Ranked: Countries With the Most Nobel Prizes (2026)

Which Countries Have Won the Most Nobel Prizes?

From groundbreaking scientific discoveries to achievements in literature and peace, the Nobel Prizes have recognized some of history’s most influential figures since 1901.

More than a century later, the ranking reveals which countries have accumulated the most awards, highlighting the global reach of the Nobel Prizes and the achievements behind them.

The data comes from Wikipedia and Nobel Prize records, as of October 2026. Some laureates are associated with more than one country, so national totals can overlap.

The United States Leads by a Wide Margin

The United States has nearly three times as many Nobel Prizes as the UK, which ranks second. Beyond the four leading countries, the ranking becomes considerably tighter, with Sweden and Japan sharing fifth place at 34 each.

Country	Nobel Prizes Won
U.S.	432
UK	145
Germany	118
France	80
Sweden	34
Japan	34
Russia	30
Canada	30
Switzerland	27
Austria	25
Netherlands	22
Italy	21
Poland	19
Hungary	16
Australia	15
Israel	14
Denmark	14
Norway	14
India	12
Belgium	12
South Africa	12
Ireland	11
China	8
Spain	8
Belarus	6
Czechia	6
Ukraine	6
Egypt	6
Argentina	5
Finland	5
Romania	4
Taiwan	4
Lithuania	3
Mexico	3
New Zealand	3
South Korea	3
Tunisia	3
Turkey	3
Algeria	2
Azerbaijan	2
Chile	2
Colombia	2
Cyprus	2
Greece	2
Guatemala	2
Iran	2
Liberia	2
Luxembourg	2
Pakistan	2
Portugal	2
Saint Lucia	2
Timor-Leste	2
Venezuela	2
Bangladesh	1
Brazil	1
Bulgaria	1
Costa Rica	1
Democratic Republic of the Congo	1
Ethiopia	1
Faroe Islands	1
Ghana	1
Hong Kong	1
Iceland	1
Iraq	1
Jordan	1
Kenya	1
Latvia	1
Lebanon	1
Morocco	1
Myanmar	1
Nigeria	1
North Macedonia	1
Palestine	1
Peru	1
Philippines	1
Saudi Arabia	1
Tanzania	1
Tibet	1
Trinidad and Tobago	1
Vietnam	1
Yemen	1
Yugoslavia	1
Zimbabwe	1

American Nobel laureates span a wide range of disciplines and historical periods. President Theodore Roosevelt received the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize for helping negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese War, while Martin Luther King Jr. was honored in 1964 for his nonviolent struggle against racial discrimination.

In literature, Ernest Hemingway won in 1954 for his influential storytelling, including The Old Man and the Sea. More recently, Barack Obama received the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to strengthen international diplomacy, while Bob Dylan won the 2016 Literature Prize for his contributions to American songwriting.

Famous Nobel Winners Across the Decades

Polish-born Marie Curie, who built her scientific career in France, shared the 1903 Physics Prize for research on radioactivity and won the 1911 Chemistry Prize for her work on radium and polonium.

Albert Einstein received the 1921 Physics Prize for his contributions to theoretical physics, especially his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect, rather than his theory of relativity.

Scotland’s Alexander Fleming shared the 1945 Medicine Prize with Ernst Boris Chain and Howard Florey for the discovery of penicillin and its effectiveness against infectious diseases.

In South Africa, Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk shared the 1993 Peace Prize for helping bring about a peaceful end to apartheid and laying the foundations for democratic government.

Notable Nobel Winners From Smaller Countries

Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai made history in 2004 when she became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She was recognized for her contributions to sustainable development, democracy, and peace.

Her Green Belt Movement mobilized women to plant trees, helping plant more than 30 million while connecting environmental protection with women’s rights and stronger communities.

Iceland’s Halldór Laxness received the 1955 Nobel Prize in Literature. He took his surname from Laxnes, the rural area where he grew up. His novels explored the lives of ordinary Icelanders and helped bring international recognition to Icelandic literature.

What the 2026 Nobel Winners Achieved

Francis Halzen won the 2026 Physics Prize for his contributions to IceCube and the discovery of high-energy cosmic neutrinos. Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai shared the Chemistry Prize for discoveries explaining how chemical reactions can favor one mirror-image molecular form over another.

Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel shared the Medicine Prize for discoveries behind optogenetics, a technique that uses light to control nerve-cell activity.

Canada’s Anne Carson won the Literature Prize for her inventive writing inspired by classical traditions, while South Africa’s Navi Pillay received the Peace Prize for her work advancing peace and international law.

Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford shared the Prize in Economic Sciences for developing models that connect individual economic behavior with policies designed to smooth economic booms and downturns.

How the Nobel Prizes Began

The Nobel Prizes trace their origins to Swedish inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel, who died in 1896. In his will, Nobel directed that most of his fortune be used to recognize individuals whose work had brought the greatest benefit to humanity.

The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901 across five categories: physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace.

The Prize in Economic Sciences was first awarded in 1969. Unlike the original five prizes, it was established by Sweden’s central bank, Sveriges Riksbank, to mark its 300th anniversary.

Because laureates can have connections to multiple countries, national rankings may differ depending on whether they use birthplace, citizenship, or institutional affiliation to attribute awards.

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