IIHF World Ranking

The system was approved at the IIHF congress of September 2003.^[2] According to former IIHF President René Fasel, the system was designed to be simple to understand and "reflect the long-term quality of all national hockey programs and their commitment to international hockey".^[3]

The ranking is used to determine the seeding of the teams for the next World Championship and to select the teams which can participate in Winter Olympics without playing in the qualifying round. For example, for the 2022 Winter Olympics, the first eight teams of the Men's World Ranking and the first six of the Women's World Ranking were pre-qualified. Qualification for the men's tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics was structured around the 2019 ranking. Twelve spots were made available for teams. The top eight teams in the World Ranking after the 2019 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships received automatic berths into the Ice Hockey event. All IIHF teams had an opportunity to qualify for the event. Teams that wished to participate ranked below 36th played in two preliminary qualifications in November 2019. The two winners of the first preliminaries and teams ranked 27–36th were divided in three groups to play in the second pre-qualification round in December 2019. The three winners of those preliminaries joined teams ranked 18–26th for the third pre-qualification round of three groups in February 2020. The winner of each of these pre-qualification groups and teams ranked 9–17 were divided in three groups to play in the final qualification in August 2021. The winner of each group then joined the eight top-ranked teams plus the host in the Olympics in 2022.

The women's tournament uses a similar qualification format. The top six teams in the IIHF Women's World Ranking after the 2020 IIHF Women's World Championship received automatic berths into the ice hockey event. Lower ranked teams had an opportunity to qualify for the event. Teams ranked 16th and below were divided into three groups where they played in a preliminary qualification round in the October 2021. The three group winners from the round advanced to the final qualification round, where the teams ranked seventh through fifteenth joined them.^[4]

The current men's ranking (as of May 2025) is based on the performance at the World Championships of 2025, 2024, 2023, and 2022, and at the Olympic ice hockey tournament of 2022. In the upcoming February 2026 rankings, points from the 2026 Olympic tournament will be added and points from the 2022 Olympics will be dropped.

Russia and Belarus were expelled from competing in all World Championships since 2022 because of their invasion of Ukraine. They were, however, granted the points of the positions they would have been seeded based on their 2021 ranking: in 2022, Russia in third place received 1120 points, and Belarus in 14th place received 860 points. Several nations withdrew from the 2022 World Championships over COVID-19 concerns. These nations similarly received the points of the positions they would have been seeded within their respective tournaments: Australia as second place in IIA received 560 points, New Zealand as third place in IIB received 440 points, North Korea as first place in IIIA received 360 points, Hong Kong as second place in IIIB received 220 points, and the Philippines as fourth place in IV received 100 points.^[5]

The following table lists the full breakdown of ranking following the 2025 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships^[6] and the calculations of the rankings during the 2026 Winter Olympics. Scores in italics represent minimum possible scores for unfinished tournaments. All tournament's points have their full value displayed, while the ranking is calculated by adding the current year's tournament points to the depreciated previous three years' tournament points as explained above. The depreciated percentages are shown in the column headings, first for the current total, then for the new total. The "Total" columns are the sums of the current tournament points and the depreciated values for past tournaments. The "+/–" columns indicate the increase or decrease in ranking since the last tournament. A dash in a tournament column indicates that the country did not participate.

More information Feb2026 Rank, 2025 Rank ...

