List of participating nations at the Winter Olympic Games

This is a list of nations, as represented by National Olympic Committees (NOCs), that have participated in the Winter Olympic Games between 1924 and 2022. The Winter Olympic Games have been held every four years (once during each Olympiad) since 1924, except for the cancelled Games of 1940 and 1944, and in 1994 when the Winter Games were moved to the middle of the Olympiad, two years after the previous Games.

Flagbearers for each of the participating nations at the I Olympic Winter Games (1924) recite the athlete's oath.

129 NOCs (118 of the current 206 NOCs and 11 obsolete NOCs) have participated in at least one Winter Games, and twelve nations (Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States) have participated in all twenty-three Winter Games to date. Including continuity from Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have also been represented in every edition.

History

Origin and early Games

The first winter sport to be contested at the modern Olympic Games was figure skating at the 1908 Games in London. A total of 21 skaters from six countries (Argentina, Germany, Great Britain, Sweden, Russia, and the United States) competed in four events on 28–29 October.[1]Skating was not in the program of the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, but returned for the 1920 Games in Antwerp. Ice hockey was also part of the 1920 program of events, with seven teams competing.[2]

The first Winter Games were held in 1924, in Chamonix, France. They were originally called International Winter Sports Week and held in association with the 1924 Summer Olympics, but were in retrospect designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the I Olympic Winter Games.[3]Sixteen nations participated in these Games: fourteen from Europe and two from North America.[4]Four years later, 25 nations were represented at the 1928 Winter Olympics, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, including Argentina (the first nation from the Southern Hemisphere), Japan (the first Asian nation), and Mexico.[5]The 1932 Games, held in Lake Placid, United States, saw the participation of 17 nations.[6]The 1936 Winter Games, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, had 28 participating nations, the largest number to that date.[7]These would be the last Winter Games for twelve years, as the planned 1940 Games and 1944 Games were cancelled due to World War II.[8]

Post-war years and Cold War era

After the war, 28 nations would return to St. Moritz for the 1948 Winter Olympics, but not Germany or Japan, who were not invited because of their roles in the war.[9]The 1952 Winter Games in Oslo, Norway, featured 30 participating nations.[10]The 1956 Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, marked the Winter Games debut of the Soviet Union, along with 31 other nations.[11]The NOCs of East Germany and West Germany would be represented by a single German team, an arrangement that would continue until 1964.[12]Thirty nations would participate at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, United States,[13] including South Africa, the first African nation to participate in the Winter Games.Thirty-six nations were represented in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1964.[14]

The 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, marked the first time that East Germany and West Germany competed as independent teams, two of the 37 nations that took part.[15]The Games of 1972 were held in Sapporo, Japan, the first time the Winter Games were held outside of Europe or North America. A total of 35 nations were represented, including the Philippines, the first appearance by a southeast Asian nation.[16]The Winter Games returned to Innsbruck, in 1976, with 37 participating nations.[17]

Lake Placid was the site of the Winter Games in 1980, with 37 competing nations.[18]The People's Republic of China made their Olympic debut but, in response, the Republic of China boycotted the Games, protesting their inability to use the name "China" after the decision by the IOC. Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia was host to the 1984 Winter Olympics, which welcomed 49 nations.[19]Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands were the first two Caribbean NOCs to compete in the Winter Games.Several more tropical nations would participate at the 1988 Winter Olympics, in Calgary, Canada, including the famed Jamaica national bobsleigh team.[20]

Recent Games

The post-Cold War events of the early 1990s led to a large increase in participating nations at the Olympics. At the 1992 Games, in Albertville, France, a total of 64 NOCs were represented, including a single Germany team—following the German reunification in 1990—and a Unified Team composed of six of the ex-republics of the Soviet Union.[21]The Baltic states competed independently for the first time since 1936, and some of the ex-Yugoslav nations started to compete independently in 1992.

In October 1986, the IOC had voted to hold the Olympic Winter Games halfway through the four-year Olympiad, rather than in the same year as the summer Games,[22] and this change started with the XVIIth Olympic Winter Games in 1994 in Lillehammer, Norway. A total of 67 nations took part, including the Czech Republic and Slovakia as independent teams, and each of the ex-Soviet nations.[23] Pakistan debuted in the Winter Olympics in 2010. Nigeria debuted in the Winter Olympics several years later, in 2018.

The Winter Games continued to grow in the recent past, with 72 nations at the 1998 Winter Olympics, in Nagano, Japan,[24] 77 nations at the 2002 Winter Olympics, in Salt Lake City, United States,[25] 80 nations at the 2006 Winter Olympics, in Turin, Italy,[26] 82 nations at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada,[27] 88 nations at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia,[28] and a record 93 nations at the 2018 Games.[29]

List of nations

Blue represents those that participated in the Winter Olympics and gray represents those that never participated.

