Australia, with a population of almost 26 million, won a gold medal for 384,164 people and a medal for 144,601 people.
Of course, these numbers are just a rough estimate – based on the latest population forecasts – but they do give some insight into how some teams are performing based on their small squads and talent base.
The biggest winner of those Games, on that specific set of criteria, was Niue.
A country of 1,800 people, whose premier bowled in Birmingham, Niue was one of 14 competing teams that had never won a medal of any color.
However, heavyweight boxer Duken Tutakitoa-Williams brought great pride to the small island nation after his bronze medal.
Nauru won a medal, while the British Virgin Islands, Guernsey and Bermuda also performed well with their small populations compared to countries like India (1.39 billion) and Pakistan (225 million ).
New Zealand, which traditionally punches above its weight, completed the top 10 in the population divided by medals formula with 104,530 citizens for each of their 49 medals.
On this criterion, Australia would have finished 14th.
On the other hand, the most populous nations can still make it to the top half of the medal table, but having that many people will always be a major help.
Major African nations, such as Tanzania, Mozambique and Uganda, have traditionally performed poorly when these measures are used, given their poor living conditions and limited resources for top-level sport.
When it comes to the top performing nations by population, in terms of gold medals, the British Virgin Islands sits at the top of the podium, just ahead of Bermuda.
Kyron McMaster won a gold medal for the British Virgin Islands in the 400m track. The British Overseas Territory has a population of just 30,000.
Bermuda, a country of just 63,000 people, did well in that same category after the Tokyo Olympics last year by winning a gold medal.
Flora Duffy of Bermuda defended her women’s triathlon title in what was her country’s only gold medal. How precious it was.
Then there are the countries struggling to make it into the Commonwealth Games.
While some great countries have won medals but couldn’t convert any to gold – such as Tanzania, Mozambique, Ghana and Sri Lanka – others will leave Birmingham empty-handed.
Bangladesh, who won two silver medals on the Gold Coast four years ago, have never managed to crack the top three.
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While their squad wasn’t big, it’s a small comeback for a country of over 171 million people.
Other major countries that did not win a medal include Malawi, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.
The latter two have never seen athletes on the podium, but the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Victoria could be the event to turn the tide.
Correction: An earlier version of this story did not include the British Virgin Islands.
Follow all the action from the final day of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games here.
