Eurovision Song Contest Statistics 2018

Following Israel's fourth win this year, I've analysed the participating countries for the entire history of the Eurovision Song Contest. Some interesting statistics have emerged from this. You may click on one of the links below to jump to a particular section, or alternatively you may wish to read the whole document from start to finish.

Six Years of Different Winners
Years Taken to First Win Eurovision Song Contest
Years Since Last Win
Gaps Between Wins
How Many Wins?

Six Years of Different Winners

Firstly, it's interesting to see that since 2013, a different country has won each year.

2013 Denmark (3rd)
2014 Austria (2nd)
2015 Sweden (6th)
2016 Ukraine (2nd)
2017 Portugal (1st)
2018 Israel (4th)

Figures in brackets indicate the cumulative win for that country, e.g. in 2018 Israel won for the fourth time.

This means that, from 2013 to 2018 inclusive, there has been a six-year run of different winners. How much longer will this trend of a different winner each year continue?

The record for the longest run of a different winner each year currently stands at 16 years (1996 to 2011 inclusive), as shown in the list below. Note also there was an eight-year run of first-time winners from 2001 to 2008 inclusive during that time.

1996 Ireland (7th)
1997 United Kingdom (5th)
1998 Israel (3rd)
1999 Sweden (4th)
2000 Denmark (2nd)
2001 Estonia (1st)
2002 Latvia (1st)
2003 Turkey (1st)
2004 Ukraine (1st)
2005 Greece (1st)
2006 Finland (1st)
2007 Serbia (1st)
2008 Russia (1st)
2009 Norway (3rd)
2010 Germany (2nd)
2011 Azerbaijan (1st)

It will now take 10 years of different winners not in the 2013 to 2018 run to bring the current run back to 16 years of different winners (2013 to 2028), plus another year (2029) to beat it. As you will see in the next few sections that could well happen.

Can the eight-year run of first-time winners be beaten? It can, although it will take until at least 2027 to happen. Further interesting trivia follows in the next few sections.

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Years Taken to First Win Eurovision Song Contest

Here are all the 27 countries that have won the Eurovision Song Contest at least once each. Notice the number of years from first ever entry to first win varies considerably. Portugal currently holds the record for longest wait for a first win: 53 years. That is, it first won in 2017, 53 years after its first ever song in 1964. Serbia currently holds the record for shortest wait for a first win (see footnote for more though).

Country	First Entry	First Win	Years After First Entry
Portugal	1964	2017	53
Finland	1961	2006	45
Greece	1974	2005	31
Belgium	1956	1986	30
Yugoslavia	1961	1989	28
Turkey	1975	2003	28
Germany	1956	1982	26
Norway	1960	1985	25
Sweden	1958	1974	16
Russia	1994	2008	14
Monaco	1959	1971	12
United Kingdom	1957	1967	10
Austria	1957	1966	9
Italy	1956	1964	8
Spain	1961	1968	7
Estonia	1994	2001	7
Denmark	1957	1963	6
Luxembourg	1956	1961	5
Ireland	1965	1970	5
Israel	1973	1978	5
Azerbaijan	2008	2011	3
France	1956	1958	2
Latvia	2000	2002	2
The Netherlands	1956	1957	1
Ukraine	2003	2004	1
Switzerland	1956	1956	0
Serbia	2007	2007	0

The debut Eurovision Song Contest in 1956 was the only year each country was able to enter two songs. Switzerland's second song of the night "Refrain" won the 1956 Contest, therefore its first ever song "Das Alte Karussell" did not win. Consequently, from 1956 to 2006, no country won with its first ever song. Serbia thus became the first country to win with its first ever song (as an independent nation), which is why it effectively had a shorter wait for its first win than Switzerland. It could be argued that Serbia previously participated as part of Serbia and Montenegro (2004), and part of Yugoslavia (1974, 1982, 1991, 1992). However, on those occasions, the songs represented the whole of Serbia and Montenegro / Yugoslavia, not just Serbia itself. 2007 was the first year that Serbia's song just represented Serbia.

