OLYMPIC GAMES YEAR 2004

RANKING OF COUNTRIES BY OLYMPIC MEDALS ATHLETIC SUCCESS RATIO 
(=MEDALS PER 1 MILLION POPULATION)

Alexander Makedon, Ph.D.
Chicago State University

Copyright © 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Table I: Ranking of Countries based on number of medals earned per 1 million  people in native population (=ASR score)

2. Table II:  Countries that showed Improvement between 2000 and 2004 (=size of positive difference between 2000 and 2004 ASR scores)

3. Table III:  Countries that showed Decline between 2000 and 2004 (=size of negative difference between 2000 and 2004 ASR scores)

4. Table IV: List of countries which didn't receive any medals in 2000, but received at least 1 medal in 2004 (also included inter alia in Table I )

5. Table V: List of countries which didn't make the medal winners list in 2004, but which received at least 1 medal in 2000

6. Narrative Analysis: Important country trends, obvious clusters, comparisons based on geographic, continental, and cultural regions

7. Introduction to ASR: What is it,  and why it should be used in assessing Olympic success

8. Welcome Page

TABLE I:

RANKING OF COUNTRIES BASED ON NUMBER OF MEDALS EARNED PER 1 MILLION PEOPLE IN NATIVE POPULATION (=ASR score)

Table of Contents

RANKING OF
COUNTRIES
BASED ON ASR
Ranked in descending order
according to Olympic medals
ASR score
Total number of countries
receiving medals in 2004
summer Olympics=74
(out of 201 participating;
127 did not receive medals).
Total medals awarded=929.
Source: "2004 Summer Olympics
Medal Count," Wikipedia
Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
2004_Summer
_Olympics_medal_count)
(Note: number in
parentheses, below,
represents Olympic
medal ASR ranking
in 2000 summer Olympics)

POPULATION
COUNTRY
-BY-
COUNTRY
Source:
Encyclopedia
Britannica
Almanac 2004,
ed. J. E. Safra and
J. Cauz, 2003,
pp. 319-643

TOTAL
MEDALS
WON,
OLYMPICS
2004
Total of
Gold,
Bronze &
Silver
medals
per
country.
Source:
"2004 Summer
Olympics
Medal
Count,"
Wikipedia Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
2004_Summer
Olympics
medal_count

OLYMPIC MEDALS
ASR SCORE
Medals Won per 1 Million People
in Country's Population
Math Formula:
ASR=No. of Medals X 1,000,000 divided
by country's population
Note: number in parentheses
represents change in ASR
since 2000 Olympiad:

Green=increase in ASR;
Brown=decrease in ASR
Light Blue=No medals awarded in 2000

KEY =moved up since 2000 ASR ranking =moved down since 2000 ASR ranking =stayed same since 2000 ASR ranking

Ranking: 2004   ....(2000 ranking)

ASR YR: 2004=6.4725

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000:  (-0.5771)

ASR 2004=2.4871

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000:  (-0.6007)

ASR 2004=2.3964

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.2171)

1359000

ASR 2004=2.2075

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.0776)

ASR 2004=2.0533

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+1.0384)

2630000

ASR 2004=1.9012

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.7379)

7-Latvia....(17)

ASR 2004=1.7160

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.4415)

ASR 2004=1.6730

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.0041)

ASR 2004=1.5209

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.0655)

ASR 2004=1.5101

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.1242)

ASR 2004=1.4878

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.3677)

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ASR 2004=1.4553

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.2412)

...(13)

ASR 2004=1.3629

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.2186)

ASR 2004=1.3226

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.9304)

15-New Zealand....(23)

ASR 2004=1.2844

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.1922)

ASR 2004=1.1351

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.7075)

ASR 2004=1.1146

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000:(+0.1880)

ASR 2004=0.8769

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.2872)

19-Austria.....(44)

ASR 2004=0.8667

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.4981)

ASR 2004=0.8638

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.5309)

ASR 2004=0.8063

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.3779)

22-Sweden.....(16)

ASR 2004=0.7843

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.5623)

ASR 2004=0.7835

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.0053)

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ASR 2004=0.7669

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-1.0478)

ASR 2004=0.6866

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.5504)

26-Russian Federation.

