Visualizing Winter Olympics All-Time Gold Medals
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
For the first time ever, the 2026 Winter Olympics will be hosted in two cities and two provinces.
Across Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, athletes will compete for gold in 116 events, including skiing, bobsleigh, and figure skating. Ski mountaineering, also known as “Skimo” will mark its first year as an Olympic discipline, an event where skiers climb up the mountain then race downhill across a designated course.
This graphic shows the countries with the most gold medals in Winter Olympic sports, based on data from the International Olympic Committee.
Top 20 Countries in Winter Olympic Sports
Below, we show the top 20 countries by all-time gold medals at the Winter Olympics:
RankCountryAll-Time Gold Medal Count
1 Norway148
2 United States114
3 Germany104
4☭ Soviet Union78
5 Canada77
6 Austria71
7 Sweden65
8 Switzerland63
9 Netherlands53
10 Russia47
11 Finland45
12 Italy42
13 France41
14 East Germany39
15 South Korea33
16 China22
17 Japan17
18 Great Britain12
19 West Germany11
20 Czech Republic10
As of July 5, 2024
Norway leads with 148 gold medals overall, dominating in cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and biathlon.
Not only that, the top three most decorated Winter Olympians in history are all from Norway. With 15 medals, including eight gold, cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen ranks first overall. Across all Olympic medalists, Bjørgen is the third-most decorated, falling after Michael Phelps and Larisa Latynina.
Ranking in second is the U.S., winning 114 gold medals. In terms of overall medal count, America is the leading country in figure skating and snowboarding, with 51 and 31 medals in each sport, respectively. Michelle Kwan stands as one of the most successful U.S. Olympic skaters, with two Olympic medals and a total of 43 championships.
As the third-top country at the Winter Olympics, Germany is known for its achievements in bobsleigh, biathlon, and luge in addition to notable success in speed skating. Overall, the country falls closely behind the U.S., with 104 gold medals.
Perhaps it comes as no surprise that Nordic countries, including Sweden and Finland excel at the winter Olympics. Other colder nations, like Russia and Canada, also fall in the top 10 overall. More broadly, 15 of the top 20 countries by gold medals in Winter Olympic sports are European or former European countries (like East Germany).
Across Asia, three countries—China, Japan, and South Korea—have achieved the strongest performance, mirroring a trend seen in the Summer Olympic Games.
The post Visualizing Winter Olympics All-Time Gold Medals appeared first on Visual Capitalist.