Feb 2026 Rank	2025 Rank	Team	WC division (as of 2026)	OLY2026 (—) (100%)	WC2025 (100%) (100%)	WC2024 (75%) (75%)	WC2023 (50%) (50%)	WC2022 (25%) (25%)	OLY2022 (25%) (0%)	Feb 2026 Total	+/−	2025 Total	+/−
NR	NR	Russia	Expelled	1600	1560	1520	1520	1120	1160	5340		4030	1
1	1	United States	Championship	1600	1600	1460	1500	1100	1060	5320		3985	4
2	3	Canada	Championship	1560	1460	1500	1600	1160	1040	5235	1	3935	3
3	2	Switzerland	Championship	1460	1560	1560	1460	1060	1000	5185	1	3975	2
4	4	Sweden	Championship	1420	1520	1520	1440	1040	1100	5060		3915	2
5	5	Czech Republic	Championship	1400	1440	1600	1400	1120	960	5020		3860	2
6	6	Finland	Championship	1520	1420	1400	1420	1200	1200	5000		3780	4
7	7	Germany	Championship	1440	1360	1440	1560	1020	940	4915		3710
8	9	Slovakia	Championship	1500	1320	1420	1360	1000	1120	4815	1	3595	1
9	8	Denmark	Championship	1360	1500	1280	1340	960	1020	4730	1	3625	2
10	10	Latvia	Championship	1340	1340	1360	1520	940	920	4695		3585	1
11	11	Austria	Championship	1200	1400	1340	1260	920	800	4465		3465	1
12	12	Norway	Championship	1280	1300	1320	1280	880	880	4430		3370	1
13	14	France	Division I A	1320	1220	1260	1300	900	860	4360	1	3255	1
14	13	Kazakhstan	Division I A	1260	1240	1300	1320	860	700	4350	1	3265	1
15	15	Slovenia	Championship	1240	1280	1180	1220	800	820	4215		3180	2
NR	NR	Belarus	Expelled	1220	1220	1240	1260	860	840	4215		3205
16	17	Great Britain	Championship	1220	1200	1240	1200	820	660	4155	1	3100	2
17	18	Italy	Championship	1300	1180	1160	1160	840	740	4140	1	3025
18	16	Hungary	Championship	1160	1260	1200	1240	780	780	4135	2	3170
19	19	Poland	Division I A	1080	1120	1220	1180	700	760	3880		2990
20	20	Japan	Division I A	1180	1140	1120	1080	680	680	3870		2860	2
21	21	Romania	Division I B	1120	1100	1140	1120	720	640	3815		2855
22	22	Ukraine	Division I A	1140	1160	1080	1060	660	620	3805		2820	3
23	23	South Korea	Division I B	1100	1060	1100	1140	740	720	3740		2820	3
24	24	Lithuania	Division I A	1060	1080	1060	1100	760	600	3675		2765	1
25	26	Estonia	Division I B	1020	1040	1040	1020	640	580	3510	1	2635
26	25	China	Division I B	1040	1020	1020	1040	600	900	3495	1	2680	1
27	27	Spain	Division I B	1000	1000	1000	960	540	520	3365		2495	1
28	28	Netherlands	Division I B	960	960	980	1000	580	560	3300		2480	1
29	30	Serbia	Division II A	980	940	940	980	620	500	3270	1	2415	1
30	29	Croatia	Division II A	940	980	960	940	560	540	3250	1	2445	1
31	33	Iceland	Division II B	920	820	860	880	480	480	2945	2	2145	1
32	32	United Arab Emirates	Division II A	780	920	920	840	360	320	2900		2200	2
33	36	Bulgaria	Division II B	820	780	780	800	420	380	2690	3	1965	1
34	38	Chinese Taipei	Division II B	880	760	760	720	300	440	2645	4	1875
35	39	Turkey	Division III A	840	680	740	760	340	460	2540	4	1815	3
36	40	Thailand	Division III A	800	740	720	660	220	340	2465	4	1750	1
37	45	Georgia	Division II A	900	840	800	0[a]	460	—	2455	8	1555	3
38	46	South Africa	Division III A	860	660	640	680	240	—	2400	8	1540	1
39	41	Kyrgyzstan	Division II B	760	720	700	600	160	400	2345	2	1685	2
40	47	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Division III A	720	640	600	580	200	260	2150	7	1495	1
41	34	Australia	Division II A	—	880	880	920	560	—	2140	7	2140	1
42	31	Israel	Division II B	—	860	900	900	520	420	2115	11	2220
43	48	Hong Kong	Division III B	740	560	560	560	220	280	2055	5	1385	1
44	35	Belgium	Division II A	—	900	840	820	440	—	2050	9	2050	2
45	37	New Zealand	Division II B	—	800	820	780	440	—	1915	8	1915	2
46	54	Iran	Division IV	680	400	500	520	140	—	1750	8	1070	2
47	53	Kuwait	Division IV	700	440	460	440	80	240	1725	6	1085	3
48	42	Turkmenistan	Division III A	—	700	660	700	320	—	1625	6	1625	2
49	43	Mexico	Division III A	—	600	620	740	400	360	1535	6	1625	3
50	44	Luxembourg	Division III B	—	620	680	640	280	300	1520	6	1595	2
51	50	Singapore	Division IV	—	500	520	540	120	—	1190	1	1190	1
52	49	Philippines	Division III B	—	520	540	480	100	—	1190	1	1190	2
53	51	Mongolia	Division III B	—	540	480	460	—	—	1130		1130	4
54	52	North Korea	Division III B	—	580	580	—	360	—	1105		1105	2
55	55	Malaysia	Division IV	—	380	420	500	100	—	970		970	2
56	56	Indonesia	Division IV	—	420	440	420	—	—	960		960
57	57	Uzbekistan	Division III B	—	480	—	—	—	—	480		480	new
58	58	Armenia	Division IV	—	460	—	—	—	—	460		460

Close

The current women's ranking (as of April 2025) is based on the performance at the World Championships of 2025, 2024, 2023, and 2022, and at the Olympic ice hockey tournament of 2022. In the upcoming February 2026 rankings, points from the 2026 Olympic tournament will be added and points from the 2022 Olympics will be dropped.

The following table lists the ranking following the 2025 Women's Ice Hockey World Championships.^[6] and the calculations of the rankings following the 2026 Winter Olympics. Scores in italics represent minimum possible scores for unfinished tournaments. All tournament's points have their full value displayed, while the ranking is calculated by adding the current year's tournament points to the depreciated previous three years' tournament points as explained above. The depreciated percentages are shown in the column headings, first for the current total, then for the new total. The "Total" columns are the sums of the current tournament points and the depreciated values for past tournaments. The "+/–" columns indicate the increase or decrease in ranking since the last tournament. A dash in a tournament column indicates that the country did not participate.

