There is a significant relationship between a nation’s GDP and the number of gold medals they win at the Olympics.
The top 10 countries with the most medals all have GDPs of more than 1 billion dollars, while the 10 countries with the fewest medals have GDPs well below 1 billion. The average GDP for gold medal winning countries is $1,062,860,000.
China has seen phenomenal economic growth over the last couple of decades, which has corresponded with China’s emergence as a global force in international sports.