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ATHLETICS · 130 COUNTRIES · SIX COMPETITIONS

Athletics prize money by country

the United States have taken $29,436,125 out of athletics, 21.8% of every dollar that names a country, from 659 athletes. Kenya is second on $10,867,417 and Jamaica third on $8,413,000. The ten biggest hold 57.1% of it between them.

$135,290,875 has been paid to 130 countries across the Diamond League, the World Championships, the World Indoor Championships, the Ultimate Championship, the World Relays and the World Cross Country Championships. $132,373,875 of that was paid to 3,744 athletes by name and is theirs.

PAID TO COUNTRIES $135,290,875
BIGGEST EARNER $29,436,125
COUNTRIES PAID 130
ATHLETES PAID 3,744
TO FEDERATIONS $2,917,000

Every country athletics has paid

All 130 of them, biggest first

$135,290,875 in all
Every country athletics prize money has reached, ranked by total, with how many of its athletes were paid, how many titles it has won, and how the money splits between the athletes and the federation.
# COUNTRY ATHLETES WINS TO ATHLETES TO FEDERATION TOTAL
1 United States 659 811 $28,542,125$28.5m $894,000 $29,436,125$29.4m
2 Kenya 221 367 $10,755,417$10.8m $112,000 $10,867,417$10.9m
3 Jamaica 158 249 $8,173,000$8.2m $240,000 $8,413,000$8.4m
4 Great Britain 249 111 $6,227,625$6.2m $124,000 $6,351,625$6.4m
5 Ethiopia 147 167 $5,707,000$5.7m $82,000 $5,789,000$5.8m
6 Germany 139 102 $4,137,250$4.1m $62,000 $4,199,250$4.2m
7 Australia 87 63 $3,469,417$3.5m $84,000 $3,553,417$3.6m
8 France 181 66 $3,036,958$3.0m $51,000 $3,087,958$3.1m
9 Netherlands 55 72 $2,670,167$2.7m $139,000 $2,809,167$2.8m
10 Poland 84 51 $2,639,542$2.6m $72,000 $2,711,542$2.7m
11 Sweden 89 75 $2,690,592$2.7m - $2,690,592$2.7m
12 Italy 107 42 $2,443,342$2.4m $44,000 $2,487,342$2.5m
13 South Africa 54 72 $2,192,250$2.2m $164,000 $2,356,250$2.4m
14 Ukraine 56 58 $2,339,600$2.3m - $2,339,600$2.3m
15 Canada 70 40 $2,141,458$2.1m $146,000 $2,287,458$2.3m
16 Cuba 43 60 $2,146,583$2.1m - $2,146,583$2.1m
17 Norway 64 56 $2,052,833$2.1m $56,000 $2,108,833$2.1m
18 China 114 41 $1,787,250$1.8m $26,000 $1,813,250$1.8m
19 Czechia 30 56 $1,749,792$1.7m $3,000 $1,752,792$1.8m
20 Botswana 18 50 $1,523,250$1.5m $134,000 $1,657,250$1.7m
21 Greece 18 48 $1,638,125$1.6m - $1,638,125$1.6m
22 Switzerland 55 24 $1,594,458$1.6m - $1,594,458$1.6m
23 Spain 72 28 $1,298,000 $164,000 $1,462,000$1.5m
24 New Zealand 18 55 $1,432,375$1.4m - $1,432,375$1.4m
25 Brazil 35 38 $1,329,500 - $1,329,500
26 RUS 84 56 $1,249,167 - $1,249,167
27 Authorised Neutral Athletes 13 50 $1,190,500 - $1,190,500
28 Bahamas 22 37 $1,125,958 - $1,125,958
29 Croatia 12 62 $1,065,583 - $1,065,583
30 Portugal 30 25 $1,046,500 $17,000 $1,063,500
31 Bahrain 18 35 $1,047,250 - $1,047,250
32 Nigeria 16 19 $978,250 $4,000 $982,250
33 Morocco 48 28 $973,750 $4,000 $977,750
34 Dominican Republic 10 30 $913,250 - $913,250
35 Trinidad and Tobago 18 9 $872,750 - $872,750
36 Belgium 60 11 $676,458 $145,000 $821,458
37 Ivory Coast 8 22 $788,000 - $788,000
38 Japan 40 13 $756,167 $24,000 $780,167
39 Qatar 30 31 $738,833 $12,000 $750,833
40 Serbia 8 22 $688,417 - $688,417
41 Colombia 10 38 $679,250 - $679,250
42 Slovenia 14 14 $637,125 - $637,125
43 Grenada 6 24 $634,250 - $634,250
