Correlation between Olympic medals and population

Medal standings determine which of the participating countries in the Olympics are the best. However, it is not right to say that a nation is strong in sports just because it is ahead in the medal race with a few elite events. The statistical bureau of Australia is announcing a different kind of medal race everyday through its homepage (www.abs.gov.au). This is the number of medals in respect to population.

It displays a comparative index derived by dividing each country's number of medals by its population. According to the index, Australia defended its pride by coming first, winning a medal for every 858,000 people. Slovakia ranked second with a medal for every 1,077,000 people, and Estonia third. Korea ranked sixth by winning 10 medals (2 gold, silver 4, bronze 4) in terms of the number of medals won. However, according to the index, it ranked 18th with a medal for every 4,684,000 people. The US ranked 33rd with a medal for every 12,102,000 people. China, which tops Asia, came 44th with a medal for every 73,850,000 people.

Korea won 8 medals from the beginning of the games to Wednesday. In terms of the number of medals, Korea ranks 6th and ties Romania. The US ranks first with 18 medals, while the host country, Australia, gained 17.

However, in terms of the number of gold medals won, Australia ranks second with 7 medals, after the US with 10.