Eurovision Song Contest League Tables 2016

Most Top Ten Places

I've compiled a league table of all the countries that have ever participated in the Eurovision Song Contest at some point from 1956 to 2016. The way it works is simple.

If a country wins a particular year (like Ukraine did this year), it gets 12 points for that year. Other top ten countries in a particular year receive the following number of points for that year: 2nd = 10 points, 3rd = 8 points, 4th = 7 points, 5th = 6 points, 6th = 5 points, 7th = 4 points, 8th = 3 points, 9th = 2 points, 10th = 1 point. Any country placed 11th or below receives nul points for that year! N.B. For my analysis, in 1956 Switzerland has been given 12 points for winning, but the other 6 unplaced countries were flagged as Unplaced, and thus awarded no league table points for that year.

Where multiple countries have tied for a particular total, I have taken their best ever places into consideration. For example, Malta and Turkey both have 62 points. Turkey has won once, but Malta has never won, hence Turkey is ranked higher than Malta. Romania and Serbia both have 26 points, but since Serbia has won once, whereas Romania has never won, Serbia is ranked higher than Romania. Australia and Hungary both have 16 points. Although neither of them have ever won, Australia's best placing to-date is 2nd, whereas Hungary's best placing so far is 4th, hence Australia is ranked higher than Hungary.

Countries that have appeared in a grand final but have never had a top ten grand final placing (and hence have a league table total of 0) are ranked on their best final placing below 10th. Countries which debuted 2004 onwards and never reached the final (and hence have a league table total of 0) are ranked on their best ever semi-final placing (following the 2016 Contest, the only such country is Andorra).

N.B. From 1956 to 2003 inclusive there was only one show. There was one semi-final plus a grand final from 2004 to 2007 inclusive, and two semi-finals plus a grand final from 2008 onwards. For the purposes of this post, the term "final" or "grand final" includes the single shows from 1956 to 2003 inclusive and grand finals from 2004 to present.

The above is done for each year a country has participated, and all their scores added up. As you can see, despite the UK's poor performance since 1999, it still tops the league table with 313 points.

Rank	Country	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Total
1	United Kingdom	5	15	3	5	1	2	5	1	1	3	313
2	France	5	4	7	7	2	1	2	5	0	3	248
3	Sweden	6	1	6	2	8	1	3	4	2	5	230
4	Ireland	7	4	1	3	3	3	2	2	2	4	208
5	Germany	2	4	5	3	2	3	2	8	3	2	192
6	Italy	2	2	5	2	4	4	4	2	3	1	171
7	Switzerland	2	3	3	5	2	3	0	5	1	2	159
8	Denmark	3	1	3	2	5	2	1	3	3	2	145
9	Spain	2	4	1	2	1	4	2	1	4	7	138
10	Luxembourg	5	0	2	5	1	1	1	1	2	2	135
11	The Netherlands	4	1	1	2	2	2	3	1	6	2	131
12	Norway	3	1	1	3	3	1	2	4	3	1	125
13	Israel	3	2	1	2	2	2	3	2	2	0	122
14	Belgium	1	2	0	3	2	4	4	3	1	3	115
15	Monaco	1	1	3	3	2	1	1	2	1	1	97
16	Austria	2	0	0	1	4	2	2	2	3	5	90
17	Russia	1	4	3	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	89
18	Greece	1	0	3	0	2	1	3	4	3	1	84
19	Ukraine	2	2	1	1	0	1	1	0	0	1	69
20	Turkey	1	1	1	3	0	0	2	0	1	1	62
21	Malta	0	2	2	0	1	1	0	3	2	2	62
22	Yugoslavia	1	0	0	3	0	1	3	2	1	0	58
23	Estonia	1	0	1	1	1	3	1	1	0	0	55
24	Azerbaijan	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	46
25	Finland	1	0	0	0	0	1	4	1	2	3	43
26	Cyprus	0	0	0	0	3	2	1	0	3	0	38
27	Iceland	0	2	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	34
28	Latvia	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	31
29	Armenia	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	2	0	1	29
30	Croatia	0	0	0	2	1	1	0	0	1	1	28
31	Serbia	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	26
32	Romania	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	26
33	Portugal	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	2	2	2	25
34	Bosnia & Herzegovina	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	2	1	22
35	Poland	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	17
36	Australia	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	16
37	Hungary	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	1	16
38	Serbia & Montenegro	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	14
39	Bulgaria	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	13
40	Albania	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	10
41	Slovenia	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	9
42	Lithuania	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	7
43	Moldova	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	6
44	Belarus	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	5
45	Georgia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	4
46	F.Y.R. Macedonia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
47	Montenegro	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
48	Slovakia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
49	Morocco	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
50	San Marino	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
51	Czech Republic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
52	Andorra	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

