Eurovision Song Contest League Tables 2017

Most Top Ten Places

I've compiled a league table of all the countries that have ever participated in the Eurovision Song Contest one or more times at some point from 1956 to 2017. The way it works is simple.

If a country wins a particular year (like Portugal 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, Belgium and Israel both have 122 points, but Israel has won three times whereas Belgium has won once, hence Israel is ranked higher than Belgium. Malta and Turkey both have 62 points. Turkey has won once, but Malta has never won, hence Turkey is ranked higher than Malta. Moldova and Serbia & Montenegro both have 14 points, but the best place Serbia & Montenegro ever achieved was second, whereas Moldova's best placing is currently third, which is why Serbia & Montenegro is ranked higher than Moldova.

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 (currently 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	9	1	3	4	2	5	236
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	5	4	2	3	1	176
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	2	126
13	Israel	3	2	1	2	2	2	3	2	2	0	122
14	Belgium	1	2	0	4	2	4	4	3	1	3	122
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	Portugal	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	2	2	2	37
28	Iceland	0	2	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	34
29	Latvia	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	31
30	Romania	0	0	2	1	0	0	1	0	1	1	30
31	Armenia	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	2	0	1	29
32	Croatia	0	0	0	2	1	1	0	0	1	1	28
33	Serbia	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	26
34	Bulgaria	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	23
35	Bosnia & Herzegovina	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	2	1	22
36	Hungary	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	1	19
37	Australia	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	18
38	Poland	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	17
39	Serbia & Montenegro	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	14
40	Moldova	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	14
41	Albania	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	10
42	Slovenia	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	9
43	Lithuania	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	7
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 (60 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 10 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 had 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 (60) gives an average of 5.22 points per grand final appearance, putting it into 4th place. Dividing Azerbaijan's total of 46 points by 10 (its number of grand final appearances to-date) gives it an average of 4.60 points; i.e. 8th place.

Where two or more countries tie for a particular average, the same tie-break rule used in the previous table is applied here. For example, Croatia and Moldova both have an average of 1.56 points per grand final appearance, but since Moldova's best placing to-date is third, whereas Croatia's best placing to-date is fourth, Moldova is ranked higher than Croatia. 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.

Rank	Country	Total	Years in Final	Average
1	Bulgaria	23	3	7.67
2	Serbia & Montenegro	14	2	7.00
3	Australia	18	3	6.00
4	United Kingdom	313	60	5.22
5	Ukraine	69	14	4.93
6	Ireland	208	44	4.73
7	Monaco	97	21	4.62
8	Azerbaijan	46	10	4.60
9	Russia	89	20	4.45
10	Sweden	236	56	4.21
11	France	248	60	4.13
12	Italy	176	43	4.09
13	Estonia	55	14	3.93
14	Serbia	26	7	3.71
15	Luxembourg	135	37	3.65
16	Israel	122	34	3.59
17	Denmark	145	42	3.45
18	Switzerland	159	48	3.31
19	Germany	192	61	3.15
20	Latvia	31	10	3.10
21	Armenia	29	10	2.90
22	The Netherlands	131	49	2.67
23	Malta	62	24	2.58
24	Spain	138	57	2.42
25	Belgium	122	51	2.39
26	Norway	126	53	2.38
27	Greece	84	37	2.27
28	Yugoslavia	58	27	2.15
29	Austria	90	46	1.96
30	Turkey	62	33	1.88
31	Romania	30	18	1.67
32	Moldova	14	9	1.56
33	Croatia	28	18	1.56
34	Hungary	19	13	1.46
35	Albania	10	7	1.43
36	Iceland	34	24	1.42
37	Cyprus	38	28	1.36
38	Bosnia & Herzegovina	22	18	1.22
39	Poland	17	14	1.21
40	Belarus	5	5	1.00
41	Finland	43	44	0.98
42	Portugal	37	41	0.90
43	Slovenia	9	13	0.69
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 actually had 11 entries from 2005 to 2017, but has only reached the final three times so far. Under the above scheme of things, its total of 23 points divided by 3 gives it an average of 7.67 points per grand final appearance (top of the leader board). The Netherlands has had 49 appearances in the final, the last being 2017, but failed to get past the semi-finals from 2005 to 2012 inclusive, and again in 2015. Dividing its total of 131 points by 49 gives an average of 2.67 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 which 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 (60) gives it an average of 5.22 points per year it entered, now putting it into 2nd place. Dividing Azerbaijan's total of 46 points by 10 (its number of entries to-date) gives it an average of 4.60; i.e. 5th 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 that year. Thus they have been regarded as having finished 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 4th 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.

