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List of participating nations at the Winter Olympic Games

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This is a list of nations, as represented by National Olympic Committees (NOCs), that have participated in the Winter Olympic Games between 1924 and 2026. 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.

133 NOCs (121 of the current 206 NOCs and 12 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 nations that participated in the Winter Olympics and gray represents those that never participated.

Description

This list includes 129 NOCs (119 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
Participated in the specified Games
H Host 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

More information Contents: ...
Contents: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N P R S T U V Z Total
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More information A, Code ...
A Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 AlbaniaALB 6
 AlgeriaALG FranceFrance3
 American SamoaASA 2
 AndorraAND 14
 ArgentinaARG 21
 ArmeniaARM Soviet UnionSoviet Union9
 AustraliaAUS 21
 AustriaAUT HH25
 AzerbaijanAZE Soviet UnionSoviet Union8
B Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 BelarusBLR Soviet Union Soviet UnionEUNAIN8
 BelgiumBEL 23
 BeninBEN 1
 BermudaBER 8
 BoliviaBOL 8
 Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIH YugoslaviaYugoslavia9
 BrazilBRA 10
 British Virgin IslandsIVB 2
 BulgariaBUL 22
C Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 CameroonCMR 1
 CanadaCAN HH25
 Cayman IslandsCAY 2
 ChileCHI 19
 ChinaCHN H13
 Chinese Taipei[TPE] ( Taiwan)TPE Japan14
 ColombiaCOL 4
 Costa RicaCRC [B]6
 CroatiaCRO YugoslaviaYugoslavia10
 CyprusCYP 13
 Czech RepublicCZE CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia9
 Czechoslovakia [^]TCH 16
D Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 DenmarkDEN 16
 DominicaDMA 1
E Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 EcuadorECU 3
 EgyptEGY 1
 EritreaERI EthiopiaEthiopia3
 EstoniaEST [A]Soviet Union12
 EthiopiaETH 2
F Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 FijiFIJ 3
 FinlandFIN 25
 FranceFRA HHH25
G Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 GeorgiaGEO Soviet Union Soviet Union9
 GermanyGER HEUAGDR, FRG14
 United Team of Germany [^]EUA 3
 East Germany [^]GDR EUA6
 West Germany [^]FRG EUA6
 GhanaGHA 3
 Great BritainGBR 25
 GreeceGRE 21
 GuamGUM 1
 GuatemalaGUA 1
 Guinea-BissauGBS 1
H Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 HaitiHAI 2
 HondurasHON 1
 Hong KongHKG 7
 HungaryHUN 25
I Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 IcelandISL 20
 IndiaIND [D]12
 IranIRI 13
 IrelandIRL 9
 IsraelISR 9
 ItalyITA HHH25
J Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 JamaicaJAM 10
 JapanJPN HH23
K Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 KazakhstanKAZ Soviet Union Soviet UnionEUN9
 KenyaKEN 5
 North KoreaPRK Japan9
 South KoreaKOR JapanH20
 Korea [^]COR 1
 KosovoKOS YugoslaviaYugoslaviaSCGSRB3
 KyrgyzstanKGZ Soviet UnionSoviet Union9
L Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 LatviaLAT Soviet Union13
 LebanonLBN 19
 LiechtensteinLIE 21
 LithuaniaLTU Soviet Union11
 LuxembourgLUX 11
M Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 MadagascarMAD 4
 MalaysiaMAS 3
 MaltaMLT 4
 MexicoMEX 11
 MoldovaMDA RomaniaSoviet Union9
 MonacoMON 12
 MongoliaMGL 16
 MontenegroMNE YugoslaviaYugoslaviaSCG5
 MoroccoMAR 9
N Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 NepalNEP 4
 NetherlandsNED 23
 Netherlands Antilles [^]AHO 2
 New ZealandNZL 18
 NigeriaNGR 3
 North Macedonia[MKD]MKD YugoslaviaYugoslavia8
 NorwayNOR HH25
P Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 PakistanPAK India 5
 ParaguayPAR 1
 PeruPER 3
 PhilippinesPHI 7
 PolandPOL 25
 PortugalPOR 10
 Puerto RicoPUR 9
R Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 RomaniaROU 23
 RussiaRUS Soviet UnionSoviet UnionEUNHOARROCAIN6
 Soviet Union [^]URS EUN9
 Unified Team [^]EUN 1
Olympic Athletes from Russia [^]OAR 1
 ROC [^]ROC 1
 Individual Neutral Athletes [^]AIN 1
S Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 San MarinoSMR 12
 Saudi ArabiaKSA 2
 SenegalSEN 5
 SerbiaSRB YugoslaviaYugoslaviaSCG5
 Yugoslavia [^]YUG H14
 Serbia and Montenegro [^]SCG 3
 SingaporeSGP 2
 SlovakiaSVK CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia9
 Czechoslovakia [^]TCH 16
 SloveniaSLO YugoslaviaYugoslavia10
 South AfricaRSA 8
 SpainESP 22
 SwazilandSWZ 1
 SwedenSWE 25
 SwitzerlandSUI HH25
T Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 TajikistanTJK Soviet Union Soviet Union4
 ThailandTHA 6
 Timor-LesteTLS 3
 TogoTOG 2
 TongaTGA 2
 Trinidad and TobagoTTO 5
 TurkeyTUR 19
U Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 UkraineUKR Soviet Union Soviet UnionEUN9
 United Arab EmiratesUAE 1
 United StatesUSA HHHH25
 UruguayURU 2
 UzbekistanUZB Soviet UnionSoviet UnionEUN9
V Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 VenezuelaVEN 5
 Virgin IslandsISV [C]8
Z Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 ZimbabweZIM 1
Total NOCs number 16251728 -- 2830323036373537374957646772788082889391931240
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First Appearance lists

