12 Countries Where Rowing Is Most Popular (Ranked)

Rowing is most popular in the United Kingdom, United States, Germany and Australia. All 12 countries ranked by Olympic medals, members and venues.

Rowing has two great strongholds: the English-speaking world, where the sport grew out of Thames races in the 1700s, and Germany, the Netherlands and Eastern Europe, where state-backed programmes built dominant crews. The United States and Great Britain are level on 34 Olympic gold medals each, and the United States leads the all-time medal table with 91 medals.

Below you will find the full ranking, a table with the key numbers, a profile of every country and a separate list of the nations that win the most Olympic gold medals.

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Countries where rowing is most popular:

1. United Kingdom
2. United States
3. Germany
4. Australia
5. New Zealand
6. Netherlands
7. Italy
8. Romania
9. Canada
10. France
11. Poland
12. Russia

Rowing Popularity by Country at a Glance

Rank	Country	Olympic rowing medals	Best known for
#1	United Kingdom	78	Henley, the Boat Race, Redgrave and Pinsent
#2	United States	91	Most Olympic medals, college rowing
#3	Germany	55	Deutschland-Achter, East German golds
#4	Australia	45	The Oarsome Foursome, school rowing
#5	New Zealand	33	Hamish Bond, Maadi Cup
#6	Netherlands	44	Bosbaan, 2024 and 2026 table toppers
#7	Italy	43	The Abbagnale brothers
#8	Romania	46	Women’s eights, Lipă and Damian
#9	Canada	44	Eights and McBean and Heddle
#10	France	36	Olympic host of rowing in 2024
#11	Poland	20	Quadruple sculls and Lake Malta
#12	Russia	3	Soviet rowing history

How We Ranked the Countries

We weighed four things: how many people row (membership figures published by the national federations), how deep the club and school culture is, which famous regattas and venues a country owns, and how strong its crews are at the Olympics and World Championships. Olympic medals decide the order of the table because they are the one measure that is comparable for every country.

Medal counts are the all-time Olympic rowing totals through Paris 2024. Germany is shown as its own line, while East Germany, West Germany and the United Team of Germany are listed separately in the success table, as they are in the official medal tables. Membership figures come from different years and are never directly comparable, so we quote them with their dates.

#1 United Kingdom

• 🏅 Olympic medals: 78 (34 gold, 27 silver, 17 bronze)
• 🚣 Members: 31,747 unique members in March 2024 (British Rowing)
• ⭐ Stars: Steve Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent, Helen Glover, Katherine Grainger
• 📅 Big events: Henley Royal Regatta, the Boat Race, Doggett’s Coat and Badge

Organised racing began on the River Thames. Doggett’s Coat and Badge, first held in 1715 over 4 miles 5 furlongs from London Bridge to Chelsea, is generally described as the oldest continuous rowing race in the world. Henley Royal Regatta followed in 1839, and the first men’s Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge took place in 1829 and has been annual since 1856. British Rowing counted 31,747 unique members at the end of March 2024.

Great Britain has won 78 Olympic rowing medals. Steve Redgrave won gold at five consecutive Games from 1984 to 2000, and Matthew Pinsent won four Olympic golds and ten world titles. Helen Glover won the first British women’s rowing gold in 2012 at Eton Dorney, and at Paris 2024 Britain won three golds (men’s eight, women’s quadruple sculls, women’s lightweight double sculls) and eight medals in all.

#2 United States

• 🏅 Olympic medals: 91 (34 gold, 32 silver, 25 bronze), the most of any nation
• 🚣 Members: 78,500 individual members (USRowing)
• 🎓 College rowing: 146 NCAA women’s programmes and 6,707 athletes in 2022-23
• 📅 Big events: Harvard-Yale Regatta, since 1852

The United States built its rowing culture in universities. The Harvard-Yale Regatta has been held since 1852 and is America’s oldest collegiate athletic competition, and NCAA women’s rowing counted 146 schools and 6,707 athletes in 2022-23. USRowing lists 78,500 individual members and 1,400 member organisations. Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota hosted the 2017 World Championships.

No country has more Olympic rowing medals. The American men’s eight won eight consecutive Olympic titles from 1920 to 1956 and won again in 1964 and 2004, and the women’s eight won in 2008, 2012 and 2016. At Paris 2024 the men’s coxless four of Mead, Best, Grady and Corrigan won gold, and the men’s eight took bronze.

#3 Germany

• 🏅 Olympic medals: 55 (24 gold, 16 silver, 15 bronze) for Germany
• 🚣 Members: 78,120 memberships in 478 clubs and departments (IAT factsheet, 2025)
• 🏆 Also counted separately: East Germany 48 medals, West Germany 14
• ⭐ Stars: Oliver Zeidler, the men’s eight “Deutschland-Achter”

Germany has one of the most organised rowing systems in the world, with the German Rowing Association reporting 78,120 memberships in 478 clubs and departments. The men’s eight, known as the Deutschland-Achter, won Olympic gold in 1960 (as the United Team of Germany), 1968 and 1988 (as West Germany) and 2012, and took silver in 2016 and 2020.

East Germany, which competed separately from 1968, won 48 Olympic rowing medals, 33 of them gold, and is listed on its own in the medal table. Oliver Zeidler won the men’s single sculls at Paris 2024 and was world champion in 2019, 2022 and 2023. At the 2026 World Championships in Amsterdam Germany won three golds, including Zeidler’s single sculls, and World Rowing put it level with Great Britain at 86 all-time World Championship golds.

#4 Australia

• 🏅 Olympic medals: 45 (13 gold, 15 silver, 17 bronze)
• 🚣 Participation: more than 60,000 participants and 25,000 active members (Rowing Australia)
• 🏫 Clubs and schools: 156 clubs and 185 schools
• 📅 Big venue: Sydney International Regatta Centre, Penrith

Rowing is a school sport in Australia, and Rowing Australia reports more than 60,000 participants, with about 25,000 active members across 156 clubs and 185 schools. The Sydney International Regatta Centre at Penrith was built for the 2000 Olympics and remains the country’s main venue.

Australia has won 45 Olympic rowing medals, 13 of them gold. The Oarsome Foursome won the men’s coxless four at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, and at Tokyo 2020 Australia won both the men’s four and the women’s four. At Paris 2024 the women’s pair took bronze.

#5 New Zealand

• 🏅 Olympic medals: 33 (15 gold, 7 silver, 11 bronze)
• 🏫 School rowing: 2,087 rowers from 113 schools at the 2023 Maadi Cup
• ⭐ Stars: Hamish Bond, Mahé Drysdale, Emma Twigg
• 📅 Big venue: Lake Karapiro, host of the 2010 World Championships

New Zealand wins far more rowing medals than its population would suggest. The Maadi Cup, the national secondary schools regatta, drew 2,087 rowers from 113 schools in 2023 and is described as the largest school sports event in the Southern Hemisphere. Lake Karapiro hosted the 2010 World Championships and is the base of the high performance programme.

Hamish Bond is a three-time Olympic champion (2012, 2016, 2020) who went unbeaten in the pair for years with Eric Murray. Mahé Drysdale won two Olympic golds in the single sculls, and Emma Twigg won gold at Tokyo 2020 and silver at Paris 2024. At Paris, Brooke Francis and Lucy Spoors won the women’s double sculls.

#6 Netherlands

• 🏅 Olympic medals: 44 (12 gold, 17 silver, 15 bronze)
• 🚣 Rowers: about 43,000 (KNRB safety report 2024)
• 🏆 Paris 2024: 4 golds, the most of any nation
• 📅 Big venue: Bosbaan in Amsterdam, built in 1936

The Bosbaan in Amsterdam, built in 1936 and now 2,200 metres long with eight lanes, is one of the oldest purpose-built rowing courses in the world. It hosted the 1954 European Championships, the first with women’s events. The Dutch federation KNRB reports about 43,000 rowers and aims for 55,000 by 2030.

The Netherlands has become the leading nation of recent years. At Paris 2024 it won four golds (men’s quadruple sculls, women’s single sculls, pair and four) and eight medals, and it topped the medal tables at the 2025 World Championships in Shanghai and the 2026 World Championships in Amsterdam, where its men’s eight won in a world best time of 5:17.75.

#7 Italy

• 🏅 Olympic medals: 43 (11 gold, 16 silver, 16 bronze)
• ⭐ Stars: Carmine, Giuseppe and Agostino Abbagnale
• 🏆 Golds: coxed pair in 1984 and 1988, men’s quadruple sculls in 1988 and 2000
• 📅 Paris 2024: 2 silver medals

Italy’s rowing tradition is built on its lakes and rivers, and the country has won 43 Olympic rowing medals. Carmine and Giuseppe Abbagnale won the coxed pair at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, steered by Giuseppe Di Capua, and their younger brother Agostino became a three-time Olympic champion.

Italy won the men’s quadruple sculls in 1988 and 2000, with Agostino Abbagnale in both crews. At Paris 2024 Italy took two silver medals, in the men’s quadruple sculls and the men’s lightweight double sculls.

#8 Romania

• 🏅 Olympic medals: 46 (22 gold, 15 silver, 9 bronze)
• ⭐ Stars: Elisabeta Lipă (5 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze), Georgeta Damian (5 gold)
• 🏆 Women’s eight: Olympic gold in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2024
• 📅 Paris 2024: 2 golds and 3 silvers

Romania has won 22 Olympic rowing golds, most of them in women’s boats. Elisabeta Lipă is the most decorated Olympic rower in history with five golds, two silvers and a bronze, and she has led the Romanian Rowing Federation as president since 2009. Georgeta Damian also won five golds.

