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 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	100	–
2	MONTENEGRO	90	▲ 1
3	FIJI	88	▲ 3
4	ANDORRA	85	▲ 7
5	GEORGIA	84	–
5	BARBADOS	84	▲ 5
7	CAPE VERDE	83	▲ 17
8	KYRGYZSTAN	82	▲ 7
9	SLOVENIA	81	▼ 2
9	MOLDOVA	81	▲ 3
11	SERBIA	80	▼ 9
11	KOSOVO	80	▲ 4
13	ESTONIA	79	–
13	LATVIA	79	▲ 1
13	SAMOA	79	▼ 5
13	MONGOLIA	79	▲ 6
17	BERMUDA	77	▲ 11
18	COOK ISLANDS	76	▲ 1
18	VANUATU	76	▲ 14
20	NEW ZEALAND	76	▼ 2
20	CROATIA	76	▲ 1
22	NORTH MACEDONIA	75	▼ 1
23	TONGA	73	▲ 4
24	NAMIBIA	73	–
25	VENEZUELA	72	▲ 17
25	SURINAME	72	▲ 30
27	BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA	72	▼ 3
28	GRENADA	71	▲ 19
28	SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES	71	▲ 4
30	UKRAINE	71	▼ 1
30	HUNGARY	71	▲ 22
32	LEBANON	70	▼ 17
33	CZECHIA	70	▲ 8
34	ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA	69	▲ 3
34	SAN MARINO	69	▼ 4
36	ARMENIA	69	▼ 15
36	VIRGIN ISLANDS	69	▼ 33
38	BAHAMAS	68	▲ 17
38	MONACO	68	▼ 3
38	TUNISIA	68	▲ 4
41	MALTA	67	▲ 1
41	LITHUANIA	67	▼ 9
43	PARAGUAY	67	▲ 4
43	FINLAND	67	▲ 4
43	EL SALVADOR	67	▲ 4
46	SOLOMON ISLANDS	66	▲ 27
46	TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO	66	▲ 27
48	MAURITIUS	66	▼ 11
49	SLOVAKIA	65	▼ 7
49	DOMINICA	65	▲ 10
51	DENMARK	65	▲ 8
51	NICARAGUA	65	▲ 16
51	BELIZE	65	▲ 50
54	URUGUAY	64	▲ 17
54	SYRIA	64	▲ 8
56	PORTUGAL	64	▲ 17
56	BULGARIA	64	▼ 4
58	BOTSWANA	63	▲ 15
58	SAINT LUCIA	63	▼ 16
58	CYPRUS	63	▼ 21
58	AMERICAN SAMOA	63	▲ 4
58	RWANDA	63	▼ 22
58	SOUTH AFRICA	63	▼ 11
58	ICELAND	63	▼ 3
65	PALESTINE	62	▲ 63
66	CAYMAN ISLANDS	62	▲ 20
66	GUAM	62	▼ 57
68	AZERBAIJAN	61	▼ 9
68	LESOTHO	61	▲ 37
70	BURUNDI	61	▼ 40
70	ARGENTINA	61	▼ 3
72	SENEGAL	60	▲ 5
72	NORWAY	60	▼ 7
72	AUSTRALIA	60	▲ 17
75	ERITREA	60	▲ 68
76	KENYA	59	▼ 9
76	ARUBA	59	▼ 5
78	POLAND	59	▲ 33
78	CAMEROON	59	▲ 18
78	TAJIKISTAN	59	▼ 1
78	GREECE	59	▼ 1
78	IRAN	59	▲ 44
83	NETHERLANDS	58	▲ 3
83	MARSHALL ISLANDS	58	▲ 48
83	BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS	58	▼ 46
83	KAZAKHSTAN	58	▼ 6
87	PUERTO RICO	57	▲ 9
87	SPAIN	57	▼ 10
87	JORDAN	57	▲ 9
87	PALAU	57	▲ 24
87	COSTA RICA	57	▲ 2
87	BELGIUM	57	▲ 18
87	FRANCE	57	▼ 1
87	SWEDEN	57	▼ 10
87	GREAT BRITAIN	57	▲ 6
87	ITALY	57	▲ 2
87	SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS	57	▼ 33
98	UGANDA	57	▼ 21
98	ZAMBIA	57	▲ 42
