Handball - statistics & facts

Handball-like games have been played for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. While the game as we know it today was formalized in Germany and Scandinavia in the twentieth century, ball sports played with the hand have long been practiced across the world, from Ancient Egypt to Ireland in the Middle Ages. Today, the game is a globally-popular professional sport, with the event revenue of the International Handball Federation (IHF) set to exceed the 30 million euro mark in 2023. The highest-paid handball players themselves can also earn millions, with France’s Nikola Karabatić earning an estimated 1.8 million euros per year. However, handball is not just for players at elite clubs: IHF figures on global handball participation revealed that an estimated 30 million people play the sport worldwide, in nearly 130,000 teams.

Which country is the best at handball?

Handball is played at international level in a number of top competitions. In terms of the countries with the most Olympic medals for handball, France leads the way, with a total of seven. The French team has also won the most IHF World Men’s Handball Championship titles, winning on six occasions, and even came close to adding a seventh title in 2023 when they finished as runners-up to Denmark. Meanwhile, other countries have had success in different areas, with Portugal being the winners of the first ever World and European Wheelchair Handball Championship, taking home the inaugural trophy in late 2022.

Which country has the strongest handball clubs?

In the European Handball Federation’s (EHF) ranking of the leading women’s handball leagues in Europe, Hungary’s Nemzeti Bajnokság I placed first, ahead of France’s LFH Division 1 Féminine. Meanwhile, the handball division of FC Barcelona has won the most men’s EHF Champions League titles, with a total of 10. By comparison, the team with the second-most titles, THW Kiel, has won four. It is perhaps unsurprising then that in the men’s EHF Champions League all-time table, FC Barcelona ranks first.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, May 16, 2023

Key insights

IHF event revenue (forecast)
32.9m EUR
Most common type of handball sponsor
Gambling
Total revenue of the Danish Handball Federation
9.95m EUR
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Handball players with the highest annual salary worldwide in 2023 (in million euros)

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Highest paid handball players worldwide 2023

Countries with the most IHF World Men's Handball Championship titles as of 2023

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World Men's Handball Championship titles 1938-2023, by country

Countries with the most IHF World Women's Handball Championship titles as of 2023

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World Women's Handball Championship titles 1957-2023, by country

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