The women’s eight won Olympic gold in 1996, 2000, 2004 and again at Paris 2024. Romania also won the men’s double sculls at Paris, finishing with two golds and three silvers, and it topped the medal table at the 2026 European Championships in Varese.

#9 Canada

• 🏅 Olympic medals: 44 (10 gold, 18 silver, 16 bronze)
• 🚣 Members: about 15,000 registered members (Rowing Canada)
• 🏆 Eights: men’s gold in 1984, 1992 and 2008, women’s gold in 1992 and 2020
• ⭐ Stars: Marnie McBean, Kathleen Heddle

Rowing Canada Aviron says it represents about 15,000 registered members, from novices and juniors to university and masters rowers. In 2024 its clubs introduced 4,145 first-time rowers to the sport through 39 clubs.

Canada has won 44 Olympic rowing medals. Marnie McBean and Kathleen Heddle won three Olympic golds each. The men’s eight won in 1984, 1992 and 2008, the women’s eight won in 1992 and 2020, and the women’s eight took silver at Paris 2024.

#10 France

• 🏅 Olympic medals: 36 (8 gold, 15 silver, 13 bronze)
• 🏆 Golds: coxed four in 1900, coxed pair in 1952, lightweight four in 2000
• 📅 Big venues: Vaires-sur-Marne (Paris 2024), Aiguebelette (2015 Worlds)

France was part of rowing’s first Olympic programme in 1900 and has won 36 Olympic rowing medals since, eight of them gold. Its golds came in the coxed four in 1900, the coxed pair in 1952 and the lightweight four in 2000.

The Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium east of Paris hosted the rowing at the 2024 Olympics, although France won no rowing medal there. The Lac d’Aiguebelette in the Alps hosted the 2015 World Championships.

#11 Poland

• 🏅 Olympic medals: 20 (4 gold, 4 silver, 12 bronze)
• 🏆 Gold: men’s quadruple sculls in 2008
• 📅 Paris 2024: bronze in the men’s quadruple sculls
• 📍 Big venue: Lake Malta, Poznań, host of the 2009 World Championships

Poland has won 20 Olympic rowing medals, with the strongest record in the sculling boats. The men’s quadruple sculls won gold at Beijing 2008, and in Paris in 2024 Fabian Barański, Mateusz Biskup, Dominik Czaja and Mirosław Ziętarski took bronze in the same event.

Lake Malta in Poznań is the country’s main international course. It hosted the World Rowing Championships in 2009 and remains a regular stop for the sport’s top events.

#12 Russia

• 🏅 Olympic medals: 3 as Russia (1 gold, 2 bronze), plus 42 for the USSR
• 🏆 Gold: men’s quadruple sculls in 2004
• ⭐ Star: Vyacheslav Ivanov, single sculls champion 1956, 1960 and 1964
• 🚫 Status: athletes neutral since 2022, no national flag or anthem

Russian rowing is best known through the Soviet Union, which won 42 Olympic rowing medals (12 gold). Vyacheslav Ivanov won the single sculls at three consecutive Games from 1956 to 1964. As Russia, the country has won one gold, the men’s quadruple sculls in 2004, and two bronze medals.

Since 2022 the picture has changed. Russian and Belarusian athletes competed as the ROC at Tokyo 2020 and as neutral athletes at Paris 2024, where one won silver. World Rowing extended neutral participation for Russian and Belarusian passport holders to all events on 18 February 2026, which means no flags or anthems and no representation of their countries. We therefore describe Russia historically.

Which Countries Are Best at Rowing?

This table counts all-time Olympic rowing medals through Paris 2024, using the official medal table, plus the golds each nation won in Paris. East Germany, the Soviet Union and Germany are listed as separate entries because the official table does so.

Country	Olympic gold	Olympic medals total	Golds at Paris 2024
United States	34	91	1
Great Britain	34	78	3
East Germany	33	48	n/a (no longer exists)
Germany	24	55	1
Romania	22	46	2
New Zealand	15	33	1
Australia	13	45	0
Soviet Union	12	42	n/a (no longer exists)
Netherlands	12	44	4
Italy	11	43	0
Canada	10	44	0
France	8	36	0

Other Countries Where Rowing Is Growing

These countries just missed the ranking but have a strong rowing record.

Country	Why it matters
Denmark	Has won 25 Olympic rowing medals (7 gold, 5 silver, 13 bronze), a very high total for a small country.
Switzerland	Has won 25 Olympic rowing medals, 7 of them gold.
Ireland	Won the lightweight double sculls at Paris 2024 through Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan, and a bronze in the men’s double sculls.
Croatia	The Sinković brothers won the men’s pair at Paris 2024, Croatia’s only rowing gold there.

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