medal haul of 65, second only to Germany.
Canada claims third place with 147 medals – a total that sits around 188% above the average. With 53 gold medals, Canada adds to North America’s strong presence at the top of the Winter Olympics table alongside the USA.
Russia ranks fourth with 126 medals – around 147% above the average – and has collected 32 gold medals over the period, keeping it firmly among the Winter Olympics’ most successful nations.
Austria ends up in fifth place on 106 medals (108% above the average), but matches Russia exactly on golds, with 32 apiece.
The Netherlands ranks sixth with 86 medals, a total nearly 70% above the average, followed by Sweden with 80 medals – around 57% higher than the average.
Switzerland and France share eighth place with 75 medals apiece, each sitting around 47% above the average medal count. Although Switzerland and France are tied on total medals, Switzerland has claimed more golds – 33 to France’s 24.
Italy comes next with 64 medals, sitting around 25% above the average, and does so as it hosts this year’s Winter Olympics. Korea and China follow in joint tenth on 63 medals each – around a quarter above the typical total this century.
Simon Pretswell, CEO of UKSoccerShop, said: “These findings highlight the extraordinary dominance of certain nations in winter sports over the past two decades. The narrow margin between Germany, the USA and Norway shows just how competitive elite winter sports have become.”
“What’s particularly impressive is that all the top nations have more than double the average medal count this century, showing there’s a significant gap between the winter sports powerhouses and the rest of the competing