The above is deceptive, because the UK first entered in 1957, followed by every year from 1959 to present (59 entries to-date); and in that time clocked up 313 points, thereby topping the leader board. Azerbaijan first entered in 2008 and has had an excellent track record since, achieving 46 points in 9 appearances, but still only appears 24th out of 52 on the above table. Clearly that puts countries which debuted since 2000 at a disadvantage as they inevitably have far fewer entries to-date than countries that first entered in the 1950s and 1960s.

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Average By Grand Final Appearance

By dividing each country's total by the number of times it has appeared in the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final, you get a much more accurate representation. Dividing the UK's total of 313 points by its number of grand final appearances (59) gives an average of 5.31 points per grand final appearance, putting it into 5th place. Dividing Azerbaijan's total of 46 points by 9 (its number of grand final appearances to-date) gives it an average of 5.11 points; i.e. 6th place.

Where two or more countries tie for a particular average, the same tie-break rule used in the previous table is applied here. Countries whose totals are zero, and hence whose averages are zero, have been dealt with in the same manner and thus ranked in the same order as in the previous table.

N.B. In the table below, Ukraine and United Kingdom both appear to have to have tied on 5.31 points, because all averages are shown correct to two decimal places. When shown to three decimal places, the averages are Ukraine 5.308 and United Kingdom 5.305, which is why Ukraine is ranked higher than United Kingdom.

Rank	Country	Total	Years in Final	Average
1	Australia	16	2	8.00
2	Serbia & Montenegro	14	2	7.00
3	Bulgaria	13	2	6.50
4	Ukraine	69	13	5.31
5	United Kingdom	313	59	5.31
6	Azerbaijan	46	9	5.11
7	Ireland	208	44	4.73
8	Monaco	97	21	4.62
9	Russia	89	20	4.45
10	France	248	59	4.20
11	Sweden	230	55	4.18
12	Italy	171	42	4.07
13	Estonia	55	14	3.93
14	Serbia	26	7	3.71
15	Israel	122	33	3.70
16	Luxembourg	135	37	3.65
17	Denmark	145	41	3.54
18	Switzerland	159	48	3.31
19	Armenia	29	9	3.22
20	Germany	192	60	3.20
21	Latvia	31	10	3.10
22	The Netherlands	131	48	2.73
23	Malta	62	24	2.58
24	Spain	138	56	2.46
25	Norway	125	52	2.40
26	Greece	84	36	2.33
27	Belgium	115	50	2.30
28	Yugoslavia	58	27	2.15
29	Austria	90	45	2.00
30	Turkey	62	33	1.88
31	Croatia	28	17	1.65
32	Romania	26	17	1.53
33	Albania	10	7	1.43
34	Iceland	34	24	1.42
35	Cyprus	38	27	1.41
36	Hungary	16	12	1.33
37	Poland	17	13	1.31
38	Belarus	5	4	1.25
39	Bosnia & Herzegovina	22	18	1.22
40	Finland	43	44	0.98
41	Moldova	6	8	0.75
42	Slovenia	9	13	0.69
43	Portugal	25	40	0.63
44	Lithuania	7	12	0.58
45	Georgia	4	7	0.57
46	F.Y.R. Macedonia	0	8	0.00
47	Montenegro	0	2	0.00
48	Slovakia	0	3	0.00
49	Morocco	0	1	0.00
50	San Marino	0	1	0.00
51	Czech Republic	0	1	0.00
52	Andorra	0	0	0.00

This is still deceptive, because it ignores years from 2004 onwards in which a country entered the Eurovision Song Contest but failed to reach the final. Bulgaria has had 10 entries from 2005 to 2016, but has only reached the final twice so far. Under the above scheme of things, its total of 13 points is divided by 2, giving it an average of 6.50 points per grand final appearance (3rd on the leader board). The Netherlands has had 48 appearances in the final, the last being 2016, but failed to get past the semi-finals from 2005 to 2012 inclusive, and again in 2015. Dividing its total of 131 points by 48 gives an average of 2.73 points per grand final appearance, putting it at 22nd place on the leader board.

