Sports Merit Ranking 2025

WRCES Merit ranking

The WRCES Merit ranking highlights the countries that punch above their weight in elite sport — the nations achieving the most relative to their population and economic resources.

It re-scores the World Ranking of Countries in Elite Sport against each country’s GDP, surfacing the real over-performers. See the full sports merit ranking by country below.

2025 Final Ranking

Rank	Country	Points	Change
1	JAMAICA	181	–
2	MONTENEGRO	162	▲ 1
3	FIJI	160	▲ 3
4	ANDORRA	153	▲ 7
5	BARBADOS	152	▲ 5
5	GEORGIA	152	–
7	CAPE VERDE	150	▲ 17
8	KYRGYZSTAN	149	▲ 7
9	MOLDOVA	147	▲ 3
9	SLOVENIA	147	▼ 2
11	KOSOVO	144	▲ 4
11	SERBIA	144	▼ 9
13	ESTONIA	143	–
13	LATVIA	143	▲ 1
13	MONGOLIA	143	▲ 6
13	SAMOA	143	▼ 5
17	BERMUDA	140	▲ 11
18	COOK ISLANDS	138	▲ 1
18	VANUATU	138	▲ 14
20	CROATIA	137	▲ 1
20	NEW ZEALAND	137	▼ 2
22	NORTH MACEDONIA	136	▼ 1
23	TONGA	133	▲ 4
24	NAMIBIA	132	–
25	SURINAME	131	▲ 30
25	VENEZUELA	131	▲ 17
27	BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA	130	▼ 3
28	GRENADA	129	▲ 19
28	SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES	129	▲ 4
30	HUNGARY	128	▲ 22
30	UKRAINE	128	▼ 1
32	LEBANON	127	▼ 17
33	CZECH REPUBLIC	126	▲ 8
34	ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA	125	▲ 3
34	SAN MARINO	125	▼ 4
36	ARMENIA	124	▼ 15
36	VIRGIN ISLANDS	124	▼ 33
38	BAHAMAS	123	▲ 17
38	MONACO	123	▼ 3
38	TUNISIA	123	▲ 4
41	LITHUANIA	122	▼ 9
41	MALTA	122	▲ 1
43	EL SALVADOR	121	▲ 4
43	FINLAND	121	▲ 4
43	PARAGUAY	121	▲ 4
46	SOLOMON ISLANDS	120	▲ 27
46	TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO	120	▲ 27
48	MAURITIUS	119	▼ 11
49	DOMINICA	118	▲ 10
49	SLOVAKIA	118	▼ 7
51	BELIZE	117	▲ 50
51	DENMARK	117	▲ 8
51	NICARAGUA	117	▲ 16
54	SYRIA	116	▲ 8
54	URUGUAY	116	▲ 17
56	BULGARIA	115	▼ 4
56	PORTUGAL	115	▲ 17
58	AMERICAN SAMOA	114	▲ 4
58	BOTSWANA	114	▲ 15
58	CYPRUS	114	▼ 21
58	ICELAND	114	▼ 3
58	RWANDA	114	▼ 22
58	SAINT LUCIA	114	▼ 16
58	SOUTH AFRICA	114	▼ 11
65	PALESTINE	113	▲ 63
66	CAYMAN ISLANDS	112	▲ 20
66	GUAM	112	▼ 57
68	AZERBAIJAN	111	▼ 9
68	LESOTHO	111	▲ 37
70	ARGENTINA	110	▼ 3
70	BURUNDI	110	▼ 40
72	AUSTRALIA	109	▲ 17
72	NORWAY	109	▼ 7
72	SENEGAL	109	▲ 5
75	ERITREA	108	▲ 68
76	ARUBA	107	▼ 5
76	KENYA	107	▼ 9
78	CAMEROON	106	▲ 18
78	GREECE	106	▼ 1
78	IRAN	106	▲ 44
78	POLAND	106	▲ 33
78	TAJIKISTAN	106	▼ 1
83	BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS	105	▼ 46
83	KAZAKHSTAN	105	▼ 6
83	MARSHALL ISLANDS	105	▲ 48
83	NETHERLANDS	105	▲ 3
87	BELGIUM	104	▲ 18
87	COSTA RICA	104	▲ 2
87	FRANCE	104	▼ 1
87	GREAT BRITAIN	104	▲ 6
87	ITALY	104	▲ 2
87	JORDAN	104	▲ 9
87	PALAU	104	▲ 24
87	PUERTO RICO	104	▲ 9
87	SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS	104	▼ 33
87	SPAIN	104	▼ 10
87	SWEDEN	104	▼ 10
98	UGANDA	103	▼ 21
98	ZAMBIA	103	▲ 42
100	ECUADOR	102	▼ 7
100	LUXEMBOURG	102	▲ 16