Description

This list includes 129 NOCs (118 of the current 206 NOCs and 11 obsolete NOCs),[30] arranged alphabetically. The three-letter country code is also listed for each NOC. Since the 1960s, these codes have been frequently used by the IOC and each Games organizing committee to identify NOCs, such as within the official report of each Games.[31] However, in this section, several countries which have long-form names designated by the United Nations are referred to by their common names, such as Laos (Lao People's Democratic Republic), North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), and Moldova (Republic of Moldova).

Several nations have changed during their Olympic history. Name changes due to geographical renaming are explained by footnotes after the nation's name, and other changes are explained by footnotes links within the table itself.

Obsolete nations

Obsolete nations are included in the table to more clearly illustrate past Olympic appearances for their successor nations.

Table legend

24 In the table headings, indicates the Games year, from 1924 through 2022
Participated in the specified Games
HHost nation for the specified Games
[A]Additional explanatory comments at the linked footnote
 The planned Games of 1940 and 1944 were cancelled due to World War II
 NOC superseded or preceded by other NOC(s) during these years

Alphabetical list

Contents:A B C D E F G H I J K L M N P R S T U V Y Z Total
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 AlbaniaALB5
 AlgeriaALGFranceFrance3
 American SamoaASA2
 AndorraAND13
 ArgentinaARG20
 ArmeniaARMSoviet UnionSoviet Union8
 AustraliaAUS20
 AustriaAUTHH24
 AzerbaijanAZESoviet UnionSoviet Union7
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 BelarusBLRSoviet UnionSoviet UnionEUN8
 BelgiumBEL22
 BermudaBER8
 BoliviaBOL7
 Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHYugoslaviaYugoslavia8
 BrazilBRA9
 British Virgin IslandsIVB2
 BulgariaBUL21
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 CameroonCMR1
 CanadaCANHH24
 Cayman IslandsCAY2
 ChileCHI18
 ChinaCHNH12
 Chinese Taipei[TPE] (  Taiwan)TPE13
 ColombiaCOL3
 Costa RicaCRC[B]6
 CroatiaCROYugoslaviaYugoslavia9
 CyprusCYP12
 Czech RepublicCZECzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia8
 Czechoslovakia [^]TCH16
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 DenmarkDEN15
 DominicaDMA1
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 East TimorTLS3
 EcuadorECU2
 EgyptEGY1
 EritreaERI2
 EstoniaEST[A]Soviet Union11
 EthiopiaETH2
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 FijiFIJ3
 FinlandFIN24
 FranceFRAHHH24
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 GeorgiaGEOSoviet UnionSoviet Union8
 GermanyGERHEUAGDR, FRG13
 United Team of Germany [^]EUA3
 East Germany [^]GDREUA6
 West Germany [^]FRGEUA6
 GhanaGHA3
 Great BritainGBR24
 GreeceGRE20
 GuamGUM1
 GuatemalaGUA1
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 HaitiHAI1
 HondurasHON1
 Hong KongHKG6
 HungaryHUN24
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 IcelandISL19
 IndiaIND[D]11
 IranIRI12
 IrelandIRL8
 IsraelISR8
 ItalyITAHH24
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 JamaicaJAM9
 JapanJPNHH22
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 KazakhstanKAZSoviet UnionSoviet UnionEUN8
 KenyaKEN4
 North KoreaPRK9
 South KoreaKORH19
 Korea [^]COR1
 KosovoKOSYugoslaviaYugoslaviaSCGSerbia2
 KyrgyzstanKGZSoviet UnionSoviet Union8
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 LatviaLATSoviet Union12
 LebanonLIB18
 LiechtensteinLIE20
 LithuaniaLTUSoviet Union10
 LuxembourgLUX10
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 MadagascarMAD3
 MalaysiaMAS2
 MaltaMLT3
 MexicoMEX10
 MoldovaMDARomaniaSoviet Union8
 MonacoMON11
 MongoliaMGL15
 MontenegroMNEYugoslaviaYugoslaviaSCG4
 MoroccoMAR8
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 NepalNEP4
 NetherlandsNED22
 Netherlands Antilles [^]AHO2
 New ZealandNZL17
 NigeriaNGR2
 North Macedonia[MKD]MKDYugoslaviaYugoslavia7
 NorwayNORHH24
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 PakistanPAK4
 ParaguayPAR1
 PeruPER3
 PhilippinesPHI6
 PolandPOL24
 PortugalPOR9
 Puerto RicoPUR8
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 RomaniaROU22
 RussiaRUSSoviet UnionSoviet UnionEUNHOAR/ROC6
 Soviet Union [^]URSEUN9
 Unified Team [^]EUN1
ROC [^]ROC2
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 San MarinoSMR11
 Saudi ArabiaKSA1
 SenegalSEN5
 SerbiaSRBYugoslaviaYugoslaviaSCG4
 Yugoslavia [^]YUGH14
 Serbia and Montenegro[SCG] [^]SCGYugoslaviaYugoslavia3
 SlovakiaSVKCzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia8
 SloveniaSLOYugoslaviaYugoslavia9
 SingaporeSGP1
 South AfricaRSA7
 SpainESP21
 SwazilandSWZ1
 SwedenSWE24
 SwitzerlandSUIHH24
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 TajikistanTJKSoviet UnionSoviet Union4
 ThailandTHA5
 TogoTOG2
 TongaTGA2
 Trinidad and TobagoTRI4
 TurkeyTUR18
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 UkraineUKRSoviet UnionSoviet UnionEUN8
 United StatesUSAHHHH24
 UruguayURU1
 UzbekistanUZBSoviet UnionSoviet UnionEUN8
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 VenezuelaVEN4
 Virgin IslandsISV[C]8
Code2428323640444852566064687276808488929498020610141822Total
 ZimbabweZIM1
16251728--28303230363735373749576467727880828893911209