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Average By Years Entered

To get an even more accurate representation, let's include the years from 2004 onwards in which a country entered the Eurovision Song Contest but failed to reach the final. Obviously a country that fails to reach the final scores no league table points for that year, just like finalists that finish below 10th. Dividing the UK's total of 313 points by its number of entries (59) gives it an average of 5.31 points per year it entered, now putting it into 3rd place. Dividing Azerbaijan's total of 46 points by 9 (its number of entries to-date) gives it an average of 5.11; i.e. 4th place.

N.B. Serbia & Montenegro entered in 2006, but withdrew at the last minute. Nonetheless they voted in the Grand Final, but didn't participate in either the Semi-final or Grand Final. Thus they have been regarded as having come last with nul points in the official Semi-Final 2006 results, despite not performing in that semi-final. Consequently their total number of years entered is 3; dividing their 14 points by 3 gives an average of 4.67 per year, putting them 5th on the leader board.

Once again, the same tie-breaker rules apply where two or more countries tie for a particular average. Countries whose totals are zero, and hence whose averages are zero, have been dealt with in the same manner and thus ranked in the same order as in the previous two tables.

Rank	Country	Total	Years Entered	Average
1	Australia	16	2	8.00
2	Ukraine	69	13	5.31
3	United Kingdom	313	59	5.31
4	Azerbaijan	46	9	5.11
5	Serbia & Montenegro	14	3	4.67
6	Russia	89	20	4.45
7	France	248	59	4.20
8	Ireland	208	50	4.16
9	Sweden	230	56	4.11
10	Italy	171	42	4.07
11	Monaco	97	24	4.04
12	Luxembourg	135	37	3.65
13	Denmark	145	45	3.22
14	Germany	192	60	3.20
15	Israel	122	39	3.13
16	Armenia	29	10	2.90
17	Serbia	26	9	2.89
18	Switzerland	159	57	2.79
19	Estonia	55	22	2.50
20	Spain	138	56	2.46
21	The Netherlands	131	57	2.30
22	Norway	125	55	2.27
23	Greece	84	37	2.27
24	Yugoslavia	58	27	2.15
25	Malta	62	29	2.14
26	Belgium	115	58	1.98
27	Austria	90	49	1.84
28	Turkey	62	34	1.82
29	Latvia	31	17	1.82
30	Romania	26	17	1.53
31	Bulgaria	13	10	1.30
32	Croatia	28	22	1.27
33	Iceland	34	29	1.17
34	Bosnia & Herzegovina	22	19	1.16
35	Cyprus	38	33	1.15
36	Hungary	16	14	1.14
37	Poland	17	19	0.89
38	Finland	43	50	0.86
39	Albania	10	13	0.77
40	Portugal	25	48	0.52
41	Moldova	6	12	0.50
42	Georgia	4	9	0.44
43	Lithuania	7	17	0.41
44	Slovenia	9	22	0.41
45	Belarus	5	13	0.38
46	F.Y.R. Macedonia	0	16	0.00
47	Montenegro	0	8	0.00
48	Slovakia	0	7	0.00
49	Morocco	0	1	0.00
50	San Marino	0	7	0.00
51	Czech Republic	0	5	0.00
52	Andorra	0	6	0.00

Now all Bulgaria's 10 entries from 2005 to 2016 inclusive are being taken into consideration, dividing its total of 13 points by10 gives it an average of just 1.30 points per year it entered, pushing it way down the leader board to 31st out of 52. From 2005 to 2012 inclusive, and again in 2015, The Netherlands entered but failed to qualify, giving it a total of 57 entries to-date. Dividing its total of 131 points by 57 gives it an average of 2.30 points per year it entered, thereby putting it in 21st place.

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