which country has the most olympic gold medals
The United States is the country with the most Olympic gold medals overall in history, with around 1,220 golds across Summer and Winter Games combined.
Quick Scoop: Who’s on Top?
- The United States leads the all-time Olympic gold medal table with about 1,220 gold medals.
- The former Soviet Union is second with 473 gold medals.
- Germany is third, with 355 gold medals.
- Other nations that have surpassed 200 golds include Great Britain, France, Italy, China, Sweden and Norway.
So if you’re asking which country has the most Olympic gold medals , the clear answer—by a big margin—is the United States.
Note: These are historical, all-time totals (not just one specific Games) and are current through recent updates that include Paris 2024-era data as referenced by Olympic statistics sources.
All-time gold medal leaders (top tier)
| Rank | Country / NOC | Approx. gold medals (all-time) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | ~1,220 | Dominant especially in Summer Olympics (athletics, swimming, team sports). | [5][1]
| 2 | Soviet Union (defunct NOC) | 473 | Historic powerhouse during Cold War era; records kept under USSR, not current Russia. | [7][1]
| 3 | Germany | 355 | Includes medals under current German NOC; historic entities are tracked separately in some tables. | [7][1]
| 4–9 | Great Britain, France, Italy, China, Sweden, Norway | 200+ each | All have crossed the 200-gold threshold across their Olympic histories. | [1]
Summer vs. Winter context
- In overall Olympic history (Summer + Winter), the U.S. is number one in golds and total medals.
- In Winter Olympics only , Norway is the all-time gold leader, ahead of the U.S. and Germany.
That’s why you’ll sometimes see Norway on top of Winter-only tables even though the United States leads the combined all-time Olympic gold count.
TL;DR: If you’re talking about all Olympic Games in history, the United States has the most Olympic gold medals of any country, by a wide margin.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.