If a country wins a particular year (like Sweden did in 2023), 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, Finland and Yugoslavia both have 58 points. Finland and Yugoslavia have both won once each, but Finland has finished second once, whereas Yugoslavia has never finished second, hence Finland is ranked higher than Yugoslavia. 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, with few exceptions, it still tops the league table with 323 points.
Rank |
Country |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
7th |
8th |
9th |
10th |
Total |
1 |
United Kingdom |
5 |
16 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
323 |
2 |
Sweden |
7 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
10 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
265 |
3 |
France |
5 |
5 |
7 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
258 |
4 |
Italy |
3 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
216 |
5 |
Ireland |
7 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
208 |
6 |
Germany |
2 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
8 |
3 |
2 |
199 |
7 |
Switzerland |
2 |
3 |
4 |
6 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
174 |
8 |
Denmark |
3 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
147 |
9 |
Spain |
2 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
7 |
146 |
10 |
Netherlands |
5 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
143 |
11 |
Israel |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
142 |
12 |
Norway |
3 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
138 |
13 |
Luxembourg |
5 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
135 |
14 |
Belgium |
1 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
126 |
15 |
Russia |
1 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
99 |
16 |
Austria |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
98 |
17 |
Monaco |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
97 |
18 |
Ukraine |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
92 |
19 |
Greece |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
88 |
20 |
Malta |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
66 |
21 |
Turkey |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
62 |
22 |
Estonia |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
61 |
23 |
Finland |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
58 |
24 |
Yugoslavia |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
58 |
25 |
Azerbaijan |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
49 |
26 |
Cyprus |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
48 |
27 |
Iceland |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
42 |
28 |
Portugal |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
39 |
29 |
Serbia |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
32 |
30 |
Latvia |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
31 |
31 |
Romania |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
30 |
32 |
Armenia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
29 |
33 |
Croatia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
28 |
34 |
Bulgaria |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
23 |
35 |
Australia |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
22 |
36 |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
22 |
37 |
Moldova |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
19 |
38 |
Hungary |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
19 |
39 |
Poland |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
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 |
Lithuania |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
10 |
43 |
Slovenia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
9 |
44 |
Czechia |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
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 (65 entries to-date); and in that time clocked up 323 points, thereby topping the leader board. Azerbaijan first entered in 2008 and has had an excellent track record (at least during its first few years of participation), achieving 49 points in 13 grand final appearances, but still only appears 25th 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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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 |
Ukraine |
18 |
92 |
5.111 |
3 |
United Kingdom |
65 |
323 |
4.969 |
4 |
Ireland |
45 |
208 |
4.622 |
5 |
Monaco |
21 |
97 |
4.619 |
6 |
Bulgaria |
5 |
23 |
4.600 |
7 |
Italy |
48 |
216 |
4.500 |
8 |
Russia |
22 |
99 |
4.500 |
9 |
Sweden |
61 |
265 |
4.344 |
10 |
France |
65 |
258 |
3.969 |
11 |
Azerbaijan |
13 |
49 |
3.769 |
12 |
Israel |
38 |
142 |
3.737 |
13 |
Luxembourg |
37 |
135 |
3.649 |
14 |
Estonia |
18 |
61 |
3.389 |
15 |
Switzerland |
52 |
174 |
3.346 |
16 |
Denmark |
44 |
147 |
3.341 |
17 |
Australia |
7 |
22 |
3.143 |
18 |
Latvia |
10 |
31 |
3.100 |
19 |
Germany |
66 |
199 |
3.015 |
20 |
Netherlands |
53 |
143 |
2.698 |
21 |
Serbia |
12 |
32 |
2.667 |
22 |
Malta |
26 |
66 |
2.538 |
23 |
Armenia |
12 |
29 |
2.417 |
24 |
Norway |
58 |
138 |
2.379 |
25 |
Spain |
62 |
146 |
2.355 |
26 |
Belgium |
54 |
126 |
2.333 |
27 |
Greece |
40 |
88 |
2.200 |
28 |
Yugoslavia |
27 |
58 |
2.148 |
29 |
Austria |
48 |
98 |
2.042 |
30 |
Turkey |
33 |
62 |
1.879 |
31 |
Romania |
19 |
30 |
1.579 |
32 |
Iceland |
27 |
42 |
1.556 |
33 |
Cyprus |
32 |
48 |
1.500 |
34 |
Croatia |
19 |
28 |
1.474 |
35 |
Moldova |
13 |
19 |
1.462 |
36 |
Hungary |
14 |
19 |
1.357 |
37 |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
18 |
22 |
1.222 |
38 |
Finland |
48 |
58 |
1.208 |
39 |
Czechia |
5 |
6 |
1.200 |
40 |
Poland |
16 |
17 |
1.063 |
41 |
Albania |
11 |
10 |
0.909 |
42 |
Portugal |
45 |
39 |
0.867 |
43 |
Belarus |
6 |
5 |
0.833 |
44 |
Lithuania |
16 |
10 |
0.625 |
45 |
Georgia |
7 |
4 |
0.571 |
46 |
Slovenia |
16 |
9 |
0.563 |
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 |
3 |
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 14 entries from 2005 to 2023 inclusive, but has only reached the final 5 times so far. Under the above scheme of things, its total of 23 points divided by 5 gives it an average of 4.600 points per grand final appearance (6th place on the leader board). The Netherlands has had 53 appearances in the final, the last being 2022, but failed to get past the semi-finals from 2005 to 2012 inclusive, and since then in 2015 and 2023. Dividing its total of 143 points by 53 gives an average of 2.698 points per grand final appearance, putting it at 20th place on the leader board.
