FlagAndMap Weblog

The 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi have now ended and congratulations are due to India not only for hosting a successful event but also for their fine performance at the Games, which saw them place second in the official medals table, where gold medals outrank any number of silvers or bronzes.

In addition to enjoying the Games we’ve remained captivated by the competitive dynamic of our GDP Adjusted Medals Ranking. The aim was to create a performance ranking that represented a more equitable relative comparison between participants regardless of their human or financial resources. In this we reckon to have been largely successful as both small and large nations have had a degree of success in our ranking. Tiny Nauru won after winning one gold and one silver, which truly is an exceptional achievement for such a small nation. In a similar way Samoa placed second by winning three golds and a bronze. By any measure Australia continues to excel in multi-sports competitions and even after a large 3.16 ‘GDP Factor’ adjustment they still secured third place in our ranking. They were, however, nearly caught by Kenya, who ended fourth after some exceptional track performances. Following Kenya in our ranking there wasn’t much to choose between England, India and New Zealand, who finished in that order.

We congratulate all the participants in these Games and look forward to applying this methodolgy to future multinational sports events such as the Olympics.

A quarter of the world’s population potentially has an interest in the 2010 Commonwealth Games currently being held in Delhi. 71 ‘nations’ (including sub-nations) are being represented in this multi-national sporting competition, which occurs every four years. These nations range from the immense, India with a population of 1.18 million, to the tiny, Tuvalu with a population of just 12,000. The larger and the more affluent nations will be expected to win most of the medals but we wondered if it would be possible to compare the performance of such disparate nations on anything like an equitable basis.

After some thought and experimentation we have settled on a ranking based on a ‘Medals Value’ which is divided by the GDP of the nation. Our Medals Value deems each medal to be worth slightly more than twice that of the one below it (12pts for a gold, 5pts for a silver and 2pts for a bronze) while the GDP adjustment takes account of both the population and affluence of a nation. The resulting GDP Adjusted Medals Ranking for the 2010 Commonwealth Games will be updated at the end of each day of competition.

We like to think this ranking methodology gives any nation the chance to finish top. In fact we think it might actually favor smaller nations if by chance they happen to be fielding a few exception athletes this year. Indeed, this could be the Isle of Man’s year if Mark Cavendish wins a cycling gold. No matter which nation you are rooting for, have a little fun by tracking their position in our GDP Adjusted Medals Ranking.

Several nations have national days in October. Plan something special on the following dates for friends from these countries.
Oct 1, Independence Day in Nigeria
Oct 1, Independence Day in Tuvalu
Oct 1, National Day in China
Oct 1, National Day in Cyprus
Oct 3, Unity Day in Germany
Oct 3, National Day in Iraq
Oct 4, National Day in Lesotho
Oct 9, Independence Day in Uganda
Oct 10, Fiji Day in Fiji
Oct 10, Double Ten Day in Taiwan
Oct 12, National Day in Equatorial Guinea
Oct 12, National Day in Spain
Oct 23, Republic Day in Hungary
Oct 24, Independence Day in Zambia
Oct 25, Republic Day in Kazakhstan
Oct 26, National Day in Austria
Oct 27, Independence Day in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Oct 27, Independence Day in Turkmenistan
Oct 28, National Day in Czechia
Oct 29, Republic Day in Turkey

Many nations have national days in September. Plan something special on the following dates for friends from these countries.
Sep 1, Independence Day in Uzbekistan
Sep 1, National Day in Libya
Sep 1, Constitution Day in Slovakia
Sep 2, National Day in Vietnam
Sep 6, Independence Day in Swaziland
Sep 7, Independence Day in Brazil
Sep 8, National Day in Macedonia
Sep 8, National Day in North Korea
Sep 8, Our Lady of Meritxell Day in Andorra
Sep 9, Independence Day in Tajikistan
Sep 12, National Day in Cape Verde
Sep 15, National Day in Costa Rica
Sep 15, National Day in El Salvador
Sep 15, National Day in Guatemala
Sep 15, National Day in Honduras
Sep 15, National Day in Nicaragua
Sep 16, Grito de Dolores in Mexico
Sep 16, National Day in Papua New Guinea
Sep 18, National Day in Chile
Sep 19, National Day in Saint Kitts and Nevis
Sep 21, Independence Day in Malta
Sep 21, National Day in Belize
Sep 22, National Day in Mali
Sep 23, National Day in Saudi Arabia
Sep 24, National Day in Guinea-Bissau
Sep 30, National Day in Botswana

