Poland finished the Olympics in 17th place, but drops to 30th when we take into account the economic factor

Poland finished the Games in 17th place in the medal standings. However, when we weigh the number of medals against economic factors, Poland falls only to the 30th place. The best in this classification, as in the general classification, are China and Russia. The USA and Great Britain fall out of the lead.

Poland won 14 medals at the Olympics, which gave it the 17th place in the medal standings. However, when we take into account, apart from the number of medals, the wealth of a given country in the form of GDP per capita, Poland falls to 30th place. It turns out that our Olympic sport is not as effective as that practiced in other countries - especially the smaller and less developed ones.

About the author

Pawel Majtkowski - analyst eToro on the Polish market, which shares its weekly commentary on the latest stock market information. Paweł is a recognized expert on financial markets with extensive experience as an analyst in financial institutions. He is also one of the most cited experts in the field of economy and financial markets in Poland. He graduated from law studies at the University of Warsaw. He is also the author of many publications in the field of investing, personal finance and economy.

The place of the Polish economy against the background of the world

We have modified the medal table in such a way that the number of medals received at the Tokyo Olympics (it is the sum of medals without distinguishing their color) by individual countries is divided by a coefficient which is the ratio CBA per capita to the average GDP per capita for all countries (this is $ 10 for 925,7). We took into account GDP per capita in dollars in current prices for 2020 given by world Bank. In a few cases, we included data for 2019, if there were no more recent ones. For Taiwan, we used data from the local statistical office, and for Venezuela we used data from the International Monetary Fund. We did not include medal-winning Syria, but there are no reliable comparative data for it.

Source: own study

How does it work in practice? In the case of Poland, GDP per capita amounted to USD 15, i.e. 656,2%. world average. This means that we divide the 143 medals won by Polish athletes in Tokyo by 14 percent, and we receive 143 medals after rounding. In this way, we reduce the results achieved by countries with different affluence to a common denominator. In the case of the USA, whose GDP per capita is 10 percent. medals, the number of medals drops from 582 to 113. And the USA drops from the first place in the medal standings to the 19th place. The same applies to Great Britain, which falls from 15th place in the overall ranking to 4th. On the podium of our ranking are countries with lower GDP per capita and significant sports success. China and Russia (under the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee) are leading. The next places are taken by African countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia, which win much more medals in terms of their economic position. Among these countries, there is also Ukraine, which has won more medals than Poland, and its GDP per capita is 16%. world average. It can be concluded that these countries use their sports talents more effectively and less money for the development of sports. Of course, this is a general statement, and it does not take into account the fact how many athletes from a given country train and prepare to compete abroad.

Our modified medal table allows you to look at success in modern sport from a slightly different perspective. Although economic factors play an increasingly important role in sport, along with its greater professionalization and commercialization, it may turn out that money is not everything. What matters is how effectively they are spent.