| XI Summer Universiade | |
|---|---|
| Nations participating | 86 |
| Athletes participating | 2,912 |
| Events | 10 sports |
| Opening ceremony | July 19 |
| Closing ceremony | July 30 |
| Officially opened by | Nicolae Ceauşescu |
| Athlete's Oath | Anna Angelă |
| Judge's Oath | Nicole Civascu |
| Torch Lighter | Nadia Comăneci |
| Stadium | Lia Manoliu Stadium |
The 1981 Summer Universiade, also known as the XI Summer Universiade, took place in Bucharest, Romania. The events were watched by 200,000 spectators.
| 1981 SUMMER UNIVERSIADE FINAL MEDAL TABLE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POS | PARTICIPATING NATION | GOLD | SILVER | BRONZE | TOTAL |
| 1 | Soviet Union | 40 | 36 | 33 | 109 |
| 2 | Romania | 30 | 17 | 20 | 67 |
| 3 | United States | 29 | 18 | 9 | 56 |
| 4 | China | 10 | 8 | 3 | 21 |
| 5 | Italy | 6 | 4 | 3 | 13 |
| 6 | East Germany | 4 | 6 | 1 | 11 |
| 7 | Japan | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 8 | Cuba | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 9 | West Germany | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 10 | United Kingdom | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 11 | Yugoslavia | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 12 | Hungary | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 13 | Czechoslovakia | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 14 | Poland | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| 15 | Morocco | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Sweden | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | Bulgaria | 0 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| 18 | Brazil | 0 | 3 | 10 | 13 |
| 19 | Canada | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 20 | South Korea | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 21 | France | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 22 | Australia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Finland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Greece | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 | Switzerland | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | Algeria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 26 | Austria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 26 | Côte d'Ivoire | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 26 | Ghana | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 26 | Mongolia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 133 | 117 | 117 | 367 | |