National team appearances in the Ice Hockey World Championships
This article lists the performances of each of the 56 national teams which have made at least one appearance in the Ice Hockey World Championships, an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), including the Olympic ice hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year, and was held before the first Ice Hockey World Championship as an individual event in 1930. With the exception between 1940 and 1946, when no championships were held due to World War II, nor were held during the Olympic years 1980, 1984, and 1988. In 2020, the IIHF announced that all World Championship tournaments were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][2]
Sweden have appeared in 78 out of 83 tournaments to date, with Canada, having participated in 73, and Finland in 66. Although the United States have appeared in 71 top division tournaments and five in lower divisions. This was in the 1969 event, when the U.S. were unsuccessful at the tournament, finished in last place in Group A after losing all ten games. This marks the first time in Men's Worlds history, the United States were relegated out of the top division until the 1970 event, the U.S. finished in first place in Group B (7th overall) after winning all seven games and were promoted back to Group A.
Finland is the current World Champion, defeating Canada in the gold medal game at the 2019 IIHF World Championship. Since the IIHF introduced a playoff system in 1992, Switzerland is the only team to have appeared in two IIHF World Championship finals as the runners-up, having lost to Sweden twice in 2013 and 2018. The United States is the only "Big Six" team to have never appeared in the IIHF World Championship final, having lost in the semifinals nine times.
Debut of teams
A total of 56 national teams have participated for at least one IIHF World Championship through the 2019 event. Each successive IIHF World Championships has had at least one team appearing for the first time, in alphabetical order per year. Teams in parentheses are considered successor teams by the IIHF.
Notes:
- Between 1920 and 1968, the Olympic ice hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year.
- Each of the national teams have made their debut that participate in the lower division of the World Championship.[lower-alpha 1]
Key:
- – The Summer Olympic Games Ice Hockey Tournament held that year counted as the World Championship
- * – The Winter Olympic Games Ice Hockey Tournament held that year counted as the World Championship
Year | Debutants | Number |
---|---|---|
1920 | Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia,[lower-alpha 2] France, Sweden, Switzerland, United States | 7 |
1924 * | Great Britain | 1 |
1928 * | Austria, Germany,[lower-alpha 3] Hungary, Poland | 4 |
1930 | Italy, Japan | 2 |
1931 | Romania | 1 |
1932 * | None | 0 |
1933 | Latvia | 1 |
1934 | None | 0 |
1935 | Netherlands | 1 |
1936 * | None | 0 |
1937 | Norway | 1 |
1938 | Lithuania | 1 |
1939 | Finland, Yugoslavia[lower-alpha 4] | 2 |
1947 | None | 0 |
1948 * | ||
1949 | Denmark | 1 |
1950 | None | 0 |
1951 | ( Yugoslavia (Group B))[lower-alpha 4] | 0 (+1) |
1952 * | ( West Germany)[lower-alpha 3] | 0 (+1) |
1953 | None | 0 |
1954 | Soviet Union[lower-alpha 5] | 1 |
1955 | None | 0 |
1956 * | ( East Germany (Group B))[lower-alpha 3] | 0 (+1) |
1957 | None | 0 |
1958 | ||
1959 | ||
1960 * | Australia | 1 |
1961 | South Africa (Group C) | 1 |
1962 | None | 0 |
1963 | Bulgaria (Group C) | 1 |
1964 * | None | 0 |
1965 | ||
1966 | ||
1967 | ||
1968 * | ||
1969 | ||
1970 | ||
1971 | ||
1972 | China (Group C) | 1 |
1973 | None | 0 |
1974 | North Korea (Group C) | 1 |
1975 | None | 0 |
1976 | ||
1977 | Spain (Group C) | 1 |
1978 | None | 0 |
1979 | South Korea (Group C) | 1 |
1980 | No tournaments were held during the 1980 Winter Olympic Games | |
1981 | None | 0 |
1982 | ||
1983 | ||
1984 | No tournaments were held during the 1984 Winter Olympic Games | |
1985 | None | 0 |
1986 | ||
1987 | Hong Kong (Group D), New Zealand (Group D) | 2[lower-alpha 6] |
1988 | No tournaments were held during the 1988 Winter Olympic Games | |
1989 | None | 0 |
1990 | ||
1991 | ||
1992 | Greece (Group C2), Israel (Group C2), Luxembourg (Group C2), ( Russia),[lower-alpha 5] Turkey (Group C2) | 4 (+1) |
1993 | Belarus (Group C), Croatia (Group C), ( Czechia),[lower-alpha 2] Estonia (Group C), Kazakhstan (Group C), Slovenia (Group C), Ukraine (Group C) | 6 (+1) |
1994 | Slovakia (Group C1) | 1 |
1995 | ( FR Yugoslavia (Group C))[lower-alpha 4] | 0 (+1) |
1996 | None | 0 |
1997 | ||
1998 | ||
1999 | Iceland (Group D) | 1 |
2000 | Mexico (Group D) | 1 |
2001 | None | 0 |
2002 | ||
2003 | ||
2004 | Armenia (Division III), Ireland (Division III) | 2 |
2005 | None | 0 |
2006 | ||
2007 | Mongolia (Division III), ( Serbia (Division II A))[lower-alpha 4] | 1 (+1) |
2008 | Bosnia & Herzegovina (Division III Q) | 1 |
2009 | None | 0 |
2010 | United Arab Emirates (Division III) | 1 |
2011 | None | 0 |
2012 | ||
2013 | Georgia (Division III Q) | 1 |
2014 | None | 0 |
2015 | ||
2016 | ||
2017 | Chinese Taipei (Division III)[lower-alpha 6] | 1 |
2018 | Kuwait (Division III Q), Turkmenistan (Division III Q) | 2 |
2019 | Kyrgyzstan (Division III Q), Thailand (Division III Q) | 2 |
2020 | Tournaments were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |
2021 | All lower division tournaments were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |
2022 | TBD | – |
2023 | ||
2024 | ||
2025 | ||
2026 | ||
Total | 56 (+7) |
With 56 national teams to have participated through the 2019 event, the IIHF World Championships is the fourth most participated men's world championship, behind the FIFA World Cup (79), the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship (59), and the FIBA Basketball World Cup (59), and ahead of the IHF World Men's Handball Championship (53), the Rugby World Cup (25), the Men's Hockey World Cup (25), the Cricket World Cup (20), and the World Baseball Classic (20).
