Powerlifting is most popular in the United States, the UK, Australia and Canada. All 11 countries ranked by 2025 world medals and federations.
Powerlifting is a strength sport built on three lifts: squat, bench press and deadlift. The modern sport began in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1950s, and the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) now has member federations from around 100 countries on six continents.
Below you will find the full ranking, a profile of every country, a table of the nations with the best results at the two big 2025 events, and answers to the questions people search for most often.
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Countries where powerlifting is most popular:
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Australia
- Canada
- Poland
- Germany
- France
- Italy
- Sweden
- Ukraine
- New Zealand
Powerlifting Popularity by Country at a Glance
| Rank | Country | 2025 medals (Worlds + World Games) | Best known for |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | United States | 17 | Home of the sport, 6 golds at the 2025 Worlds |
| #2 | United Kingdom | 8 | Joint founders of the sport, Kengamu World Games gold |
| #3 | Australia | 3 | Women’s medals at the Worlds, split federations |
| #4 | Canada | 5 | Brittany Schlater, super heavyweight champion |
| #5 | Poland | 2 | Agata Sitko, 69 kg world champion |
| #6 | Germany | 1 | Hosted the 2025 World Classic Championships |
| #7 | France | 7 | Tiffany Chapon, World Games gold |
| #8 | Italy | 6 | Sara Naldi, 57 kg world champion |
| #9 | Sweden | 7 | Alba Boström, Worlds and World Games gold |
| #10 | Ukraine | 10 | Top of the 2025 World Games medal table |
| #11 | New Zealand | 6 | Karlina Tongotea, Evie Corrigan |
How We Ranked the Countries
Powerlifting is run by many competing federations, and none of them publishes a membership figure we could verify, so we did not rank countries by an invented participation number. We weighed the historical role of each country in the sport, the strength of the IPF-affiliated federation, and results at the two biggest events of 2025: the IPF World Classic Open Championships in Chemnitz (8 to 15 June) and the World Games in Chengdu (14 to 17 August).
The comparison number in the table is each nation’s total medals at those two events. The World Classic Championships cover raw lifting only, while the World Games had both classic and equipped events. The Chemnitz tally is our own count from the published podium list for the open category.
#1 United States
- 🥇 2025 Worlds: 12 medals, 6 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze
- 🌍 2025 World Games: 5 medals, including Taylor LaChapelle’s equipped gold
- ⭐ Stars: Jesus Olivares, Heather Connor, Austin Perkins, Anthony McNaughton
- 📅 1964: First national championship, held under the York Barbell Company
Modern powerlifting grew out of the odd lifts of the 1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The first national competition was held in September 1964 under the York Barbell Company, and American lifters have dominated the IPF World Championships ever since.
The United States led the 2025 World Classic Championships in Chemnitz with 12 medals. Jesus Olivares won the +125 kg class with a total of 1,070 kg, and Heather Connor, Amanda Lawrence, Austin Perkins, Joseph Borenstein and Anthony McNaughton also took gold.
#2 United Kingdom
- 🥈 2025 Worlds: 6 medals: 3 silver and 3 bronze
- 🥇 2025 World Games: 2 medals, including Jurins Kengamu’s classic gold
- ⭐ Lifters: Jurins Kengamu, Ziana Azariah, Nonso Chinye
- 📅 Origins: Co-birthplace of modern powerlifting
The United Kingdom is one of the two countries where modern powerlifting began, and the sport spread from there into the IPF. British Powerlifting is the national affiliate of the IPF.
At the 2025 World Classic Championships British lifters won three silvers and three bronzes, and Jurins Kengamu won the men’s middleweight classic gold at the World Games in Chengdu.
#3 Australia
- 🥉 2025 Worlds: 2 bronze medals: Vicky Kijumnuayporn and Natalie Laalaai
- 🌍 2025 World Games: 1 bronze
- 📅 Federations: The sport is split between several bodies
Australian powerlifting is split between several federations, each with its own national championships.
At the 2025 World Classic Championships Vicky Kijumnuayporn (47 kg) and Natalie Laalaai (+84 kg) took bronze, and Australia added a bronze at the World Games in Chengdu.
#4 Canada
- 🥇 2025 Worlds: 2 medals: Brittany Schlater gold, Jessica Buettner bronze
- 🌍 2025 World Games: 3 medals, 2 gold
- ⭐ Stars: Brittany Schlater (737.5 kg total), Rhaea Stinn
- 🏅 2025 medals: 5 at Worlds and World Games combined
Brittany Schlater won the +84 kg class at the 2025 World Classic Championships with a 737.5 kg total, and Jessica Buettner took bronze at 84 kg.
At the World Games in Chengdu, Schlater won the women’s super heavyweight classic gold and Rhaea Stinn won the equipped super heavyweight gold, giving Canada two golds and a bronze.
#5 Poland
- 🥇 2025 Worlds: Agata Sitko won 69 kg with 612.5 kg
- 🌍 2025 World Games: Zuzanna Kula won the equipped women’s lightweight gold
- 🏅 2025 medals: 2 in total
Agata Sitko won the women’s 69 kg class at the 2025 World Classic Championships in Chemnitz with a 612.5 kg total.
Zuzanna Kula added the equipped lightweight gold for Poland at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu.
#6 Germany
- 🏟️ Worlds 2025: Chemnitz, June 2025
- 🥉 2025 Worlds: Joshua Wright took bronze at 74 kg
- 🏅 2025 medals: 1 in total
Germany hosted the 2025 IPF World Classic Open Championships in Chemnitz in June 2025.
The home team won one medal, a bronze for Joshua Wright in the men’s 74 kg class with a 737.5 kg total.