If Liechtenstein enters in the future, and wins with its first ever song, it could be said to have had an even shorter wait for a first win having not previously entered as part of a larger country which no longer exists.

It's worth bearing in mind that the above table ignores the fact that some countries missed a few years in their history. For example, Portugal first won in 2017, 53 years after its first entry in 1964. However it missed the Contests of 1970, 2000, 2002, 2013 and 2016. Finland first won in 2006, 45 years after its first entry in 1961. However, it missed the Contests of 1970, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003.

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Still Waiting For A First Win

Now for the countries which have yet to achieve their first win. Malta is currently the country with the most years since its debut entry in 1971 (47 years) that hasn't won yet.

N.B. Each country's debut year is shown after its name. Estonia, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia entered the 1993 qualifying round Kvalifikacija za Millstreet in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on 3 April 1993, but didn't qualify for the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest, and thus their debut year is officially recognised as 1994. F.Y.R. Macedonia entered the audio qualifier for the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest, but failed to qualify, and thus its debut year is officially recognised as 1998. However, since the advent of semi-finals in 2004, the debut year is the year a country first appeared in the semi-final, whether or not it qualified to the final.

Long Time Runners (pre-2000)

Country	First Entry	Years Since First Entry
Malta	1971	47
Morocco	1980	38
Cyprus	1981	37
Iceland	1986	32
Slovenia	1993	25
Bosnia & Herzegovina	1993	25
Croatia	1993	25
Romania	1994	24
Slovakia	1994	24
Lithuania	1994	24
Hungary	1994	24
Poland	1994	24
F.Y.R. Macedonia	1998	20

That's 13 countries altogether. One significant subset is the seven which debuted in 1994; Estonia won in 2001 and Russia won in 2008, therefore 5 of the 7 countries which first entered in 1994 have yet to achieve their first win. Another interesting group is the three ex-Yugoslav countries which debuted in 1993; 25 years on and none of those three have won yet. If one of each of the above countries wins every year, it will take 13 years for them all to win once (if Morocco ever makes a comeback).

It's worth noting that the above table ignores the fact that all the above countries missed one or more years in their history; in fact some have had quite lengthy absences. For example, Malta's debut entry was in 1971 (47 years ago), but was absent in 1973 and 1974, and again from 1976 to 1990 inclusive; hence Malta has had 31 entries to-date. On the other hand, Cyprus debuted in 1981 (37 years ago), but has only missed three contests (1988, 2001, 2014) and thus it has had 35 entries to-date (more than Malta). Therefore, the country with the most entries to-date and no wins is currently Cyprus, not Malta.

Will Morocco ever return to the Eurovision Song Contest? It seems highly unlikely, but never say "never". If it enters, reaches the final and wins next year, it will have had the third longest wait for a first win: 39 years (1980 - 2019). However, it will also have the longest gap between entries: 39 years. Bizarrely though, it will have won on only its second attempt (just like Ukraine in 2004)!

Recent Newcomers (since 2004)

Since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, 14 new countries have entered the Eurovision Song Contest from 2004 onwards. The most recent was Australia in 2015 as an invited guest to mark the Contest's 60th year, and despite being allowed to enter again in 2016, 2017 and 2018, their future participation is still uncertain. That aside the most recent countries eligible for regular participation were Azerbaijan and San Marino in 2008. Of the 14 which debuted since 2004, Serbia won in 2007 (the very first time it entered as Serbia) and Azerbaijan won in 2011 (3 years after first entering in 2008). The other 12 countries from this group are still waiting for their first win:

Country	First Entry	Years Since First Entry
Belarus	2004	14
Andorra[1]	2004	14
Albania	2004	14
Serbia & Montenegro[2]	2004	14
Moldova	2005	13
Bulgaria	2005	13
Armenia	2006	12
Georgia	2007	11
Montenegro	2007	11
Czech Republic	2007	11
San Marino	2008	10
Australia[3]	2015	3