Ranking of teams by number of appearances
Team | Number of appearances | Debut | Most recent | Best result |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sweden | 78 | 1920 | 2019 | Champions (×11) |
Canada | 73 | 1920 | 2019 | Champions (×26) |
United States | 71 (5 in lower divisions) | 1920 | 2019 | Champions (1933, 1960) |
Finland | 66 | 1939 | 2019 | Champions (1995, 2011, 2019) |
Switzerland | 52 (25 in lower divisions) | 1920 | 2019 | Runners-up (1935, 2013, 2018) |
Norway | 34 (32 in lower divisions) | 1937 | 2019 | 4th place (1951) |
France | 33 (34 in lower divisions) | 1920 | 2019 | 6th place (1920, 1924, 1928, 1930) |
Italy | 31 (35 in lower divisions) | 1930 | 2019 | 4th place (1953) |
Poland | 30 (42 in lower divisions) | 1928 | 2019 | 4th place (1931) |
Austria | 29 (45 in lower divisions) | 1928 | 2019 | 3rd place (1931, 1947) |
Latvia | 28 (4 in lower divisions) | 1933 | 2019 | 7th place (1997, 2004, 2009) |
Slovakia | 24 (2 in lower divisions) | 1994 | 2019 | Champions (2002) |
Denmark | 18 (34 in lower divisions) | 1949 | 2019 | 8th place (2010, 2016) |
Belarus | 18 (9 in lower divisions) | 1993 | 2019 | 6th place (2006) |
Hungary | 13 (52 in lower divisions) | 1928 | 2019 | 5th place (1937) |
Japan | 13 (42 in lower divisions) | 1930 | 2019 | 6th place (1930) |
Belgium | 12 (43 in lower divisions) | 1920 | 2019 | 7th place (1920, 1924, 1950) |
Great Britain | 11 (46 in lower divisions) | 1924 | 2019 | Champions (1936) |
Romania | 10 (52 in lower divisions) | 1931 | 2019 | 7th place (1947) |
Slovenia | 9 (18 in lower divisions) | 1993 | 2019 | 13th place (2002, 2005) |
Ukraine | 9 (18 in lower divisions) | 1993 | 2019 | 9th place (2002) |
Kazakhstan | 8 (19 in lower divisions) | 1993 | 2019 | 12th place (2005) |
Netherlands | 4 (54 in lower divisions) | 1935 | 2019 | 8th place (1950, 1981) |
Australia | 1 (35 in lower divisions) | 1960 | 2019 | 9th place (1960) |
South Korea | 1 (33 in lower divisions) | 1979 | 2019 | 16th place (2018) |
Lithuania | 1 (27 in lower divisions) | 1938 | 2019 | 10th place (1938) |
Bulgaria | 0 (50 in lower divisions) | 1963 | 2019 | 14th place (8th in Group B) (1970) |
China | 0 (42 in lower divisions) | 1972 | 2019 | 15th place (6th in Group B) (1982) |
Spain | 0 (37 in lower divisions) | 1977 | 2019 | 22nd place (5th in Group C) (1977) |
South Africa | 0 (30 in lower divisions) | 1961 | 2019 | 19th place (3rd in Group C) (1961, 1966) |
Israel | 0 (28 in lower divisions) | 1992 | 2019 | 28th place (6th in Division I A) (2006) |
Croatia | 0 (27 in lower divisions) | 1993 | 2019 | 24th place (4th in Division I A) (2001) |
Estonia | 0 (27 in lower divisions) | 1993 | 2019 | 19th place (3rd in Group B) (1998) |
New Zealand | 0 (27 in lower divisions) | 1987 | 2019 | 27th place (3rd in Group D) (1987) |
North Korea | 0 (27 in lower divisions) | 1974 | 2019 | 21st place (5th in Group C) (1990) |
Turkey | 0 (26 in lower divisions) | 1992 | 2019 | 32nd place (6th in Group C2) (1992) |
Iceland | 0 (21 in lower divisions) | 1999 | 2019 | 30th place (2nd in Division II A) (2014) |
Luxembourg | 0 (20 in lower divisions) | 1992 | 2019 | 31st place (5th in Group C2) (1992) |
Mexico | 0 (20 in lower divisions) | 2000 | 2019 | 35th place (4th in Division II B) (2008) |
Greece | 0 (12 in lower divisions) | 1992 | 2013 | 29th place (3rd in Group C2) (1992) |
Ireland | 0 (10 in lower divisions) | 2004 | 2013 | 40th place (6th in Division II B) (2008) |
Georgia | 0 (7 in lower divisions) | 2013 | 2019 | 38th place (4th in Division II B) (2019) |
Hong Kong | 0 (7 in lower divisions) | 1987 | 2019 | 28th place (4th in Group D) (1987) |
United Arab Emirates | 0 (7 in lower divisions) | 2010 | 2019 | 45th place (5th in Division III) (2014) |
Armenia | 0 (5 in lower divisions) | 2004 | 2010 | 43rd place (3rd in Division III) (2006) |
Bosnia & