This article presents the national team appearances in the men's Olympic water polo tournament since the inaugural official edition in 1900.

As of the 2020 Summer Olympics, 52 men's national water polo teams from six continents have competed at the Olympic Games. European teams have won all 27 official tournaments. The inaugural winners in 1900 were Great Britain; the current champions are Serbia. The most successful team is currently Hungary men's team, who has won the Olympic title on nine occasions.

Abbreviations Apps Appearances Rk Rank Ref Reference p. page pp. pages

Team statistics Comprehensive team results by tournament

Debut of teams Last updated: 12 February 2024.

Legend Team* – Host team Team† – Defunct team

# Year Debuting teams Number Cumulative total Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania 1 1900 – – – , , , – 4 4 2 1904 Water polo was an unofficial sport 3 1908 – – – , – 2 6 4 1912 – – – , – 2 8 5 1920 – , – , , , , – 7 15 6 1924 – – – – 1 16 7 1928 – – , – 3 19 8 1932 – – – – 1 20 9 1936 – – , – 3 23 10 1948 – 4 27 11 1952 – , , – 5 32 12 1956 – – – 2 34 13 1960 – – – – – 0 34 14 1964 – – – – – 0 34 # Year Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania Number Cumulative total 15 1968 – – , – 3 37 16 1972 – – – 2 39 17 1976 – – – – 1 40 18 1980 – – – – – 0 40 19 1984 – – – – 1 41 20 1988 – – – – 1 42 21 1992 – – – – 1 43 22 1996 – – – , , , – 4 47 23 2000 – – – 2 49 24 2004 – – – – 1 50 25 2008 – – – , – 2 52 26 2012 – – – – – 0 52 27 2016 – – – – – 0 52 28 2020 – – – – – 0 52 29 2024 – – – – – 0 52 Total 2 8 7 34 1 52 52

Number of appearances by team

Results of host teams Last updated: 11 August 2024.

Legend and abbreviation Year* – As host team Team† – Defunct team Finish‡ – It is the best performance of the team Apps – Appearances

# Year Host team Finish Best finish Apps Confederation 1 1900 3rd of 7 teams Champions (1924*) 11 Europe – LEN 2 1904 Water polo was an unofficial sport 3 1908 1st‡ of 4 teams Champions (1900, 1908*, 1912, 1920) 11 Europe – LEN 4 1912 2nd‡ of 6 teams Runners-up (1912*) 8 Europe – LEN 5 1920 2nd‡ of 12 teams Runners-up (1900, 1908, 1920*, 1924) 11 Europe – LEN 6 1924 1st‡ of 13 teams Champions (1924*) 11 Europe – LEN 7 1928 5th of 14 teams Third place (1948, 1976) 17 Europe – LEN 8 1932 3rd of 5 teams Runners-up (1984*, 1988, 2008) 22 Americas – UANA 9 1936 2nd of 16 teams Champions (1928) 9 Europe – LEN 10 1948 13th of 18 teams Champions (1900, 1908*, 1912, 1920) 11 Europe – LEN 11 1952 did not participate — 0 Europe – LEN 12 1956 9th of 10 teams Fifth place (1984, 1992) 17 Oceania – OSA 13 1960 1st‡ of 16 teams Champions (1948, 1960*, 1992) 21 Europe – LEN 14 1964 11th of 13 teams Fourth place (1932) 9 Asia – AASF # Year Host team Finish Best finish Apps Confederation 15 1968 11th of 15 teams Tenth place (1976) 4 Americas – UANA 16 1972 † 4th of 16 teams Third place (1984) 5 Europe – LEN 17 1976 9th‡ of 12 teams Ninth place (1976*) 4 Americas – UANA 18 1980 † 1st‡ of 12 teams Champions (1972, 1980*) 9 Europe – LEN 19 1984 2nd‡ of 12 teams Runners-up (1984*, 1988, 2008) 22 Americas – UANA 20 1988 12th‡ of 12 teams Twelfth place (1988*) 1 Asia – AASF 21 1992 2nd of 12 teams Champions (1996) 18 Europe – LEN 22 1996 7th of 12 teams Runners-up (1984*, 1988, 2008) 22 Americas – UANA 23 2000 8th of 12 teams Fifth place (1984, 1992) 17 Oceania – OSA 24 2004 4th of 12 teams Runners-up (2020) 16 Europe – LEN 25 2008 12th of 12 teams Ninth place (1984) 3 Asia – AASF 26 2012 12th of 12 teams Champions (1900, 1908*, 1912, 1920) 11 Europe – LEN 27 2016 8th of 12 teams Sixth place (1920) 8 Americas – UANA 28 2020 10th of 12 teams Fourth place (1932) 9 Asia – AASF 29 2024 10th of 12 teams Champions (1924*) 12 Europe – LEN # Year Host team Finish Best finish Apps Confederation

Results of defending champions and runners-up Last updated: 11 August 2024.

