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| Daily Beast Score: 8.55 Medal Results, 1992-2008 Gold: 63 Silver: 74 Bronze: 84 Total: 221 Country profile, 1992-2008 averages Population: 19,926,031 GDP/Capita: $32,527 Life Expectancy: 79 (Photos: Cameron Spencer / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| To find the world’s winningest Olympics countries, The Daily Beast didn’t want to use a straight medal count. After all, the games have become known for their tales of triumphant athletes overcoming adversity to stand on that famous podium. So we wanted to know: which countries have defied the odds? We started by looking at the summer Olympic games played since 1992, to avoid the data complications associated with the preceding two major national upheavals: the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the breakup of the Soviet Union. This allowed us to work with data for the world as it currently exists, for the most part. We considered the number of medals over these five Olympic Games for each country—while accounting for total population; GDP per capita (with a base dollar year of 2005); life expectancy, with data from the United Nations, the USDA Economic Research Service, and the CIA World Fact Book. Because gold is worth more than bronze and represents the pinnacle of Olympic sporting achievement, we weighted gold medals at five times bronze, and silver medals at three times bronze. Finally, we put our top-25 on a 10-point scale. Like in a perfect gymnastic routine, the country closest to 10.00 ended up on the top of the podium. Click through to see the winners. (Photos: Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Daily Beast Score: 7.56 Medal Results, 1992-2008 Gold: 2 Silver: 4 Bronze: 1 Total: 7 Country profile, 1992-2008 averages Population: 12,599,367 GDP/Capita: $31 Life Expectancy: 45 (Photos: Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Daily Beast Score: 7.62 Medal Results, 1992-2008 Gold: 11 Silver: 20 Bronze: 13 Total: 44 Country profile, 1992-2008 averages Population: 31,649,866 GDP/Capita: $521 Life Expectancy: 55 (Photos: Phil Walter / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Daily Beast Score: 7.82 Medal Results, 1992-2008 Gold: 9 Silver: 16 Bronze: 14 Total: 39 Country profile, 1992-2008 averages Population: 15,523,063 GDP/Capita: $3,042 Life Expectancy: 64 (Photos: Al Bello / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Daily Beast Score: 8.00 Medal Results, 1992-2008 Gold: 189 Silver: 167 Bronze: 156 Total: 512 Country profile, 1992-2008 averages Population: 291,175,223 GDP/Capita: $37,079 Life Expectancy: 77 (Photos: Al Bello, Octagon / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Daily Beast Score: 8.08 Medal Results, 1992-2008 Gold: 9 Silver: 14 Bronze: 10 Total: 33 Country profile, 1992-2008 averages Population: 2,616,549 GDP/Capita: $4,021 Life Expectancy: 71 (Photos: Julian Finney / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Daily Beast Score: 8.15 Medal Results, 1992-2008 Gold: 28 Silver: 22 Bronze: 46 Total: 96 Country profile, 1992-2008 averages Population: 49,522,445 GDP/Capita: $1,550 Life Expectancy: 67 (Photos: Andrian Dennis, AFP / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Daily Beast Score: 8.17 Medal Results, 1992-2008 Gold: 49 Silver: 52 Bronze: 44 Total: 145 Country profile, 1992-2008 averages Population: 46,381,608 GDP/Capita: $14,838 Life Expectancy: 76 (Photos: Omar Torres, AFP / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Daily Beast Score: 8.23 Medal Results, 1992-2008 Gold: 95 Silver: 82 Bronze: 116 Total: 293 Country profile, 1992-2008 averages Population: 85,357,469 GDP/Capita: $30,907 Life Expectancy: 78 (Photos: Aamir Qureshi, AFP / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Daily Beast Score: 8.55 Medal Results, 1992-2008 Gold: 63 Silver: 74 Bronze: 84 Total: 221 Country profile, 1992-2008 averages Population: 19,926,031 GDP/Capita: $32,527 Life Expectancy: 79 (Photos: Cameron Spencer / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Daily Beast Score: 8.59 Medal Results, 1992-2008 Gold: 31 Silver: 25 Bronze: 34 Total: 90 Country profile, 1992-2008 averages Population: 22,753,093 GDP/Capita: $3,951 Life Expectancy: 71 (Photos: Fred Dufour, AFP / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Daily Beast Score: 8.64 Medal Results, 1992-2008 Gold: 10 Silver: 29 Bronze: 36 Total: 66 Country profile, 1992-2008 averages Population: 10,202,890 GDP/Capita: $3,207 Life Expectancy: 69 (Photos: Getty Images / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Daily Beast Score: 8.67 Medal Results, 1992-2008 Gold: 14 Silver: 22 Bronze: 25 Total: 61 Country profile, 1992-2008 averages Population: 8,289,701 GDP/Capita: $3,048 Life Expectancy: 72 (Photos: Saeed Khan, AFP / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Daily Beast Score: 8.83 Medal Results, 1992-2008 Gold: 153 Silver: 135 Bronze: 139 Total: 427 Country profile, 1992-2008 averages Population: 149,666,339 GDP/Capita: $4,579 Life Expectancy: 66 (Photos: Jamie Squire / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Daily Beast Score: 8.91 Medal Results, 1992-2008 Gold: 37 Silver: 33 Bronze: 25 Total: 95 Country profile, 1992-2008 averages Population: 10,520,792 GDP/Capita: $8,606 Life Expectancy: 71 (Photos: Fred Dufour, AFP / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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| Daily Beast Score: 9.47 Medal Results, 1992-2008 Gold: 45 Silver: 43 Bronze: 48 Total: 136 Country profile, 1992-2008 averages Population: 11,314,572 GDP/Capita: $3,532 Life Expectancy: 76 (Photos: Paul Kitagaki Jr., Sacramento Bee/ MCT / Getty Images) See the Full Story at The Daily Beast |
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