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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 3rd 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 |
Ukraine |
18 |
92 |
5.111 |
2 |
United Kingdom |
65 |
323 |
4.969 |
3 |
Serbia & Montenegro |
3 |
14 |
4.667 |
4 |
Italy |
48 |
216 |
4.500 |
5 |
Russia |
23 |
99 |
4.304 |
6 |
Sweden |
62 |
265 |
4.274 |
7 |
Monaco |
24 |
97 |
4.042 |
8 |
France |
65 |
258 |
3.969 |
9 |
Ireland |
56 |
208 |
3.714 |
10 |
Luxembourg |
37 |
135 |
3.649 |
11 |
Azerbaijan |
15 |
49 |
3.267 |
12 |
Israel |
45 |
142 |
3.156 |
13 |
Germany |
66 |
199 |
3.015 |
14 |
Denmark |
51 |
147 |
2.882 |
15 |
Switzerland |
63 |
174 |
2.762 |
16 |
Australia |
8 |
22 |
2.750 |
17 |
Spain |
62 |
146 |
2.355 |
18 |
Netherlands |
63 |
143 |
2.270 |
19 |
Norway |
61 |
138 |
2.262 |
20 |
Estonia |
28 |
61 |
2.179 |
21 |
Yugoslavia |
27 |
58 |
2.148 |
22 |
Serbia |
15 |
32 |
2.133 |
23 |
Greece |
43 |
88 |
2.047 |
24 |
Belgium |
64 |
126 |
1.969 |
25 |
Armenia |
15 |
29 |
1.933 |
26 |
Malta |
35 |
66 |
1.886 |
27 |
Turkey |
34 |
62 |
1.824 |
28 |
Austria |
55 |
98 |
1.782 |
29 |
Bulgaria |
14 |
23 |
1.643 |
30 |
Latvia |
23 |
31 |
1.348 |
31 |
Romania |
23 |
30 |
1.304 |
32 |
Cyprus |
39 |
48 |
1.231 |
33 |
Iceland |
35 |
42 |
1.200 |
34 |
Bosnia & Herzegovina |
19 |
22 |
1.158 |
35 |
Hungary |
17 |
19 |
1.118 |
36 |
Moldova |
18 |
19 |
1.056 |
37 |
Finland |
56 |
58 |
1.036 |
38 |
Croatia |
28 |
28 |
1.000 |
39 |
Portugal |
54 |
39 |
0.722 |
40 |
Poland |
25 |
17 |
0.680 |
41 |
Czechia |
11 |
6 |
0.545 |
42 |
Albania |
19 |
10 |
0.526 |
43 |
Lithuania |
23 |
10 |
0.435 |
44 |
Slovenia |
28 |
9 |
0.321 |
45 |
Belarus |
16 |
5 |
0.313 |
46 |
Georgia |
15 |
4 |
0.267 |
47 |
North Macedonia |
21 |
4 |
0.190 |
48 |
Montenegro |
12 |
0 |
0.000 |
49 |
Slovakia |
7 |
0 |
0.000 |
50 |
Morocco |
1 |
0 |
0.000 |
51 |
San Marino |
13 |
0 |
0.000 |
52 |
Andorra |
6 |
0 |
0.000 |
Now all of Bulgaria's 14 entries from 2005 to 2023 inclusive are being taken into consideration, dividing its total of 23 points by 14 gives it an average of just 1.643 points per year it entered, pushing it way down the leader board to 29th out of 52. From 2005 to 2012 inclusive, and since then in 2015 and 2023, the Netherlands entered but failed to qualify, giving it a total of 63 entries to-date. Dividing its total of 143 points by 63 gives it an average of 2.270 points per year it entered, thereby putting it in 18th place, which ironically is a higher rank than when its total is divided by its number of grand final appearances (53).
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