100	SOUTH KOREA	56	▲ 1
100	NAURU	56	▲ 22
100	TOGO	56	▲ 18
100	ECUADOR	56	▼ 7
100	LUXEMBOURG	56	▲ 16
105	GAMBIA	56	▼ 16
105	BRAZIL	56	–
105	UZBEKISTAN	56	▼ 20
105	THAILAND	56	▼ 12
109	HONG KONG	55	▲ 46
109	USA	55	▼ 4
109	TUVALU	55	▲ 2
109	DOMINICAN REPUBLIC	55	▲ 2
109	GUATEMALA	55	▼ 13
109	ROMANIA	55	▼ 8
109	BENIN	55	▲ 26
116	BOLIVIA	55	▼ 15
116	ALBANIA	55	▼ 11
116	CANADA	55	▲ 2
116	COMOROS	55	▼ 20
116	JAPAN	55	▼ 5
116	KIRIBATI	55	▲ 15
116	PANAMA	55	▲ 15
116	NORTH KOREA	55	▲ 21
124	ZIMBABWE	54	▼ 47
124	BAHRAIN	54	▼ 57
124	LAOS	54	▲ 11
124	SEYCHELLES	54	▼ 59
124	CHILE	54	▼ 2
129	PHILIPPINES	54	▼ 13
129	MADAGASCAR	54	▼ 67
131	SWITZERLAND	53	–
131	COLOMBIA	53	▼ 26
131	AUSTRIA	53	▼ 9
131	EGYPT	53	▼ 13
135	SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE	52	▲ 2
135	CHINESE TAIPEI	52	▼ 7
135	MICRONESIA	52	▲ 8
135	CHINA	52	▼ 13
135	MOROCCO	52	▼ 17
140	GERMANY	52	▼ 12
140	MALDIVES ISLANDS	52	▲ 15
140	GUYANA	52	▼ 3
143	MALAYSIA	51	▲ 6
143	ESWATINI	51	▲ 6
143	NEPAL	51	▼ 3
146	TURKIYE	51	▲ 16
146	MEXICO	51	▼ 24
148	CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC	50	▲ 1
149	GUINEA-BISSAU	49	▲ 10
149	IRELAND	49	▼ 6
149	INDIA	49	–
152	PERU	49	▼ 9
153	TIMOR-LESTE	48	▼ 13
153	HONDURAS	48	▲ 16
155	BURKINA FASO	47	▲ 4
156	AFGHANISTAN	46	▼ 101
157	SOUTH SUDAN	46	▲ 15
158	LIECHTENSTEIN	45	▲ 11
158	BHUTAN	45	▲ 4
160	MOZAMBIQUE	44	▼ 17
161	ALGERIA	44	▼ 4
161	NIGERIA	44	▼ 18
163	CUBA	43	▼ 14
164	ISRAEL	43	▲ 1
164	DJIBOUTI	43	▲ 12
166	MALAWI	42	▼ 5
166	EQUATORIAL GUINEA	42	▲ 2
166	IVORY COAST	42	▲ 8
169	QATAR	41	▲ 10
170	BRUNEI	40	▲ 19
170	SIERRA LEONE	40	▼ 21
170	LIBERIA	40	▲ 6
170	SRI LANKA	40	▲ 1
174	PAPUA NEW GUINEA	39	▲ 8
175	GABON	38	▲ 7
176	GUINEA	38	▲ 6
177	SINGAPORE	37	▲ 1
178	MALI	36	▼ 13
178	INDONESIA	36	▲ 2
178	GHANA	36	▼ 13
181	HAITI	35	▼ 9
181	CONGO	35	▼ 23
183	YEMEN	34	▲ 11
183	ANGOLA	34	▼ 1
185	CONGO DR	34	▼ 3
186	BELARUS	33	▼ 12
186	TURKMENISTAN	33	▲ 17
186	LIBYA	33	▼ 4
189	VIETNAM	32	▲ 3
189	CAMBODIA	32	▼ 1
189	MAURITANIA	32	▲ 1
192	KUWAIT	31	▼ 12
193	RUSSIA	31	▼ 29
194	UNITED ARAB EMIRATES	30	▲ 2
195	SAUDI ARABIA	29	▲ 2
196	NIGER	28	▲ 2
196	SOMALIA	28	▼ 2
198	PAKISTAN	27	▼ 8
199	MYANMAR	25	▼ 1
200	OMAN	23	▼ 7
200	IRAQ	23	–
202	TANZANIA	21	▼ 1
203	CHAD	19	▼ 1
204	SUDAN	14	–
205	BANGLADESH	4	–
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