Legend Team* – Host team Team† – Defunct team

# Year Defending champions Finish Defending runners-up Finish 1 1900 2 1904 Water polo was an unofficial sport 3 1908 4 1912 1st of 6 teams 3rd of 6 teams 5 1920 1st of 12 teams 3rd of 12 teams 6 1924 8th of 13 teams 2nd of 13 teams 7 1928 3rd of 14 teams 6th of 14 teams 8 1932 2nd of 5 teams 1st of 5 teams 9 1936 1st of 16 teams * 2nd of 16 teams 10 1948 2nd of 18 teams did not participate 11 1952 3rd of 21 teams 1st of 21 teams 12 1956 1st of 10 teams † 2nd of 10 teams 13 1960 3rd of 16 teams † 4th of 16 teams 14 1964 4th of 13 teams † 3rd of 13 teams # Year Defending champions Finish Defending runners-up Finish 15 1968 3rd of 15 teams † 1st of 15 teams 16 1972 † 5th of 16 teams † 1st of 16 teams 17 1976 † 8th of 12 teams 1st of 12 teams 18 1980 3rd of 12 teams 8th of 12 teams 19 1984 † Qualified but withdrew † 1st of 12 teams 20 1988 † 1st of 12 teams 2nd of 12 teams 21 1992 † Defunct 4th of 12 teams 22 1996 3rd of 12 teams 1st of 12 teams 23 2000 4th of 12 teams 7th of 12 teams 24 2004 1st of 12 teams 3rd of 12 teams 25 2008 1st of 12 teams † Defunct 26 2012 5th of 12 teams 8th of 12 teams 27 2016 2nd of 12 teams 3rd of 12 teams 28 2020 1st of 12 teams 5th of 12 teams 29 2024 1st of 12 teams 5th of 12 teams 30 2028 TBD of 12 teams TBD # Year Defending champions Finish Defending runners-up Finish

Best finishes by team

Finishes in the top four

Medal table

Longest active appearance droughts The following table is pre-sorted by number of Olympic tournaments missed (in descending order), year of the last appearance (in ascending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 8 August 2021.

Notes: Does not include teams that have not yet made their first appearance at the Olympics or teams that no longer exist. With the exception of 1916, 1940 and 1944, does not include droughts when the Olympic tournament was not held due to World War I and II.

Legend Year* – As host team

+ Longest active appearance droughts Rk Men's team Last appearance Olympics missed Best finish Confederation 1 1928 21 Ninth place Europe – LEN 1928 21 Eleventh place Europe – LEN 3 1936 19 Fifteenth place Europe – LEN 1936 19 Eighth place Europe – LEN 5 1948 18 Seventeenth place Americas – UANA 1948 18 Eleventh place Europe – LEN 1948 18 Thirteenth place Americas – UANA 8 1952 17 Fourth place Europe – LEN 1952 17 Twelfth place Asia – AASF 1952 17 Twentieth place Europe – LEN 11 1956 16 Tenth place Asia – AASF 12 1960 15 Tenth place Americas – UANA 13 1964 14 Runners-up Europe – LEN 14 1976 11 Twelfth place Asia – AASF 1976 11 Tenth place Americas – UANA 16 1980 10 Eleventh place Europe – LEN 1980 10 Runners-up Europe – LEN 18 1988* 8 Twelfth place Asia – AASF 19 1992 7 Fifth place Americas – UANA 20 1996 6 Twelfth place Europe – LEN 21 2000 5 Third place Europe – LEN 2000 5 Twelfth place Europe – LEN 23 2004 4 Seventh place Africa – CANA 2004 4 Runners-up Europe – LEN 25 2008 3 Ninth place Americas – UANA 2008* 3 Ninth place Asia – AASF 2008 3 Champions Europe – LEN 28 2012* 2 Champions Europe – LEN 2012 2 Fourth place Europe – LEN 30 2016* 1 Sixth place Americas – UANA 2016 1 Champions Europe – LEN 32 2020 0 Fifth place Oceania – OSA 2020 0 Champions Europe – LEN 2020 0 Runners-up Europe – LEN 2020 0 Champions Europe – LEN 2020 0 Champions Europe – LEN 2020* 0 Fourth place Asia – AASF 2020 0 Ninth place Asia – AASF 2020 0 Fourth place Europe – LEN 2020 0 Champions Europe – LEN 2020 0 Ninth place Africa – CANA 2020 0 Champions Europe – LEN 2020 0 Runners-up Americas – UANA Rk Men's team Last appearance Olympics missed Best finish Confederation

Longest appearance droughts overall The following table is pre-sorted by number of Olympic tournaments missed (in descending order), year of the previous appearance (in ascending order), name of the team (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 8 August 2021.

