Looking for the first half of this ranking? You can view numbers 30-21 here, 40-31 here, and 50-41 here.
Although these countries have not cracked the Top 10, they still have plenty to brag about. Every country in this section of the ranking has won at least once, and have earned several Top 10 placements.
20. Switzerland
Switzerland was the very first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest all the way back in 1956. Their second victory in 1988 was achieved by none other than global superstar Céline Dion, and last year non-binary singer Nemo earned the country’s third win with their song “The Code.” Switzerland has come in 2nd and 3rd place four times each, in addition to 19 other Top 10 placements. Their Grand Final qualification rate is where they suffers the most, though, qualifying just 9 out of 20 times (45%) with one of those qualifications ending up in the Bottom 5 of the Grand Final. The average of all their final results is slightly more than 14.
Zoë Më will represent Switzerland with the song “Voyage” later this month.
19. Yugoslavia
It really puts Eurovision’s long history into perspective when you realize that Yugoslavia, which has not been a country in over 30 years, participated in the contest every year for 27 years in a row. During this time, they achieved 11 Top 10 placements, including a victory in 1989. The average of all their final results is a little less than 11.
Out of the seven modern nations that comprise what was once Yugoslavia, Kosovo is the only one that has yet to participate in Eurovision. The remaining six have the following placements in this ranking: Montenegro in 47th, North Macedonia in 46th, Croatia in 36th, Slovenia in 22nd, Bosnia & Herzegovina in 25th, and (spoiler alert!!!!) Serbia in 17th.
18. Spain
Out of the Big 5 countries at the Eurovision Song Contestant, Spain is the least successful. While they do have two victories under their belt, both of them were way back in the 60s. They have, however, placed in the Top 10 nearly 50% of the time (29 out of 63 participations, so 46%), including 2nd place in 1971, 1973, 1979, and 1995 and 3rd place in 1984 and 2022. Unfortunately, they have been going through quite the rut lately: although their Big 5 status grants them immediate qualification for the Grand Final, they have placed in the Bottom 5 in all but three of the past 10 contests. The average of all their final results is a little less than 13.
Melody will represent Spain with the song “Esa Diva” later this month.
17. Serbia
As you can see above, Serbia is the most successful out of every country that was once part of Yugoslavia. After competing jointly with Montenegro two times, Serbia competed independently for the first time in 2007 with Marija Šerifović and the song “Molitva” – and came in 1st place both in their Semi-Final and the Grand Final. This makes Serbia the only country in Eurovision history to have won the contest in the first year they debuted. Although this is Serbia’s only win so far, they have earned four Top 10 placements over 15 competitions, including one 3rd place in 2012. They have only failed to qualify for the Grand Final thrice, giving them an impressive 82% qualification rate. The average of all their final results is about 14.5.
Princ will represent Serbia with the song “Mila” later this month.
16. Netherlands
Two countries are tied for the highest number of Eurovision wins (seven), but the Netherlands is right below them at five victories. One of their winners—Duncan Laurence’s “Arcade”—holds the record for the most streamed Eurovision song of all time with over 1.3 billion streams on Spotify alone (not including the streams for the remix featuring American singer Fletcher or the acoustic version). In addition to their five wins, the Netherlands also boasts 22 Top 10 placements, although only four of these were in the Top 3. They were practically guaranteed yet another Top 10 or Top 3 placement last year (and were even a favorite to win the whole competition); however, their artist Joost Klein was disqualified over a backstage dispute after placing 2nd in his Semi Final, barring him from competing for a placement in the Grand Final.
With just two fewer wins than the countries with the most victories in the history of the contest, one would think the Netherlands would rank higher on this list, but their poor Semi Final performance record keeps them this low. They have only qualified for the Grand Final 50% of the time, with two of those qualifications ultimately placing in the Bottom 5. The average of all their final results is, like Switzerland, slightly more than 14.
Claude will represent Netherlands with the song “C’est La Vie” later this month.
15. Azerbaijan
Although Azerbaijan has only won the Eurovision Song Contest once (with Ell & Nikki’s “Running Scared” in 2011), they have only participated 16 times, meaning they have technically won 6% of the contests they competed in. They have also placed in the Top 10 seven times, three of which were in the Top 3. They have only failed to qualify for the Grand Final three times, giving them a qualification rate of a little over 80%. The average of all their final results is 14.5.
Mamagama will represent Azerbaijan with the song “Run With U” in May.
14. Greece
Greece debuted at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974: the year when Swedish group ABBA won and kickstarted their journey into global superstardom. It wasn’t until 2005 that Greece brought home a win of their own with Helena Paparizou and her song “My Number One.” While this has been the country’s only victory so far, they have also earned 19 Top 10 placements (three of which were 3rd place). They even placed in the Top 10 every single year from 2004 to 2011. Greece has qualified for the Grand Final all but three times, landing them an excellent qualification rate of 85%. The average of all their final results is slightly less than 13.
Klavdia will represent Greece with the song “Asteromáta” later this month.
13. Denmark
Denmark has been in a bit of a slump ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, failing to qualify for the Grand Final four years in a row. Their overall qualification rate is 60% – decent, but not particularly impressive. They haven’t always struggled at Eurovision, however: of their 52 participations, they have had 26 Top 10 placements, meaning they placed in the Top 10 exactly 50% of the time. This includes seven Top 3 placements and three victories. The average of all their final results is a little over 13.
Sissal will represent Denmark with the song “Hallucination” later this month.
12. Norway
Norway has been competing in Eurovision since 1960, and in this span of over 60 years they have earned 26 Top 10 placements – including three wins. However, they only breeched the Top 3 twice outside of their victories (3rd place in 1966 and 2nd place in 1996). One of their winners, “Fairytale” by Alexander Rybak, consistently appears in the list of the 20 most watched videos on the official Eurovision YouTube channel even over 15 years after its release. This song is also the fifth most streamed Eurovision song on Spotify. Like Greece, Norway has only failed to qualify for the Grand Final three times since the introduction of the Semi Finals, meaning they have qualified 85% of the time. The average of all their final results is about 13.
Kyle Alessandro will represent Norway with the song “Lighter” later this month.
11. Germany
While their ranking is considerably higher than Spain’s, Germany is another Big 5 country that hasn’t been quite as successful as its status might suggest. In the past 10 contests, they have placed in the Bottom 5 seven times, although they did also achieve one Top 10 placement during this period with Michael Schulte’s “You Let Me Walk Alone” in 2018. Germany has only won Eurovision twice despite participating every year since the contest’s conception (so 68 times); however, they did place in the Top 10 over 50% of the time (37 times, to be exact), including six 2nd places and five 3rd places. The average of all their final results is a little more than 11.5.
Abor & Tynna will represent Germany with the song “Baller” later this month.
