Countries Banned from the Olympics 2025

Although Russia is the most recent country to be banned from participating in the Olympics, history shows many other countries have suffered the same fate. According to the official IOC website, “The vision of the International Olympic Committee is to Build a Better World through Sport.” Any nation whose behavior or policies may be in conflict with this vision can be banned from participating in the games.

This was Russia’s predicament after the World Anti-Doping Agency found that it supported doping among athletes to improve their performance. As a result, no athlete could represent Russia at the Olympics, World Championships, or Paralympics for the following two years (2020-2022). Initially, the ban was set for four years, but the Sports Court of Arbitration reduced the sentence to two years.

Why Countries are Banned from the Olympics

The International Olympic Committee can ban a country from participating in the Olympics as an action against:

• The country’s politics (e.g. apartheid in South Africa, 1964-1992)
• Doping violations (Russia, 2020)
• War and aggression (Germany and Japan, 1948)
• Non-Compliance with IOC Rules (Kuwait, 2010 & 2015)
• Human rights violations and any form of discrimination.

Countries Banned from the Olympics:

The practice dates back to the early 1920s, in the wake of World War I. At the time, the host city used to send out invitations to the participants. In the case a country was banished from the Olympics, it would receive the notification from the host country.

The rule has since changed, and only the International Olympic Committee is tasked with sending out invitations. Examples of countries that have been banned from the Olympics include:

1920 Olympics

In 1920, five countries (Austria, Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey) were banned from the Olympics due to their involvement in the First World War. Antwerp, Belgium, was the host city for that year’s Olympics.

1924 Olympics

During this year, the ban on Germany continued, but Hungary, Austria, Turkey, and Bulgaria were allowed to compete.

1948 Olympics

Germany was still left out of this year’s Olympics along with Japan. Since Britain was the host country, it decided not to invite Japanese athletes due to the lingering animosity between the two countries. It was in part a form of Britain’s protest against the way Japan had treated its prisoners of war during World War II.

1964 Olympics

That year, South Africa was banned from participating in the Olympics for 30 years due to the apartheid regime. The ban lasted until 1992. While North Korea participated in the summer Olympics that year, along with Indonesia it chose to withdraw from the winter Olympics in Tokyo. This was to protest the IOC’s ban of several North Korean athletes for their participation in the Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO, the rival organization) the year before.

1968 Olympics

South Africa remained banned from the Olympics along with countries that had participated in the (GANEFO) games earlier (GANEFO collapsed not long after its second and last event held in 1966).

1972 Olympics

Zimbabwe (then known as Rhodesia) was banned from participating in that year’s Olympics held in Munich, pressured by other African countries that threatened to pull out if the IOC allowed Rhodesia to compete.

1976-1988 Olympics

The ban of South Africa continued due to the apartheid regime.

2000 Olympics

The Olympics were held in Sydney, and Afghanistan was banned from participating. The country was under Taliban rule which prohibited women’s participation in sports of any kind and severely restricted men’s participation in sports, as well.

2016 and 2020 Olympics

In 2016, the IOC realized the depth of Russia’s doping violations and banned some Russian athletes from competing in weightlifting, track, and field games. Following the investigations, the IOC allowed individual sports federations to determine the eligibility of Russian athletes. As a result, some were barred from competing while others were allowed to participate under strict conditions.

2024 Olympics

While not strictly banned from the Olympics, Russian and Belarusian athletes competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics under neutral status, without their flags or anthems. They were barred from team events and had to pass strict vetting to ensure no ties to military or pro-war activities.

The IOC has set specific rules for these neutral athletes; those who support the war in Ukraine or are linked to military or security agencies are not eligible. The IOC will also decide later whether these athletes will be able to participate in the closing ceremony, (Le Monde, 2024).