Many nations have national days in August. Plan something special on the following dates for friends from these countries.
Aug 1, National Day in Benin
Aug 1, National Day in Switzerland
Aug 5, National Day in Burkina Faso
Aug 6, National Day in Bolivia
Aug 7, National Day in Cote d’Ivoire
Aug 9, National Day in Singapore
Aug 10, National Day in Ecuador
Aug 11, National Day in Chad
Aug 14, Independence Day in Pakistan
Aug 15, National Day in Congo-Brazzaville
Aug 15, National Day in Liechtenstein
Aug 15, National Day in South Korea
Aug 15, Independence Day in India
Aug 16, Restoration Day in the Dominican Republic
Aug 17, National Day in Gabon
Aug 17, National Day in Indonesia
Aug 19, National Day in Afghanistan
Aug 20, St. Stephen’s Day in Hungary
Aug 24, National Day in Ukraine
Aug 25, Independence Day in Uruguay
Aug 27, Independence Day in Moldova
Aug 29, National Uprising Day in Slovakia
Aug 30, Constitution Day in the Turks and Caicos Islands
Aug 31, Hari Merdeka in Malaysia
Aug 31, Independence Day in Kyrgyzstan
Aug 31, Independence Day in Trinidad and Tobago

Many nations have national days in July. Plan something special on the following dates for friends from these countries.
Jul 1, Canada Day in Canada
Jul 1, National Day in the British Virgin Islands
Jul 1, National Day in Burundi
Jul 1, National Day in Rwanda
Jul 3, Independence Day in Belarus
Jul 4, Independence Day in the United States
Jul 5, Independence Day in Venezuela
Jul 6, National Day in the Comoros
Jul 6, Independence Day in Malawi
Jul 7, Independence Day in the Solomon Islands
Jul 9, Constitution Day in Palau
Jul 9, National Day in Argentina
Jul 10, National Day in the Bahamas
Jul 11, Naadam Holiday in Mongolia
Jul 12, National Day in Kiribati
Jul 12, National Day in Sao Tome and Principe
Jul 13, National Day in Montenegro
Jul 14, Bastille Day in France
Jul 20, National Day in Colombia
Jul 21, Liberation Day in Guam
Jul 21, National Day in Belgium
Jul 23, Revolution Day in Egypt
Jul 25, Constitution Day in Puerto Rico
Jul 26, National Day in Liberia
Jul 28, National Day in Peru
Jul 30, Independence Day in Vanuatu

Several nations have national days in June. Plan something special on the following dates for friends from these countries.
Jun 2, Republic Day in Italy
Jun 4, National Day in Tonga
Jun 6, National Day in Sweden
Jun 10, Portugal Day in Portugal
Jun 12, National Day in the Philippines
Jun 12, Russia Day in the Russian Federation
Jun 14, Liberation Day in the Falkland Islands
Jun 17, National Day in Iceland
Jun 18, National Day in the Seychelles
Jun 25, Statehood Day in Croatia
Jun 25, National Day in Mozambique
Jun 25, Statehood Day in Slovenia
Jun 26, National Day in Madagascar
Jun 27, National Day in Djibouti
Jun 30, National Day in Congo-Kinshasa

Several nations have national days in May. Plan something special on the following dates for friends from these countries.
May 1, Constitution Day in the Marshall Islands
May 3, Constitution Day in Poland
May 5, Liberation Day in the Netherlands
May 14, Independence Day in Paraguay
May 17, Constitution Day in Norway
May 20, National Day in Cameroon
May 20, National Day in East Timor
May 22, Unity Day in Yemen
May 24, National Day in Eritrea
May 25, Independence Day in Jordan
May 25, National Day in Argentina
May 26, First Republic Day in Georgia
May 28, National Day in Ethiopia
May 28, Republic Day in Armenia
May 28, Republic Day in Azerbaijan
May 29, Democracy Day in Nigeria

Several nations have national days in April. Plan something special on the following dates for friends from these countries.
Apr 1, Islamic Republic Day in Iran
Apr 3, National Day in Guinea-Conakry
Apr 4, National Day in Senegal
Apr 17, Flag Day in American Samoa
Apr 17, Independence Day in Syria
Apr 18, Independence Day in Zimbabwe
Apr 23, St. George’s Day in England
Apr 25, National Day in Italy
Apr 26, Union Day in Tanzania
Apr 27, National Day in South Africa
Apr 27, National Day in Togo
Apr 27, Republic Day in Sierra Leone
Apr 30, Queensday in the Netherlands

Several nations have ‘national days’ in March. Plan something special on the following dates for friends from these countries.
Mar 1, National Day in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mar 1, St. David’s Day in Wales
Mar 2, National Day in Morocco
Mar 3, Liberation Day in Bulgaria
Mar 6, Independence Day in Ghana
Mar 10, National Day in Tibet
Mar 12, National Day in Mauritius
Mar 15, National Day in Hungary
Mar 17, St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland
Mar 20, National Day in Tunisia
Mar 21, Independence Day in Namibia
Mar 23, Republic Day in Pakistan
Mar 25, National Day in Greece
Mar 26, Independence Day in Bangladesh
Mar 31, Freedom Day in Malta
Mar 31, Transfer Day in the US Virgin Islands