Nations that have never competed

88 of the 206 active NOCs have yet to compete in a Winter Olympics.[35]

NationCode
 AfghanistanAFG
 AngolaANG
 Antigua and BarbudaANT
 ArubaARU
 BahamasBAH
 BahrainBRN
 BangladeshBAN
 BarbadosBAR
 BelizeBIZ
 BeninBEN
 BhutanBHU
 BotswanaBOT
 BruneiBRU
 Burkina FasoBUR
 BurundiBDI
 CambodiaCAM
 Cape VerdeCPV
 Central African RepublicCAF
 ChadCHA
 ComorosCOM
 Republic of the CongoCGO
 Cook IslandsCOK
 CubaCUB
 DjiboutiDJI
 Dominican RepublicDOM
 Democratic Republic of the CongoCOD
 El SalvadorESA
 Equatorial GuineaGEQ
 Federated States of MicronesiaFSM
 GabonGAB
 The GambiaGAM
 GrenadaGRN
 GuineaGUI
 Guinea-BissauGBS
 GuyanaGUY
 IndonesiaINA
 IraqIRQ
 Ivory CoastCIV
 JordanJOR
 KiribatiKIR
 KuwaitKUW
 LaosLAO
 LesothoLES
 LiberiaLBR
 LibyaLBA
 MalawiMAW
 MaldivesMDV
 MaliMLI
 Marshall IslandsMHL
 MauritaniaMTN
 MauritiusMRI
 MozambiqueMOZ
 MyanmarMYA
 NamibiaNAM
 NauruNRU
 NicaraguaNCA
 NigerNIG
 OmanOMA
 PalauPLW
 PalestinePLE
 PanamaPAN
 Papua New GuineaPNG
 QatarQAT
 RwandaRWA
 Saint Kitts and NevisSKN
 Saint LuciaLCA
 Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesVIN
 SamoaSAM
 São Tomé and PríncipeSTP
 SeychellesSEY
 Sierra LeoneSLE
 Solomon IslandsSOL
 SomaliaSOM
 South SudanSSD
 Sri LankaSRI
 SudanSUD
 SurinameSUR
 SyriaSYR
 TanzaniaTAN
 TunisiaTUN
 TurkmenistanTKM
 TuvaluTUV
 UgandaUGA
 United Arab EmiratesUAE
 VanuatuVAN
 VietnamVIE
 YemenYEM
 ZambiaZAM

Notes

Name changes notes

 TPE: The Chinese Taipei was designated Republic of China (ROC) in 1972[16] and 1976.[17] In 1979, the IOC started to use Chinese Taipei to refer to this NOC, a compromise that was acceptable for the People's Republic of China to start participating in the Olympic Games.[36][37]
 MKD: North Macedonia was known as Macedonia, or more formally Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia due to a naming dispute with Greece, between 1998[24] and 2018.
 SCG: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, consisting of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro, participated at the Games since 1998. It was reconstituted as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2003. At the 1998[24] and 2002[25] Games, the nation was still designated Yugoslavia (YUG). The Serbia and Montenegro (SCG) designation and code were used at the Winter Games in 2006.[26]

Participation notes

  1. ^ A single speed skater from Estonia registered for the 1924 Winter Olympics and carried the flag in the opening ceremonies, but did not compete.[4]
  2. ^ Costa Rica did not take part in the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics, but its athletes did compete; 78 nations participated in the 2002 Games, however the IOC web site states that 77 nations participated, probably erroneously not counting Costa Rica.[38]
  3. ^ Anne Abernathy was the lone competitor from the Virgin Islands at the 2006 Winter Olympics, but withdrew from the women's luge event after injuring herself during a practice run.[39]
  4. ^ India's athletes originally competed as Independent Olympic Participants and marched under the Olympic Flag during the opening ceremony due to the Indian Olympic Association's suspension. On 11 February, the Indian Olympic Association was reinstated and India's athletes were allowed the option to compete under their own flag from that time onward.[40]

See also

References

External links