Milano Cortina: Which Countries Punched Above Their Weight?

Norway’s success at the 2026 Winter Olympics is even more impressive when considering the country’s small population. With just 5.6 million inhabitants, the Scandinavian country won a total of 41 medals, including a record-breaking 18 gold medals. That equates to 7.27 medals per million population – by far the largest success rate of any participating country.

Norway is followed by the Alpine nations Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia – all relatively small in population size – as well as Sweden, Netherlands and Latvia. The United States, with its population of almost 350 million, ranks 23rd in the table with a medals-per-million rate of 0.09. China, the world’s second most populous country is even further behind with 0.01 medals per million inhabitants. Among countries with a population of more than 30 million, Canada ranks highest with 0.52 medals per million, just ahead of host nation Italy with 0.51.