...(30)

ASR 2004=0.6403

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.0392)

ASR 2004=0.6297

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.0325)

ASR 2004=0.6116

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.2322)

29-Germany........(28)

ASR 2004=0.5939

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.1005)

ASR 2004=0.5552

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.0891)

ASR 2004=0.5518

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.0475)

ASR 2004=0.5375

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.1211)

33-England- U.K....(37)

ASR 2004=0.4985

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.0248)

ASR 2004=0.4780

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.0163)

ASR 2004=0.4634

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.1826)

(unranked in 2000-No medals)

Table of Contents

(No 2000 medals)

ASR 2004=0.3845

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.3909)

ASR 2004=0.3841

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.0674)

39-United States.....(46)

ASR 2004=0.3547

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.0011)

ASR 2004=0.3128

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.1389)

ASR 2004=0.2918

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.1993)

ASR 2004=0.2905

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.1478)

ASR 2004=0.2889

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.1881)

(unranked in 2000-No medals)

(No 2000 medals)

(unranked in 2000-No medals)

(No  2000 medals)

46-Poland....(45)

ASR 2004=0.2588

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.1038)

(unranked in 2000-No medals)

(No 2000 medals)

..(55)

Table of Contents

ASR 2004=0.2250

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.0380)

49-Kenya....(52)

ASR 2004=0.2248

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.0182)

ASR 2004=0.2226

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.0035)

ASR 2004=0.1989

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.1321)

ASR 2004=0.1962

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.0302)

ASR 2004=0.1876

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.0801)

54-Paraguay..

(unranked in 2000-No medals)

(No 2000 medals)

ASR 2004=0.1646

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.0557)

(unranked in 2000-No medals)

(No 2000 medals)

69359000

ASR 2004=0.1442

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.0832)

58-South Africa....(62)

ASR 2004=0.1328

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.0177)

(unranked in 2000-No medals)

(No 2000 medals)

Table of Contents

ASR 2004=0.1034

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.0306)

ASR 2004=0.1012

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.0674)

ASR 2004=0.0917

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.0303)

63-Venezuela ..

(unranked in 2000-No medals)

(No 2000 medals)

(unranked in 2000-No medals)

(No  2000 medals)

ASR 2004=0.0631

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.0136)

ASR 2004=0.0618

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.0029)

(unranked in 2000-No medals)

(No 2000 medals)

68-Brazil......(66)

ASR 2004=0.0573

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.0125)

...(75)

ASR 2004=0.0491

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.0018)

ASR 2000=0.0488

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (+0.0234)

ASR 2004=0.0396

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.0202)

ASR 2004=0.0190

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.0088)

ASR 2004=0.0154

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.0110)

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ASR 2004=0.0009

CHANGE IN ASR SINCE 2000: (-0.0001)

TABLE II:

"ASRIS" RANKING:

RANKING OF COUNTRIES THAT SHOWED IMPROVEMENT BETWEEN 2000 AND 2004

(=SIZE OF POSITIVE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 2000 AND 2004 ASR SCORES)

Methodology: Countries were ranked in descending order on the basis of the size of positive improvement in  their ASR scores between the 2000 and 2004 summer Olympics. ASR Imporvement Score is abbreviated here as "ASRIS." Countries that did not receive medal(s) in either 2000 or 2004 were not included in this list.

What is "ASRIS?" ASRIS stands for "ASR Improvement Score." It was "created" by site's designer to represent mathematically country-by-country improvement in Olympic-level athleticism between 2000 and 2004 summer Olympics. It can be used for similar comparisons between any past or future Olympiads. In the case of ASRIS between the 2000 and 2004 summer Olympics, it is equal to a country's ASR score in the 2000 summer Olympics minus its ASR score in the 2004 summer Olympics. ASRIS can be used as in index of a country's rate of improvement in medals earned per 1 million people between the 2000 and 2004 summer Olympics.