#7 France
- 🥈 2025 Worlds: 4 medals: 3 silver and 1 bronze
- 🌍 2025 World Games: 3 medals, including Tiffany Chapon’s classic gold
- ⭐ Lifters: Tiffany Chapon, Jade Jacob, Antoine Garcia, Laura Mautalen
France was the third most successful country at the 2025 World Classic Championships with four medals: silver for Tiffany Chapon, Jade Jacob and Antoine Garcia, and bronze for Laura Mautalen.
Chapon then won the women’s lightweight classic gold at the World Games in Chengdu, and France finished with three medals there.
#8 Italy
- 🥇 2025 Worlds: 3 medals: Sara Naldi gold, Chiara Bernardi and Carola Garra silver
- 🌍 2025 World Games: 3 medals: 2 silver and 1 bronze
- 🏅 2025 medals: 6 in total
Sara Naldi won the 57 kg class at the 2025 World Classic Championships with a 520 kg total, with Chiara Bernardi and Carola Garra taking silver at 63 kg and 69 kg.
Italy added two silvers and a bronze at the World Games in Chengdu.
#9 Sweden
- 🥇 2025 Worlds: 3 medals: Alba Boström gold, Gustav Hedlund silver, Emil Norling bronze
- 🌍 2025 World Games: 4 medals, including Boström’s classic gold
- 🏅 2025 medals: 7 in total
Alba Boström won the 63 kg class at the World Classic Championships with a 565 kg total, while Gustav Hedlund and Emil Norling took silver and bronze in the men’s 93 kg and 105 kg classes.
Boström also won the women’s middleweight classic gold at the World Games in Chengdu, and Sweden won four medals there in total.
#10 Ukraine
- 🌍 2025 World Games: 10 medals: 2 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze
- ⭐ Golds: Anatolii Novopysmennyi (classic) and Kostiantyn Musiienko (equipped)
- 🏅 2025 medals: 10 in total
Ukraine won more medals than any other nation at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, with ten: two golds, five silvers and three bronzes.
Anatolii Novopysmennyi won the men’s heavyweight classic gold and Kostiantyn Musiienko the men’s heavyweight equipped gold.
#11 New Zealand
- 🥇 2025 Worlds: 3 medals: golds for Evie Corrigan and Karlina Tongotea, silver for Megan-Li Smith
- 🌍 2025 World Games: 3 medals, including Tongotea’s classic gold
- 🏅 2025 medals: 6 in total
New Zealand won three medals at the 2025 World Classic Championships: golds for Evie Corrigan (52 kg, 480 kg total) and Karlina Tongotea (76 kg, 612.5 kg), and silver for Megan-Li Smith.
Tongotea followed up with the women’s heavyweight classic gold at the World Games in Chengdu, and New Zealand won three medals there.
Which Countries Are Best at Powerlifting?
Powerlifting is not in the Olympics, so the best benchmarks are the IPF World Championships and the World Games. This table lists each nation’s medals at the two big 2025 events.
| Country | 2025 Worlds medals | 2025 World Games medals | Standout |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 12 (6 gold) | 5 (1 gold) | Jesus Olivares, 1,070 kg total |
| Ukraine | 0 | 10 (2 gold) | Most World Games medals |
| United Kingdom | 6 (0 gold) | 2 (1 gold) | Jurins Kengamu, World Games gold |
| France | 4 (0 gold) | 3 (1 gold) | Tiffany Chapon, World Games gold |
| Sweden | 3 (1 gold) | 4 (1 gold) | Alba Boström, Worlds and World Games gold |
| New Zealand | 3 (2 gold) | 3 (1 gold) | Karlina Tongotea, Evie Corrigan |
| Italy | 3 (1 gold) | 3 (0 gold) | Sara Naldi, 57 kg champion |
| Canada | 2 (1 gold) | 3 (2 gold) | Brittany Schlater, Rhaea Stinn |
| Australia | 2 (0 gold) | 1 (0 gold) | Two Worlds bronze medals |
| Poland | 1 (1 gold) | 1 (1 gold) | Agata Sitko, Zuzanna Kula |
Other Countries Where Powerlifting Is Growing
These countries just missed the ranking but are growing in powerlifting.
| Country | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Norway | Kjell Egil Bakkelund won the 66 kg class at the 2025 World Classic Championships, and Marte Elverum took equipped gold at the World Games. |
| Chinese Taipei | Won three World Games medals in Chengdu, two of them gold, in the equipped men’s events. |
| Bulgaria | Emil Krastev won the men’s 93 kg class at the 2025 World Classic Championships. |
| Lebanon | Etienne El Chaer won the men’s 125 kg class at the 2025 World Classic Championships. |
More About Powerlifting
FAQ
Which country is powerlifting most popular in?
Powerlifting is most popular in the United States, where it began, and in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and across Europe. The IPF has member federations from around 100 countries.
Where did powerlifting start?
Modern powerlifting began in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1950s and grew out of the odd lifts. The first national competition was held in September 1964 under the York Barbell Company.
Which country is best at powerlifting?
The United States. It won 12 medals at the 2025 IPF World Classic Championships in Chemnitz, six of them gold, ahead of Great Britain with six and France with four.
Is powerlifting an Olympic sport?
No. Powerlifting is not an Olympic sport, although para powerlifting has been a Paralympic sport since 1984. It has been part of the World Games since 1981 for equipped lifting and since 2025 for classic (raw) lifting.
Why is Russia missing from the world championships?
On 1 March 2022 the IPF announced that Russia and Belarus were temporarily banned from competition after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
How many countries are in the International Powerlifting Federation?
The IPF has member federations from around 100 countries on six continents.
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