Notes: Only includes droughts begun after a team's first appearance and until the team ceased to exist. With the exception of 1916, 1940 and 1944, does not include droughts when the Olympic tournament was not held due to World War I and II.

Legend Year* – As host team Team† – Defunct team

+ Longest appearance droughts overall Rk Men's team Prev. appearance Next appearance Olympics missed Best finish Confederation 1 1928 active 21 Ninth place Europe – LEN 1928 active 21 Eleventh place Europe – LEN 3 1936 active 19 Fifteenth place Europe – LEN 1936 active 19 Eighth place Europe – LEN 5 1948 active 18 Seventeenth place Americas – UANA 1948 active 18 Eleventh place Europe – LEN 1948 active 18 Thirteenth place Americas – UANA 8 1952 active 17 Fourth place Europe – LEN 1952 active 17 Twelfth place Asia – AASF 1952 active 17 Twentieth place Europe – LEN 11 1956 active 16 Tenth place Asia – AASF 12 1960 active 15 Tenth place Americas – UANA 13 1960 2020 14 Ninth place Africa – CANA 1964 active 14 Runners-up Europe – LEN 15 1956 2012* 13 Champions Europe – LEN 16 † 1936 1992 11 Sixth place Europe – LEN 1976 active 11 Twelfth place Asia – AASF 1976 active 11 Tenth place Americas – UANA 19 1980 active 10 Eleventh place Europe – LEN 1980 active 10 Runners-up Europe – LEN 21 1952 1992 9 Champions Europe – LEN 22 1968 2004 8 Seventh place Africa – CANA 1988* active 8 Twelfth place Asia – AASF 24 1984 2016* 7 Sixth place Americas – UANA 1984 2016 7 Fourth place Asia – AASF 1992 active 7 Fifth place Americas – UANA 27 1960 1988 6 Champions Europe – LEN 1996 active 6 Twelfth place Europe – LEN 29 1984 2008 5 Ninth place Americas – UANA 2000 active 5 Third place Europe – LEN 2000 active 5 Twelfth place Europe – LEN 32 1948 1968 4 Runners-up Europe – LEN 1988 2008* 4 Ninth place Asia – AASF 2004 active 4 Runners-up Europe – LEN 35 1924 1948 3 Champions Europe – LEN 1952 1968 3 Champions Europe – LEN 1980 1996 3 Fourth place Europe – LEN 1996 2012 3 38 1972 1984* 2 Runners-up Americas – UANA 39 1912 1924 1 Champions Europe – LEN 1980 1988 1 1964 1972 1 Fifth place Oceania – OSA 1992 2000* 1 † 1976 1984 1 Third place Europe – LEN † 1980* 1988 1 Champions Europe – LEN 2004 2012 1 Ninth place Asia – AASF 2012 2020 1 44 1964 defunct 0 Sixth place Europe – LEN † 1968 defunct 0 Sixth place Europe – LEN † 1988 defunct 0 Champions Europe – LEN Unified Team† 1992 defunct 0 Third place Europe – LEN † 2000 defunct 0 Third place Europe – LEN † 2004 defunct 0 Runners-up Europe – LEN 2020 active 0 Champions Europe – LEN 2020 active 0 Fourth place Europe – LEN 2020 active 0 Champions Europe – LEN Rk Men's team Prev. appearance Next appearance Olympics missed Best finish Confederation

Team records Teams having equal quantities in the tables below are ordered by the tournament the quantity was attained in (the teams that attained the quantity first are listed first). If the quantity was attained by more than one team in the same tournament, these teams are ordered alphabetically. Last updated: 8 August 2021.

Legend Year* – As host team Team† – Defunct team

Appearances Most appearances 23, Hungary (1912, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020). Most appearances, never winning a title 21, United States (1920, 1924, 1928, 1932*, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1984*, 1988, 1992, 1996*, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016). Most appearances, never finishing in the top two 17, Netherlands (1908, 1920, 1924, 1928*, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1992, 1996, 2000). Most appearances, never winning a medal 16, Australia (1948, 1952, 1956*, 1960, 1964, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000*, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016). Most appearances, never finishing in the top four 16, Australia (1948, 1952, 1956*, 1960, 1964, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 2000*, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016). Fewest appearances 1, Luxembourg (1928), Iceland (1936), Chile (1948), Portugal (1952), Singapore (1956), East Germany† (1968), Iran (1976), South Korea (1988*), Unified Team† (1992), Ukraine (1996), Slovakia (2000), Serbia and Montenegro† (2004).