More information Contents: ...
Contents: Early Games | Post-war | 70s & 80s | 90s & 2000s | Recent Games
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More information Early Games, NOC ...
Early Games
NOC Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 FranceFRA H HH25
 AustriaAUT HH25
 CanadaCAN HH25
 FinlandFIN 25
 Great BritainGBR 25
 HungaryHUN 25
 ItalyITA HHH25
 NorwayNOR HH25
 PolandPOL 25
 SwedenSWE 25
 SwitzerlandSUI HH25
 United StatesUSA HHHH25
 BelgiumBEL 23
 Czechoslovakia [^]TCH 16
 Yugoslavia [^]YUG H14
 LatviaLAT Soviet Union13
NOC Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 RomaniaROU 23
 JapanJPN HH23
 NetherlandsNED 23
 ArgentinaARG 21
 GermanyGER HEUAGDR, FRG14
 EstoniaEST [A]Soviet Union12
 LuxembourgLUX 11
 MexicoMEX 11
 LithuaniaLTU Soviet Union11
NOC Code 242832364044485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 BulgariaBUL 22
 SpainESP 22
 GreeceGRE 21
 LiechtensteinLIE 21
 AustraliaAUS 21
 TurkeyTUR 19
Total NOCs number 16251728 -- 232424212524242524262731292828282829292929641
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More information Post-war, NOC ...
Post-war
NOC Code 485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 IcelandISL 20
 South KoreaKOR H20
 LebanonLBN 19
 ChileCHI 19
 DenmarkDEN 16
NOC Code 485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 New ZealandNZL 18
 PortugalPOR 10
NOC Code 485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 IranIRI 13
 Soviet Union [^]URS EUN9
 BoliviaBOL 8
 United Team of Germany [^]EUA 3
NOC Code 485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 South AfricaRSA 8
NOC Code 485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 MongoliaMGL 16
 IndiaIND [D]12
 North KoreaPRK 9
NOC Code 485256606468727680848892949802061014182226Total
 MoroccoMAR 9
 East Germany [^]GDR EUA6
 West Germany [^]FRG EUA6
Total NOCs number 5689111399912151181110121311141213221
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More information 70s & 80s, NOC ...
70s & 80s
NOC Code 727680848892949802061014182226Total
 Chinese Taipei[TPE] ( Taiwan)TPE 14
 PhilippinesPHI 7
NOC Code 727680848892949802061014182226Total
 AndorraAND 14
 San MarinoSMR 12
NOC Code 727680848892949802061014182226Total
 ChinaCHN H13
 CyprusCYP 13
 Costa RicaCRC [B]6
NOC Code 727680848892949802061014182226Total
 Puerto RicoPUR 9
 SenegalSEN 5
 British Virgin IslandsIVB 2
 EgyptEGY 1
NOC Code 727680848892949802061014182226Total
 JamaicaJAM 10
 Virgin IslandsISV [C]8