Significance: ASRIS ranking can be used to assess both, how much each country improved its rate of medals earned per million people between the 2000 and 2004 summer Olympics; and how such improvement compares to other countries' ASR improvements (or ASRIS scores). Such ranking is a more reliable index of growth in "athleticism," if by "athleticism" is meant rate of medals per million population, than absolute (non-growth-based) ASR ranking (see Table I ). This is so because a country may rank higher in absolute ASR ranking when compared to other countries, but do so not because it experienced a higher level of Olympic-level athleticism within its own population between 2000 and 2004, but because of the relatively  weaker performance by other countries (=smaller ASR scores by other countries). This explains the phenomenon of some countries that experienced negative ASR growth between 2000 and 2004 (=had lower rates of Olympic medals per million people, due either to fewer medals earned , or relatively higher population growth), nevertheless earned a higher ASR rank in 2004 relative to other countries, than they did in 2000.  See, for example, the following countries, which, in spite of a decrease in their rate of medals earned per million people between 2000 and 2004, nevertheless placed even higher in 2004 relative to other countries: Australia, Cuba, Bulgaria, Belarus, Romania, United States, Kenya, Taiwan, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Indonesia, Nigeria, India.

Table of Contents

ASR IMPROVEMENT OR "ASRIS" SCORES:

RANKING IN DESCENDING ORDER (HIGHEST TO LOWEST)

GROWTH IN ASR BETWEEN 2000 AND 2004 SUMMER OLYMPICS

1.  1.0384 SLOVENIA

2.   0.7075 CROATIA

3.     0.4981 AUSTRIA

4. 0.4415 LATVIA

5. 0.3677 DENMARK

6.  0.2637 ZIMBABWE

7.  0.2412 GREECE

8. 0.2322 AJERBAIJAN

9.   0.1922 NEW ZEALAND

10.   0.1881 PORTUGAL

11. 0.1880 SLOVAKIA

12. 0.1826 SPAIN

0.1478 JAPAN

0.1389 ISRAEL

0.1321 CHILE

0.1211 KAZAKHSTAN

0.0832 TURKEY

0.0776 ESTONIA

0.0557 ARGENTINA

0.0392 RUSSIAN FEDERATION

0.0380 KOREA DPR (North)

0.0325 KOREA (SOUTH)

0.0303 IRAN (PERSIA)

0.0302 UZBEKISTAN

0.0248 ENGLAND-U.K.

0.0234 COLOMBIA

0.0177 SOUTH AFRICA

0.0163 UKRAINE

0.0136 THAILAND

0.0053 CZECH REPUBLIC

0.0041 HUNGARY

0.0018 CHINA PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF

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TABLE II:

LIST OF COUNTRIES WHICH DID NOT RECEIVE MEDALS IN 2004, BUT WHICH RECEIVED AT LEAST 1 MEDAL IN 2000

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COUNTRIES FROM 2000 MEDAL WINNERS LIST WHICH RECEIVED NO MEDALS IN 2004

Below is a list of countries that received no medals in 2004, but which received at least 1 medal in 2000 summer Olympics.

(Key: number in parentheses represents ASR ranking in 2000 Olympics)

(No  2004 medals)

(No  2004 medals)

(No  2004 medals)

(No  2004 medals)

(No  2004 medals)

Republic of  Macedonia..(35)

(No  2004 medals)

(No  2004 medals)

(No  2004 medals)

(No  2004 medals)

(No  2004 medals)

(No  2004 medals)

(No  2004 medals)

(No  2004 medals)

(No  2004 medals)

(No  2004 medals)

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(No  2004 medals)

TABLE III:

LIST OF COUNTRIES WHICH DID NOT RECEIVE MEDALS IN 2000, BUT RECEIVED AT LEAST 1 MEDAL IN 2004 (also listed inter alia in Table I )

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TABLE IV:

RANKING OF COUNTRIES ON THE BASIS OF THEIR ASR IMPROVEMENT FROM 2000 TO 2004

(=RANKING BASED ON SIZE OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 2000 AND 20004 SCORES: SEE ASR SCORES IN TABLE I )

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