National Olympic Committees (or NOCs) are the national constituents of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, they are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games. They may nominate cities within their respective areas as candidates for future Olympic Games. NOCs also promote the development of athletes and training of coaches and officials at a national level within their geographies.
As of 2011, there are 204 NOCs, representing both sovereign nations and other geographical areas. 192 of the 193 Member states of the United Nations have National Olympic Committees (the exception being South Sudan, which gained its independence on 9 July 2011, and does not yet have a National Olympic Committee[1]), as do 12 other territories:
The NOCs are all members of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), which is also split among five continental associations:
| Continent | Association | NOCs | Oldest NOC | Newest NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Africa
|
Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa | 53 | Egypt (1910) | Eritrea (1999) | |
|
America
|
Pan American Sports Organization | 42 | United States (1894) | Dominica (1993) Saint Kitts and Nevis (1993) Saint Lucia (1993) |
|
|
Asia
|
Olympic Council of Asia | 44[4] | Japan (1912) | Timor-Leste (2003) | |
|
Europe
|
European Olympic Committees | 49 | France (1894) | Montenegro (2007) | |
|
Oceania
|
Oceania National Olympic Committees | 17 | Australia (1895) | Tuvalu (2007) | |
See the article for each continental association for the complete lists of all NOCs.
Contents |
Below is a chronological list of the 204 NOCs recognized by the International Olympic Committee, since its foundation in 1894. Many of these committees were founded many years before their official recognition, while others were immediately accepted after being founded. Former states, nowadays non-existent (e.g. Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, etc.), are not listed, only the current states derived from them.
Macau Sports and Olympic Committee: Founded in 1987, and has attempted to enroll to the IOC since its foundation, but still not officially recognized and thus no athlete has participated in the Olympic Games under the name "Macau, China". It has, however, participated in the Paralympic Games.
The Faroe Islands have a recognised National Paralympic Committee. (See: Faroe Islands at the Paralympics)
Other existing countries/regions with unrecognized olympic committees: Catalonia,[6] Gibraltar,[7] French Polynesia,[8] Niue,[9] Kosovo,[10] Somaliland,[11] New Caledonia,[12] Kurdistan,[13][14] Northern Cyprus,[15] Abkhazia,[16] Faroe Islands,[17] Native Americans,[18][19] the Northern Mariana Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat, and Turks & Caicos Islands.[20]
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