 FijiFIJ 3
 Netherlands Antilles [^]AHO 2
 GuamGUM 1
 GuatemalaGUA 1
Total NOCs number 23410141210710879898121
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More information 90s & 2000s, NOC ...
90s & 2000s
NOC Code 92949802061014182226Total
 BrazilBRA 10
 CroatiaCRO 10
 SloveniaSLO 10
 IrelandIRL 9
 BermudaBER 8
 AlgeriaALG 3
 HondurasHON 1
 SwazilandSWZ 1
 Unified Team [^]EUN 1
NOC Code 92949802061014182226Total
 ArmeniaARM 9
 Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIH YUG9
 Czech RepublicCZE TCH9
 GeorgiaGEO 9
 IsraelISR 9
 KazakhstanKAZ EUN9
 KyrgyzstanKGZ 9
 MoldovaMDA 9
 SlovakiaSVK TCH9
 UkraineUKR EUN9
 UzbekistanUZB EUN9
 BelarusBLR EUNAIN8
 RussiaRUS EUNHOARROCAIN6
 Trinidad and TobagoTTO 5
 American SamoaASA 2
NOC Code 92949802061014182226Total
 AzerbaijanAZE 8
 North Macedonia[MKD]MKD YUG8
 KenyaKEN 5
 VenezuelaVEN 5
 Serbia and Montenegro [^]SCG 3
 UruguayURU 2
NOC Code 92949802061014182226Total
 Hong KongHKG 7
 ThailandTHA 6
 NepalNEP 4
 TajikistanTJK 4
 CameroonCMR 1
NOC Code 92949802061014182226Total
 AlbaniaALB 6
 MadagascarMAD 4
 EthiopiaETH 2
Total NOCs number 9192529312626242425238
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More information Recent Games, NOC ...
Recent Games
NOC Code 1014182226Total
 MontenegroMNE 5
 PakistanPAK 5
 SerbiaSRB 5
 ColombiaCOL 4
 PeruPER 3
 GhanaGHA 3
 Cayman IslandsCAY 2
NOC Code 1014182226Total
 MaltaMLT 4
 Timor-LesteTLS 3
 TogoTOG 2
 TongaTGA 2
 DominicaDMA 1
 ParaguayPAR 1
 ZimbabweZIM 1
NOC Code 1014182226Total
 EcuadorECU 3
 EritreaERI 3
 KosovoKOS SRB3
 MalaysiaMAS 3
 NigeriaNGR 3
 SingaporeSGP 2
 Korea [^]COR 1
Olympic Athletes from Russia [^]OAR 1
NOC Code 1014182226Total
 HaitiHAI 2
 Saudi ArabiaKSA 2
 ROC [^]ROC 1
NOC Code 1014182226Total
 BeninBEN 1
 Guinea-BissauGBS 1
 United Arab EmiratesUAE 1
 Individual Neutral Athletes [^]AIN 1
Total NOCs number 71217161769
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Nations that have never competed

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

Vatican City is not a member of the International Olympic Committee and is therefore not able to send a team to the Olympic Games.

  • Note: The Refugee Olympic Team was founded in 2016 and has competed in the Summer Olympics, but has not in the Winter Olympics.
More information Nation, Code ...
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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

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