More information Feb2026 Rank, 2025 Rank ...

Feb 2026 Rank	2025 Rank	Team	WC division (as of 2025)	OLY2026 (—) (100%)	WC2025 (100%) (100%)	WC2024 (75%) (75%)	WC2023 (50%) (50%)	WC2022 (25%) (25%)	OLY2022 (25%) (0%)	Feb 2026 Total	+/−	2025 Total	+/−
1	1	United States	Championship	1600	1600	1560	1600	1160	1160	5460		4150	1
2	2	Canada	Championship	1560	1560	1600	1560	1200	1200	5400		4140	1
3	4	Czech Republic	Championship	1460	1500	1500	1520	1120	1020	5125	1	3920
4	5	Switzerland	Championship	1520	1460	1460	1500	1100	1100	5100	1	3855
5	3	Finland	Championship	1440	1520	1520	1460	1040	1120	5090	2	3930
6	6	Sweden	Championship	1500	1440	1420	1440	1020	1000	4980		3730	1
NR	NR	Russia	Expelled	1440	1440	1440	1460	1100	1060	4965		3790
7	8	Germany	Championship	1420	1400	1440	1400	960	860	4840	1	3635
8	7	Japan	Championship	1360	1420	1400	1420	1060	1040	4805	1	3705	1
9	9	Hungary	Championship	1300	1340	1300	1360	1000	920	4545		3475
10	10	Denmark	Division I A	1320	1300	1340	1300	940	940	4510		3425
11	14	France	Division I A	1340	1260	1280	1340	920	880	4460	3	3340	2
12	11	Norway	Championship	1260	1360	1320	1240	900	840	4455	1	3405	2
13	13	Austria	Division I A	1280	1320	1260	1280	860	900	4400		3345	1
14	12	China	Division I A	1240	1240	1360	1320	820	960	4365	2	3365	1
15	17	Italy	Division I B	1400	1200	1160	1160	780	800	4245	2	3045	1
16	16	Netherlands	Division I A	1220	1220	1240	1260	840	740	4210		3175
17	15	Slovakia	Division I A	1180	1280	1200	1220	880	820	4190	2	3215
18	18	South Korea	Division I B	1140	1120	1220	1200	740	780	3960		3015	1
19	19	Great Britain	Division I B	1160	1160	1140	1120	700	720	3910		2930	1
20	20	Poland	Division II A	1200	1060	1100	1180	800	760	3875		2865	1
21	23	Latvia	Division I B	1100	1180	1180	1080	680	—	3875	2	2775	3
22	22	Kazakhstan	Division I B	1120	1140	1080	1100	760	660	3810		2855
23	21	Slovenia	Division I B	1080	1100	1120	1140	720	680	3770	2	2860
24	24	Spain	Division II A	1020	1080	1060	1060	660	700	3590		2745	1
25	26	Mexico	Division II A	1060	980	1040	1040	620	640	3495	1	2595	2
26	25	Chinese Taipei	Division II A	1040	1020	1020	1020	640	620	3495	1	2610
27	27	Iceland	Division II A	1000	1040	1000	1000	580	600	3435		2585
28	29	Turkey	Division II B	980	860	880	860	540	580	3095	1	2260	1
29	33	Lithuania	Division III A	960	840	800	800	440	520	2910	2	2080
30	36	Croatia	Division III A	920	760	760	880	500	—	2815	6	1895
31	38	Romania	Division III A	900	780	820	780	420	—	2790	5	1890
32	37	Bulgaria	Division III B	940	720	740	760	420	540	2700	5	1895	2
33	40	Serbia	Division III A	860	800	780	720	320	—	2685	7	1825
34	41	Estonia	Division III B	880	680	700	740	340	—	2540	7	1660	2
35	28	Australia	Division II B	—	960	940	940	560	—	2275	7	2275	2
36	30	Belgium	Division II B	—	900	980	960	460	—	2230	6	2230	1
37	32	New Zealand	Division II B	—	940	900	920	540	—	2210	5	2210
38	44	Thailand	Division III A	840	820	720	—	—	—	2200	6	1360
39	31	Hong Kong	Division II B	—	880	920	840	380	560	2085	8	2225	2
40	34	Ukraine	Division II B	—	920	840	820	460	—	2075	6	2075	3
41	35	South Africa	Division III A	—	740	860	900	520	—	1965	6	1965	1
42	39	North Korea	Division II A	—	1000	960	—	620	—	1875	3	1875	2
43	42	Israel	Division III B	—	700	680	700	280	—	1630	1	1630	1
44	43	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Division III B	—	660	660	680	300	—	1570	1	1570	1
45	45	Singapore	Division III B	—	640	660	—	—	—	1135		1135

Close

• List of IIHF World Rankings

^  Bosnia and Herzegovina seems to have been given an incorrect score in 2024. They were shown to have 1395 points in the 2024 World Ranking list^[7] which calculates to earning 660 points that year instead of the 640 points they should have earned for 46th place. Singapore was also awarded 660 points.