44 Uganda 19 8 $547,750 $52,000 $599,750
45 Kazakhstan 9 17 $557,500 - $557,500
46 Lithuania 13 12 $547,250 - $547,250
47 Algeria 10 11 $539,500 - $539,500
48 Saint Lucia 3 14 $514,758 - $514,758
49 Finland 33 13 $513,750 - $513,750
50 Estonia 11 11 $509,000 - $509,000
51 Puerto Rico 7 25 $469,000 - $469,000
52 Belarus 25 5 $451,750 - $451,750
53 Turkey 21 8 $431,500 - $431,500
54 Ireland 25 4 $370,000 $2,000 $372,000
55 Latvia 17 6 $368,250 - $368,250
56 Bulgaria 14 4 $366,333 - $366,333
57 Hungary 12 1 $347,833 $14,000 $361,833
58 Venezuela 3 13 $341,250 - $341,250
59 Panama 5 12 $313,500 - $313,500
60 Sri Lanka 2 6 $280,250 $12,000 $292,250
61 India 17 5 $284,000 - $284,000
62 Slovakia 10 5 $272,000 $4,000 $276,000
63 Burundi 3 14 $268,500 - $268,500
64 Senegal 3 3 $232,000 - $232,000
65 British Virgin Islands 5 3 $223,250 - $223,250
66 Djibouti 4 8 $217,250 - $217,250
67 Mexico 10 - $198,917 - $198,917
68 South Korea 1 6 $197,750 - $197,750
69 Tunisia 6 6 $176,250 - $176,250
70 Burkina Faso 2 4 $174,250 - $174,250
71 Ecuador 4 1 $159,000 - $159,000
72 Azerbaijan 2 2 $157,000 - $157,000
73 Austria 8 - $146,750 - $146,750
74 Barbados 6 1 $139,000 - $139,000
75 Romania 21 1 $135,500 - $135,500
76 Dominica 2 1 $132,000 - $132,000
77 Denmark 14 1 $117,250 - $117,250
78 Israel 7 1 $102,500 - $102,500
79 Iran 2 1 $102,000 - $102,000
80 Cameroon 2 2 $94,500 - $94,500
81 Liberia 6 - $93,000 - $93,000
82 Luxembourg 3 2 $89,250 - $89,250
83 Uzbekistan 6 2 $82,292 - $82,292
84 Philippines 1 1 $78,125 - $78,125
85 Tanzania 1 1 $70,000 $4,000 $74,000
86 Syria 1 1 $73,500 - $73,500
87 Zambia 3 1 $64,000 - $64,000
88 Zimbabwe 5 1 $56,500 $6,000 $62,500
89 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1 - $62,500 - $62,500
90 Cyprus 4 1 $60,000 - $60,000
91 Sudan 1 3 $51,500 - $51,500
92 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 1 $51,250 - $51,250
93 Uruguay 3 - $50,500 - $50,500
94 Saudi Arabia 6 1 $48,000 - $48,000
95 Namibia 2 2 $44,750 - $44,750
96 Chinese Taipei 2 1 $43,500 - $43,500
97 Egypt 4 4 $43,250 - $43,250
98 Moldova 3 - $41,750 - $41,750
99 Chile 3 - $41,250 - $41,250
100 Bermuda 2 - $34,500 - $34,500
101 Haiti 2 - $33,000 - $33,000
102 Eritrea 6 - $27,000 $4,000 $31,000
103 Samoa 1 - $30,500 - $30,500
104 Guyana 2 - $30,250 - $30,250
105 Iceland 3 - $30,000 - $30,000
106 Costa Rica 2 1 $28,000 - $28,000
107 Argentina 3 - $26,500 - $26,500
108 Gambia 2 1 $26,000 - $26,000
109 Antigua and Barbuda 4 - $22,500 - $22,500
110 Ghana 1 - $4,500 $16,000 $20,500
111 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1 - $17,750 - $17,750
112 Peru 2 - $15,500 - $15,500
113 CAY 2 - $14,500 - $14,500
114 Guatemala 1 - $13,750 - $13,750
115 Niger 1 - $12,750 - $12,750
116 Congo 1 - $12,500 - $12,500
117 Montenegro 1 - $11,750 - $11,750
118 ISV 3 - $11,500 - $11,500
119 Benin 1 - $9,750 - $9,750
120 Albania 1 - $8,750 - $8,750
121 GAB 1 - $6,000 - $6,000
122 UAE 3 - $4,500 - $4,500
123 Kuwait 4 - $4,000 - $4,000
124 MOZ 1 - $4,000 - $4,000
125 COD 1 - $3,000 - $3,000
126 South Sudan 2 - $3,000 - $3,000
127 Pakistan 1 - $2,000 - $2,000
128 Thailand 2 - $1,500 - $1,500
129 Somalia 1 - $1,000 - $1,000
130 Hong Kong 1 - $500 - $500

Ranked on what the sport sent to the country, which is the athletes' own money and the federation's added together.