[1] Never qualified to final

[2] Nation no longer exists

[3] Originally a 60th Contest guest participant in 2015, but allowed back for 2016, 2017 and 2018; future participation still uncertain

How long will it be before any of the countries in this group have their first win? Note that Serbia & Montenegro no longer exists as a joint country. Australia was originally intended to be a one-off guest participant for the 60th Contest in 2015; although it was allowed to enter again in 2016, 2017 and 2018, its future participation is still uncertain. Therefore, that leaves 10 countries in this group, and thus it will take at least 10 years for them to win once each.

Taking the two groups together, that's 23 countries still waiting for their first ever win (24 if Australia is allowed to continue as a regular participant). So, it's quite possible for the eight-year run of first-time winners (2001 to 2008) to be beaten (2019 to 2027 and beyond). Furthermore, first time wins for each of these countries during forthcoming years will continue the trend of a different winner each year since 2013.

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Years Since Last Win

Distant Past Winners (pre-2004)

By this I mean countries that last won before the introduction of semi-finals in 2004 (which was also the year of Ukraine's first ever win). Altogether, I've found 14 countries that last won in 2003 or earlier. Note that one of them Yugoslavia no longer exists, so that leaves 13 countries in this group still waiting to win again.

Country	Last Win	Years Since Last Win
Spain	1969	49
Monaco	1971	47
The Netherlands	1975	43
France	1977	41
Luxembourg	1983	35
Belgium	1986	32
Switzerland	1988	30
Yugoslavia[4]	1989	29
Italy	1990	28
Ireland	1996	22
United Kingdom	1997	21
Estonia	2001	17
Latvia	2002	16
Turkey	2003	15

[4] Nation no longer exists

Monaco was absent from Eurovision from 1980 to 2003 inclusive. 2004 to 2006 inclusive it entered but failed to qualify from the semi-finals. Since 2007 it has been absent again. Will it return in 2019, and if so will it qualify to the final for the first time since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004? If it returns, reaches the final and wins, it will have had 48 years gap between wins (1971 to 2019).

Luxembourg last entered in 1993. Will it ever return? If it comes back, reaches the final and wins next year, it will have had 36 years gap between wins (1983 - 2019).

If Italy wins next year, it will have had 29 years gap between wins (1990 - 2019), thereby exceeding its previous 26-year gap between wins (1964 - 1990).

If any one of the above countries wins next year, it will extend the current run of a different country winning each year by one year, i.e. 2013 to 2019 inclusive.

Recent Winners

Now for the countries whose last win was in 2004 or later. Sweden has won twice since then (2012 and 2015), as has Ukraine (2004 and 2016), but only their most recent wins are shown here. Although I've described this group as "recent" winners, it's already quite a long time since some of them last won; 10 years plus in the case of Russia, Serbia, Finland and Greece.

Country	Last Win	Years Since Last Win
Greece	2005	13
Finland	2006	12
Serbia	2007	11
Russia	2008	10
Norway	2009	9
Germany	2010	8
Azerbaijan	2011	7
Denmark	2013	5
Austria	2014	4
Sweden	2015	3
Ukraine	2016	2
Portugal	2017	1
Israel	2018	0

If any country which won between 2005 and 2011 inclusive wins next year, it will extend the current run of a different country winning each year by one year, i.e. 2013 to 2019 inclusive. With 7 countries in the 2005 to 2011 year range, plus another 13 countries which haven't won for at least 15 years (2003 or earlier), plus 23 countries still waiting for their first ever win (24 if Australia is allowed to continue next year), the current trend of a different winner each year (since 2013) is likely to continue for several years to come.

If Denmark wins next year, the run of a different winning country each year will remain the same as now, 6 years (2014 to 2019).

If Austria, Sweden, Ukraine, Portugal or Israel wins next year, the run of different winning countries each year will be reduced accordingly. For example, if Austria wins next year, one will need to start the new list at Sweden 2015 and finish with Austria 2019, i.e. a 5-year run of a different winning country each year.

