With the 2016 Summer Olympics coming up, you may not be surprised about which countries take home the most medals. The same names usually show up at the top of the list every 4 years, like the USA, China and Russia, for example.
What is surprising is the ranking of countries by the number of Olympic medals won per capita. Lots of countries are climbing up the medal count despite their smaller sizes and could be stiff competition in the upcoming Rio Olympics!
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Hover over any country on the interactive map below to find out how it ranked according to the number of medals won per capita in the 2012 Summer Olympics.
These 5 countries ranked highest in the 2012 London Olympics:
They might not have racked up as many total wins as some of the bigger countries, but they had the highest concentration of Olympic talent — look out for them in Brazil this year!
1. Grenada
With a population of just about 107,000 people, this tiny country impressed the world when it won a gold medal in the Men’s 400m race. It’s worth a visit to the Caribbean to see the beautiful — and talented — Grenada for yourself.
2. Jamaica
Jamaica’s athletes raced to the top of this list with 4 gold medals, 4 silver medals and 4 bronze medals, all won in Track & Field events. Not to mention the Men’s 4 x 100m Relay team set a new world record in the London Olympics!
3. Trinidad & Tobago
Trinidad & Tobago’s representatives also won their 3 gold medals and 1 bronze medal exclusively in Track & Field events. That’s a high number for a nation with only about 1.4 million people, so it’ll be interesting to see what its athletes accomplish in Rio this year.
4. New Zealand
New Zealand is known for a lot more than just its panoramic views and abundance of sheep. The country raked in a total of 13 medals in 2012 across a range of events, from BMX cycling to sailing to equestrian eventing. To learn more about this fascinating country, check out Stride’s destination guide for some trip and tour advice for New Zealand.
5. The Bahamas
The Bahamas’ Men’s 4 x 400m Relay team won their country a gold medal in 2012. While that was the only win for the Bahamas in London, it’s very impressive for a country with less than half a million people.
Fun Facts
University of Southern California (Los Angeles, California)
USC — whose athletes have won a gold medal at every Olympics since 1912 — beat the record in the London Olympics for the number of medals won by a single university. USC athletes won a total of 25 medals, which would have placed the university at the 11th highest position if it were a country.
University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, California)
UC Berkeley athletes won 17 total medals in the 2012 Summer Olympics, placing it at the 15th position on the list if it were a country. UC Berkeley’s rival university, Stanford University, won 16 medals, which would have placed it in the 17th position. We’ll have to see which one comes out on top in Rio this year!
Stanford University (Palo Alto, California)
Though UC Berkeley beat Stanford based on the total number of medals won in London, on a per capita basis all these California colleges wiped out the competition — Stanford would have ranked #1 on the list of countries that participated, with USC ranked 2nd and Berkeley ranked 3rd.
California, USA
Adding up the medals won by the Californian universities listed above, the Golden State would have had the 5th highest total if it were a country in the 2012 Olympics, beating out Germany by 14 medals. However, according to the per capita ranking, it would have been #14 on the list owing to its large size of about 38.8 million people.
Bay Area, California, USA
The Bay Area alone, located in Northern California, would have ranked 9th on the list of total medals won in 2012. As a country, it would have been 2nd on the list according to a per capita ranking, right after Grenada. As the Travelstride headquarters is located in San Francisco, our team is very proud of our athletic hometown and can’t wait to see what happens in the 2016 Summer Olympics next month!
* Every country that placed in the top 5 on a per capita basis is an island country. Not to mention, out of the top 5 total medal winners, the United Kingdom ranks the highest per capita (#23) — and it’s also an island. There must be something about that sea breeze!
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