9 Countries Where Cheerleading Is Most Popular (Ranked)

Cheerleading is most popular in the United States, Japan, Canada and the UK. All 9 countries ranked by Worlds medals, participation and federations.

Cheerleading began at American universities in the late 19th century and is now an organised competitive sport with a world governing body, the International Cheer Union (ICU). Its biggest base is still the United States, where an estimated 3.85 million people took part in 2017, but Japan, Canada, Great Britain, Mexico and Australia all send medal-winning teams to the world championships.

Below you will find the full ranking, a profile of every country, a table of the nations with the best results at the 2025 ICU World Championships, and answers to the questions people search for most often.

Countries where cheerleading is most popular:

1. United States
2. Japan
3. Canada
4. United Kingdom
5. Mexico
6. Australia
7. Finland
8. Sweden
9. Germany

Cheerleading Popularity by Country at a Glance

How We Ranked the Countries

Cheerleading has no worldwide player register, and the figures for global participation run from 3.5 million to 10 million depending on the source. We therefore ranked countries by what can be checked: participation estimates where a national federation publishes them, and results at the ICU World Cheerleading Championships, the sport’s main international event.

The comparison number in the table is each nation’s total medals at the 2025 ICU World Cheerleading Championships in Orlando, counting the Youth, Junior, Senior and Disabled Sports divisions together. The United Kingdom total adds England (6), Scotland (1) and Wales (1), which compete separately at the ICU Worlds. Germany did not appear in the 2025 medal table.

#1 United States

• 👥 Participants: About 3.85 million in 2017
• 🥇 2025 ICU Worlds: 16 medals, 12 of them gold
• 📅 Origin: Organised cheering at Princeton in the 1880s and Johnny Campbell at Minnesota in 1898
• 🏫 High school: About 394,700 cheerleaders in a 2009 NFHS study

Cheerleading started in American college football crowds. Cheering at Princeton is documented from 1877, and Johnny Campbell led a crowd cheer at the University of Minnesota on 2 November 1898, a date often given as the birth of organised cheerleading.

The United States won both Premier divisions at the ICU World Championships in 2025 and again in 2026, when it took its ninth straight Coed Premier title. An estimated 3.85 million Americans took part in 2017, and a 2009 study counted about 394,700 public high school cheerleaders.

#2 Japan

• 🥇 2025 ICU Worlds: 10 medals, 4 gold and 6 silver
• 🏆 Golds: Hip hop doubles, junior pom, youth pom and jazz
• 📅 Federation: International Federation of Cheerleading, based in Tokyo, founded 1998
• 🏟️ Event: Cheerleading Asia International Open, held in Tokyo every year since 2007

Japan is the leading cheerleading nation in Asia. The International Federation of Cheerleading, founded in 1998 to promote the sport in Asia, is based in Tokyo, and the Cheerleading Asia International Open has been held in the city every year since 2007.

At the 2025 ICU World Championships Japan won four golds and six silvers, mostly in pom, jazz and hip hop, and placed eighth in Coed Premier and ninth in All Girl Premier.

#3 Canada

• 👥 Participants: Over 25,000 in 2023
• 🏫 Clubs: More than 400 clubs and schools recognised by Cheer Canada
• 🥇 2025 ICU Worlds: 8 medals, 3 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze
• 🥈 Coed Premier: Silver in 2025

Cheer Canada recognises more than 400 clubs and schools and counted over 25,000 participants in 2023. Canada was one of the three top medal winners at the 2025 ICU Worlds.

At the 2025 ICU World Championships in Orlando, Canada won three golds, four silvers and a bronze, and took silver in Coed Premier behind the United States.

#4 United Kingdom

• 🥇 2025 ICU Worlds: 8 medals: England 6, Scotland 1, Wales 1
• 🏆 Golds: 4: England 2, Scotland 1, Wales 1
• 🏟️ Hosting: Has hosted the IFC World Championships

The UK sends separate teams from England, Scotland and Wales to the ICU Worlds. England won two golds, two silvers and two bronzes in 2025, and Scotland and Wales each added a gold.

The country has also hosted the biennial IFC Cheerleading World Championships, which have been held in Japan, the UK, Finland, Germany and Hong Kong since 2001.

#5 Mexico

• 🥇 2025 ICU Worlds: 6 medals: 2 silver and 4 bronze
• 🥈 2026 Coed Premier: Silver behind the United States
• 🏅 Medals: Silver in junior hip hop and youth pom

Mexico has no gold at the 2025 ICU Worlds but won six medals, two silver and four bronze, including silver in junior hip hop and youth pom and bronze in jazz and pom.

In April 2026 the Mexican Coed Premier team finished second to the United States at the ICU World Championships, with Germany taking bronze.

#6 Australia

• 🥇 2025 ICU Worlds: 4 medals: 3 gold and 1 bronze
• 🏆 World Games 2025: Bronze in mixed pom doubles
• 📅 Golds: Youth coed median, junior all girl advanced and adaptive abilities hip hop

Australia won three golds and a bronze at the 2025 ICU World Championships, in youth coed median, junior all girl advanced and the adaptive abilities hip hop categories.

At the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, where cheerleading was one of the new disciplines, Shayla Myerscough and Emily Growdon took bronze in the mixed pom doubles behind the United States and Ecuador.

#7 Finland

• 🥇 2025 ICU Worlds: 3 medals: 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
• 🥈 All Girl Premier: Bronze in 2025, silver in 2026
• 🏟️ Hosting: Has hosted the IFC World Championships

Finland has become a reliable podium side in All Girl Premier, taking bronze at the 2025 ICU World Championships and silver at the 2026 event.

The country is also a former host of the IFC Cheerleading World Championships.

#8 Sweden

• 🥇 2025 ICU Worlds: 2 medals: 1 silver and 1 bronze
• 🥈 All Girl Premier: Silver in 2025, bronze in 2026
• 🥉 2026 Worlds: Bronze in All Girl Premier

Sweden took silver in All Girl Premier at the 2025 ICU World Championships, behind the United States.

A year later it returned to the podium in the same division with bronze.

#9 Germany

• 🥉 2026 Coed Premier: Bronze behind the United States and Mexico
• 🏟️ Hosting: Has hosted the IFC World Championships
• 📅 2025 Worlds: No medals

Germany won no medals at the 2025 ICU World Championships but finished third in Coed Premier at the 2026 edition, behind the United States and Mexico.

The country is a former host of the IFC Cheerleading World Championships, which have been held every two years since 2001.

Which Countries Are Best at Cheerleading?

The ICU World Cheerleading Championships are the main international benchmark. This table lists each nation’s medals at the 2025 edition in Orlando and its best recent Premier division result.

Other Countries Where Cheerleading Is Growing

These countries just missed the ranking but are on the rise.

More About Cheerleading

• History of Cheerleading
• Cheerleading lingo and slang
• Cheerleading equipment list

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