N.B. In the table below, Denmark and Germany both appear to have to have tied on 3.15 points, because all averages are shown correct to two decimal places. When shown to three decimal places, their averages are Denmark 3.152 and Germany 3.148, which is why Denmark is ranked higher than Germany. Likewise Belgium and Malta both appear tied on 2.07 points, but when shown to three decimal places, their averages are Belgium 2.068 and Malta 2.067, which is why Belgium is ranked higher than Malta. Slovenia and Lithuania appear tied on 0.39 points, but when shown to three decimal places, their averages are Slovenia 0.391 and Lithuania 0.389, which is why Slovenia is ranked higher than Lithuania.

Rank	Country	Total	Years Entered	Average
1	Australia	18	3	6.00
2	United Kingdom	313	60	5.22
3	Ukraine	69	14	4.93
4	Serbia & Montenegro	14	3	4.67
5	Azerbaijan	46	10	4.60
6	Russia	89	20	4.45
7	Sweden	236	57	4.14
8	France	248	60	4.13
9	Italy	176	43	4.09
10	Ireland	208	51	4.08
11	Monaco	97	24	4.04
12	Luxembourg	135	37	3.65
13	Denmark	145	46	3.15
14	Germany	192	61	3.15
15	Israel	122	40	3.05
16	Switzerland	159	58	2.74
17	Armenia	29	11	2.64
18	Serbia	26	10	2.60
19	Spain	138	57	2.42
20	Estonia	55	23	2.39
21	The Netherlands	131	58	2.26
22	Norway	126	56	2.25
23	Greece	84	38	2.21
24	Yugoslavia	58	27	2.15
25	Bulgaria	23	11	2.09
26	Belgium	122	59	2.07
27	Malta	62	30	2.07
28	Turkey	62	34	1.82
29	Austria	90	50	1.80
30	Latvia	31	18	1.72
31	Romania	30	18	1.67
32	Hungary	19	15	1.27
33	Croatia	28	23	1.22
34	Bosnia & Herzegovina	22	19	1.16
35	Iceland	34	30	1.13
36	Cyprus	38	34	1.12
37	Moldova	14	13	1.08
38	Poland	17	20	0.85
39	Finland	43	51	0.84
40	Portugal	37	49	0.76
41	Albania	10	14	0.71
42	Georgia	4	10	0.40
43	Slovenia	9	23	0.39
44	Lithuania	7	18	0.39
45	Belarus	5	14	0.36
46	F.Y.R. Macedonia	0	17	0.00
47	Montenegro	0	9	0.00
48	Slovakia	0	7	0.00
49	Morocco	0	1	0.00
50	San Marino	0	8	0.00
51	Czech Republic	0	6	0.00
52	Andorra	0	6	0.00

Now all Bulgaria's 11 entries from 2005 to 2017 inclusive are being taken into consideration, dividing its total of 23 points by 11 gives it an average of just 2.09 points per year it entered, pushing it way down the leader board to 25th out of 52. From 2005 to 2012 inclusive, and again in 2015, The Netherlands entered but failed to qualify, giving it a total of 58 entries to-date. Dividing its total of 131 points by 58 gives it an average of 2.26 points per year it entered, thereby putting it in 21st place.

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