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Gaps Between Wins

Now for a look at countries which have won more than once. Israel won the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. That means a 20-year gap between its previous win in 1998 and its latest win in 2018. Although that is its longest gap between wins to-date, it's currently the sixth longest gap between wins in the history of the Contest. Furthermore, Israel is the first country to have a 20-year gap between wins in the history of the Contest.

The following table shows the gaps between wins for every country that has won more than once. Where a country has won more than twice (and hence has more than one gap between wins), all gaps between wins for that country are shown. Ireland has won seven times to-date, and therefore has six entries in the table below.

The following table, and notes beneath it, ignore the fact that some countries missed one or more years between wins. Austria currently holds the record for longest gap between wins: 48 years (1966 - 2014). Between its wins in 1966 and 2014, it missed several years (1969, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1998, 2001, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010).

Country	Years Between Wins	From	To
Austria	48	1966	2014
Denmark	37	1963	2000
Switzerland	32	1956	1988
Germany	28	1982	2010
Italy	26	1964	1990
Israel	20	1998	2018
Israel	19	1979	1998
United Kingdom	16	1981	1997
Norway	14	1995	2009
Denmark	13	2000	2013
Sweden	13	1999	2012
Ukraine	12	2004	2016
The Netherlands	10	1959	1969
Luxembourg	10	1973	1983
Sweden	10	1974	1984
Norway	10	1985	1995
Ireland	10	1970	1980
France	8	1969	1977
Sweden	8	1991	1999
France	7	1962	1969
Luxembourg	7	1965	1972
United Kingdom	7	1969	1976
Sweden	7	1984	1991
Ireland	7	1980	1987
The Netherlands	6	1969	1975
United Kingdom	5	1976	1981
Ireland	5	1987	1992
Luxembourg	4	1961	1965
Sweden	3	2012	2015
The Netherlands	2	1957	1959
France	2	1958	1960
France	2	1960	1962
United Kingdom	2	1967	1969
Ireland	2	1994	1996
Luxembourg	1	1972	1973
Spain	1	1968	1969
Ireland	1	1992	1993
Ireland	1	1993	1994
Israel	1	1978	1979

If Spain wins next year it will take the record for longest gap between wins: 50 years (1969 - 2019).

If Monaco returns and wins next year, it will equal the current record for longest gap between wins: 48 years (1971 - 2019).

If either of the following two countries wins next year, it will have the second longest gap between wins:
The Netherlands 44 years (1975 - 2019)
France 42 years (1977 - 2019)

If either of the following two countries wins next year, it will have the third longest gap between wins:
Luxembourg 36 years (1983 - 2019) (that is, if Luxembourg returns next year)
Belgium 33 years (1986 - 2019)

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How Many Wins?

Finally, here is a table showing how many times each country has ever won the Eurovision Song Contest from 1956 to 2018 inclusive.

Country	Number of Wins
Albania	0
Andorra	0
Armenia	0
Australia	0
Austria	2
Azerbaijan	1
Belarus	0
Belgium	1
Bosnia & Herzegovina	0
Bulgaria	0
Croatia	0
Cyprus	0
Czech Republic	0
Denmark	3
Estonia	1
F.Y.R. Macedonia	0
Finland	1
France	5
Georgia	0
Germany	2
Greece	1
Hungary	0
Iceland	0
Ireland	7
Israel	4
Italy	2
Latvia	1
Lithuania	0
Luxembourg	5
Malta	0
Moldova	0
Monaco	1
Montenegro	0
Morocco	0
Norway	3
Poland	0
Portugal	1
Romania	0
Russia	1
San Marino	0
Serbia	1
Serbia & Montenegro	0
Slovakia	0
Slovenia	0
Spain	2
Sweden	6
Switzerland	2
The Netherlands	4
Turkey	1
Ukraine	2
United Kingdom	5
Yugoslavia	1

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