The fifteen biggest

Total prize money out of all six competitions

United States $29m Kenya $11m Jamaica $8.4m Great Britain $6.4m Ethiopia $5.8m Germany $4.2m Australia $3.6m France $3.1m Netherlands $2.8m Poland $2.7m Sweden $2.7m Italy $2.5m South Africa $2.4m Ukraine $2.3m Canada $2.3m

The United States account for 21.8% of the money and 811 of the 3,587 titles. The gap to second is $18,568,708, which is more than every country outside the first two has ever won.

Where the money comes from

The six competitions, and how many countries each has paid

$135,386,000 paid in all
The six athletics competitions this section holds prize money for, with what each has paid, how much of it went to athletes and how much to federations, and how many countries each has reached.
COMPETITION COUNTRIES WINS TO ATHLETES TO FEDERATION PAID
Diamond League 129 3435 $113,301,875$113.3m - $113,397,000$113.4m
World Championships 74 49 $7,658,000$7.7m $922,000 $8,580,000$8.6m
Indoor Championships 57 53 $4,204,000$4.2m $428,000 $4,632,000$4.6m
Ultimate Championship 35 28 $6,930,000$6.9m $160,000 $7,090,000$7.1m
World Relays 23 12 - $1,067,000 $1,067,000
Cross Country 13 10 $280,000 $340,000 $620,000
All six 130 3,587 $132,373,875$132.4m $2,917,000$2.9m $135,386,000$135.4m

The last column is what each competition paid out. The columns beside it are what reached a country, which is a smaller number in one place only: $95,125 of Diamond League money belongs to athletes whose result tables never printed a nationality, so it is left out of the table rather than bucketed into a row nobody could read.

One athlete or a hundred

The same total means two different things

The United States have 659 paid athletes sharing $28,542,125, which is $43,311 each. South Korea has one, Woo Sang-hyeok, and that single athlete's $197,750 is more than each of the 62 countries below South Korea has won in total. 21 countries here have exactly one paid athlete: the Philippines is EJ Obiena on $78,125 and Tanzania is Alphonce Simbu on $74,000.

The money that names no country

$95,125, and why it is not in the table

Every figure above is grouped on the country printed beside an athlete in a result table. A Diamond League meeting occasionally prints none, and across nine seasons that comes to $95,125 held by athletes with no flag against their name anywhere in the archive.

The competitions behind these figures

Frequently asked questions

Which country earns the most prize money in athletics?

The United States, on $29,436,125 across the six bodies of prize money this section holds. That is 21.8% of every dollar that names a country, and it comes from 659 athletes. Kenya is second on $10,867,417 and Jamaica third on $8,413,000.

How much athletics prize money has been paid in total?

$135,386,000 across six competitions: the Diamond League, the World Championships, the World Indoor Championships, the Ultimate Championship, the World Relays and the World Cross Country Championships. $135,290,875 of it names a country and is on this page. The other $95,125 belongs to 53 Diamond League athletes whose result tables never printed one.

Does prize money go to the athlete or to the country?

Both, and the two are kept apart here. $132,373,875 was paid to athletes by name and is theirs. The other $2,917,000 went to a national federation: every relay purse is paid to the team whole, every rung of the World Relays ladder is a country's, and a cross country team standing pays the federation behind the first four runners. 33 countries hold federation money, led by the United States on $894,000.

How many countries have won athletics prize money?

130, sharing 3,744 paid athletes and $135,290,875 between them. Every one of the six competitions pays a fixed number of finishing places, so a country can put an athlete in a final, finish outside the ladder and appear nowhere on this page. 21 of the 130 have exactly one paid athlete, and five have been paid by all six.

Which country has won the most athletics titles?

The United States, with 811 wins across the six competitions, worth $29,436,125 in all. Kenya is next on 367 and Jamaica on 249. A win counts once whether it was an individual title or a relay, and a relay title pays the federation rather than the four who ran it.

Where to next

The rest of the athletics money

Diamond League prize money is the biggest of the six on $113,397,000, and the only one that pays every dollar of it to an athlete by name. The athletics section holds each of the six on its own, meeting by meeting and event by event. Every country below has a page here too, with the athletes it paid, what each competition sent it and whatever its federation collected on top.

Every country