PHOTOS: Best Sporting Nations Per Capita

1/10

1/10 10th: Canada (Canadian Ice Hockey team)
2/10

2/10 9th: Australia. (Mitchell Johnson and the Australian cricket team)
3/10

3/10 8th: Czech Republic. (Football goalkeeper Petr Cech)
4/10

4/10 7th: Sweden (Swedish handball player Markus Ollsen)
5/10

5/10 6th: Finland (Finnish F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen)
6/10

6/10 5th: New Zealand (All Blacks)
7/10

7/10 4th: Switzerland (Swiss tennis players Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka)
8/10

8/10 3rd: Austria (Austrian Football team)
9/10

9/10 2nd: Slovenia (Alpine skiier Tina Maze)
10/10

10/10 1st: Norway (Cross country skiier Martin Johnsrud Sundby)
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Judging the best sporting nation in the world can be a tricky exercise. How can different sized nations, that play different sports, be compared?

The researchers at GreatestSportingNation.com have come up with an answer - measure success based on results at international tournaments, and then divide the points awarded by population - to come out with a guide for which country punches above their weight internationally.

They also release Global Cup results for the best sporting nation regardless of size. The USA, Russia, France, Britain and China generally take out the top five spots in this count.

In the 2015 Global Cup (not judged per capita), New Zealand placed 24th in the world. Australia placed 9th.