100	NAURU	102	▲ 22
100	SOUTH KOREA	102	▲ 1
100	TOGO	102	▲ 18
105	BRAZIL	101	–
105	GAMBIA	101	▼ 16
105	THAILAND	101	▼ 12
105	UZBEKISTAN	101	▼ 20
109	BENIN	100	▲ 26
109	DOMINICAN REPUBLIC	100	▲ 2
109	GUATEMALA	100	▼ 13
109	HONG KONG	100	▲ 46
109	ROMANIA	100	▼ 8
109	TUVALU	100	▲ 2
109	USA	100	▼ 4
116	ALBANIA	99	▼ 11
116	BOLIVIA	99	▼ 15
116	CANADA	99	▲ 2
116	COMOROS	99	▼ 20
116	JAPAN	99	▼ 5
116	KIRIBATI	99	▲ 15
116	NORTH KOREA	99	▲ 21
116	PANAMA	99	▲ 15
124	BAHRAIN	98	▼ 57
124	CHILE	98	▼ 2
124	LAOS	98	▲ 11
124	SEYCHELLES	98	▼ 59
124	ZIMBABWE	98	▼ 47
129	MADAGASCAR	97	▼ 67
129	PHILIPPINES	97	▼ 13
131	AUSTRIA	96	▼ 9
131	COLOMBIA	96	▼ 26
131	EGYPT	96	▼ 13
131	SWITZERLAND	96	–
135	CHINA	95	▼ 13
135	CHINESE TAIPEI	95	▼ 7
135	MICRONESIA	95	▲ 8
135	MOROCCO	95	▼ 17
135	SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE	95	▲ 2
140	GERMANY	94	▼ 12
140	GUYANA	94	▼ 3
140	MALDIVES ISLANDS	94	▲ 15
143	ESWATINI	93	▲ 6
143	MALAYSIA	93	▲ 6
143	NEPAL	93	▼ 3
146	MEXICO	92	▼ 24
146	TURKIYE	92	▲ 16
148	CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC	91	▲ 1
149	GUINEA-BISSAU	89	▲ 10
149	INDIA	89	–
149	IRELAND	89	▼ 6
152	PERU	88	▼ 9
153	HONDURAS	87	▲ 16
153	TIMOR-LESTE	87	▼ 13
155	BURKINA FASO	85	▲ 4
156	AFGHANISTAN	84	▼ 101
157	SOUTH SUDAN	83	▲ 15
158	BHUTAN	82	▲ 4
158	LIECHTENSTEIN	82	▲ 11
160	MOZAMBIQUE	80	▼ 17
161	ALGERIA	79	▼ 4
161	NIGERIA	79	▼ 18
163	CUBA	78	▼ 14
164	DJIBOUTI	77	▲ 12
164	ISRAEL	77	▲ 1
166	EQUATORIAL GUINEA	76	▲ 2
166	IVORY COAST	76	▲ 8
166	MALAWI	76	▼ 5
169	QATAR	74	▲ 10
170	BRUNEI	72	▲ 19
170	LIBERIA	72	▲ 6
170	SIERRA LEONE	72	▼ 21
170	SRI LANKA	72	▲ 1
174	PAPUA NEW GUINEA	70	▲ 8
175	GABON	69	▲ 7
176	GUINEA	68	▲ 6
177	SINGAPORE	67	▲ 1
178	GHANA	66	▼ 13
178	INDONESIA	66	▲ 2
178	MALI	66	▼ 13
181	CONGO	63	▼ 23
181	HAITI	63	▼ 9
183	ANGOLA	62	▼ 1
183	YEMEN	62	▲ 11
185	CONGO DR	61	▼ 3
186	BELARUS	60	▼ 12
186	LIBYA	60	▼ 4
186	TURKMENISTAN	60	▲ 17
189	CAMBODIA	58	▼ 1
189	MAURITANIA	58	▲ 1
189	VIETNAM	58	▲ 3
192	KUWAIT	57	▼ 12
193	RUSSIA	56	▼ 29
194	UNITED ARAB EMIRATES	54	▲ 2
195	SAUDI ARABIA	52	▲ 2
196	NIGER	51	▲ 2
196	SOMALIA	51	▼ 2
198	PAKISTAN	48	▼ 8
199	MYANMAR	45	▼ 1
200	IRAQ	41	–
200	OMAN	41	▼ 7
202	TANZANIA	38	▼ 1
203	CHAD	34	▼ 1
204	SUDAN	26	–
205	BANGLADESH	8	–
206	ETHIOPIA	0	–

Explore all years & filters in the full rankings →

Frequently asked questions

What is the WRCES Merit ranking?

The WRCES Merit ranking adjusts elite-sport performance for a country’s economic resources, rewarding nations that achieve more than their GDP would predict.

Which country punches above its weight in sport?

In the 2025 WRCES Merit ranking, JAMAICA tops the list of countries punching above their weight in sport.

Explore the other World Sports Rankings:

Best Countries in Sport Fittest Countries in the World Sports Power Rankings