Eurovision Song Contest League Tables 2019

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 2019. The way it works is simple.

If a country wins a particular year (like The Netherlands did this year), it scores 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 zero 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, Russia and Monaco both have 97 points. Russia and Monaco have both won once each, but Russia has finished second four times, whereas Monaco has finished second once, hence Russia is ranked higher than Monaco. Where necessary, third, fourth and subsequent places down to 27th are also considered.

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	10	1	4	4	2	5	246
4	Ireland	7	4	1	3	3	3	2	2	2	4	208
5	Germany	2	4	5	4	2	3	2	8	3	2	199
6	Italy	2	3	5	2	5	5	4	2	3	1	192
7	Switzerland	2	3	3	6	2	3	0	5	1	2	166
8	Denmark	3	1	3	2	5	2	1	3	4	2	147
9	The Netherlands	5	1	1	2	2	2	3	1	6	2	143
10	Spain	2	4	1	2	1	4	2	1	4	7	138
11	Luxembourg	5	0	2	5	1	1	1	1	2	2	135
12	Israel	4	2	1	2	2	2	3	2	2	0	134
13	Norway	3	1	1	3	3	2	2	4	3	2	131
14	Belgium	1	2	0	4	2	4	4	3	1	3	122
15	Austria	2	0	1	1	4	2	2	2	3	5	98
16	Russia	1	4	4	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	97
17	Monaco	1	1	3	3	2	1	1	2	1	1	97
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	Estonia	1	0	1	1	1	3	1	2	0	0	58
23	Yugoslavia	1	0	0	3	0	1	3	2	1	0	58
24	Azerbaijan	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	2	0	0	49
25	Cyprus	0	1	0	0	3	2	1	0	3	0	48
26	Finland	1	0	0	0	0	1	4	1	2	3	43
27	Portugal	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	2	2	2	37
28	Iceland	0	2	0	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	35
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	Australia	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	20
37	Hungary	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	1	19
38	Poland	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	17
39	Moldova	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	15
40	Serbia & Montenegro	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	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	Czech Republic	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	5
45	Belarus	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	5
46	North Macedonia	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	4
47	Georgia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	4
48	Montenegro	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
49	Slovakia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
50	Morocco	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
51	San Marino	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 highly deceptive, because the UK first entered in 1957, followed by every year from 1959 to present (62 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 49 points in 12 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 (62) gives an average of 5.048 points per grand final appearance, putting it into 3rd place. Dividing Azerbaijan's total of 49 points by 11 (its number of grand final appearances to-date) gives it an average of 4.455 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. 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	Years in Final	Total	Average
1	Serbia & Montenegro	2	14	7.000
2	Bulgaria	4	23	5.750
3	United Kingdom	62	313	5.048
4	Ireland	45	208	4.622
5	Russia	21	97	4.619
6	Monaco	21	97	4.619
7	Ukraine	15	69	4.600
8	Azerbaijan	11	49	4.455
9	Italy	45	192	4.267
10	Sweden	58	246	4.241
11	France	62	248	4.000
12	Australia	5	20	4.000
13	Israel	36	134	3.722
14	Luxembourg	37	135	3.649
15	Estonia	16	58	3.625
16	Switzerland	49	166	3.388
17	Denmark	44	147	3.341
18	Germany	63	199	3.159
19	Latvia	10	31	3.100
20	Armenia	10	29	2.900
21	Serbia	9	26	2.889
22	The Netherlands	51	143	2.804
23	Malta	25	62	2.480
24	Belgium	51	122	2.392
25	Norway	55	131	2.382
26	Spain	59	138	2.339
27	Greece	38	84	2.211
28	Yugoslavia	27	58	2.148
29	Austria	47	98	2.085
30	Turkey	33	62	1.879
31	Romania	18	30	1.667
32	Czech Republic	3	5	1.667
33	Cyprus	30	48	1.600
34	Croatia	18	28	1.556
35	Moldova	10	15	1.500
36	Iceland	25	35	1.400
37	Hungary	14	19	1.357
38	Bosnia & Herzegovina	18	22	1.222
39	Poland	14	17	1.214
40	Albania	9	10	1.111
41	Finland	45	43	0.956
42	Portugal	42	37	0.881
43	Belarus	6	5	0.833
44	Slovenia	15	9	0.600
45	Georgia	7	4	0.571
46	Lithuania	13	7	0.538
47	North Macedonia	9	4	0.444
48	Montenegro	2	0	0.000
49	Slovakia	3	0	0.000
50	Morocco	1	0	0.000
51	San Marino	2	0	0.000
52	Andorra	0	0	0.000

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 12 entries from 2005 to 2019 inclusive, but has only reached the final 4 times so far. Under the above scheme of things, its total of 23 points divided by 4 gives it an average of 5.750 points per grand final appearance (second place on the leader board). The Netherlands has had 51 appearances in the final, the last being 2019, but failed to get past the semi-finals from 2005 to 2012 inclusive, and again in 2015. Dividing its total of 143 points by 51 gives an average of 2.804 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, one should 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 (62) gives it an average of 5.048 points per year it entered, which is currently top of the table. Dividing Azerbaijan's total of 49 points by 12 (its total number of entries to-date) gives it an average of 4.083; i.e. 7th 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 zero points in the official Semi-Final 2006 results, despite not actually performing in that semi-final. Consequently, their total number of years entered has been taken as being 3 here; dividing their 14 points by 3 gives an average of 4.667 per year, putting them 2nd 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	Years Entered	Total	Average
1	United Kingdom	62	313	5.048
2	Serbia & Montenegro	3	14	4.667
3	Ukraine	15	69	4.600
4	Russia	22	97	4.409
5	Italy	45	192	4.267
6	Sweden	59	246	4.169
7	Azerbaijan	12	49	4.083
8	Monaco	24	97	4.042
9	France	62	248	4.000
10	Australia	5	20	4.000
11	Ireland	53	208	3.925
12	Luxembourg	37	135	3.649
13	Israel	42	134	3.190
14	Germany	63	199	3.159
15	Denmark	48	147	3.063
16	Switzerland	60	166	2.767
17	The Netherlands	60	143	2.383
18	Spain	59	138	2.339
19	Estonia	25	58	2.320
20	Norway	58	131	2.259
21	Armenia	13	29	2.231
22	Serbia	12	26	2.167
23	Yugoslavia	27	58	2.148
24	Greece	40	84	2.100
25	Belgium	61	122	2.000
26	Malta	32	62	1.938
27	Bulgaria	12	23	1.917
28	Austria	52	98	1.885
29	Turkey	34	62	1.824
30	Latvia	20	31	1.550
31	Romania	20	30	1.500
32	Cyprus	36	48	1.333
33	Bosnia & Herzegovina	19	22	1.158
34	Croatia	25	28	1.120
35	Hungary	17	19	1.118
36	Iceland	32	35	1.094
37	Moldova	15	15	1.000
38	Finland	53	43	0.811
39	Poland	22	17	0.773
40	Portugal	51	37	0.725
41	Albania	16	10	0.625
42	Czech Republic	8	5	0.625
43	Slovenia	25	9	0.360
44	Lithuania	20	7	0.350
45	Georgia	12	4	0.333
46	Belarus	16	5	0.313
47	North Macedonia	19	4	0.211
48	Montenegro	11	0	0.000
49	Slovakia	7	0	0.000
50	Morocco	1	0	0.000
51	San Marino	10	0	0.000
52	Andorra	6	0	0.000

Now all of Bulgaria's 12 entries from 2005 to 2019 inclusive are being taken into consideration, dividing its total of 23 points by 12 gives it an average of just 1.917 points per year it entered, pushing it way down the leader board to 27th out of 52. From 2005 to 2012 inclusive, and again in 2015, The Netherlands entered but failed to qualify, giving it a total of 60 entries to-date. Dividing its total of 143 points by 60 gives it an average of 2.383 points per year it entered, thereby putting it in 17th place (which ironically is a higher rank than when its total is divided by its number of grand final appearances (51).

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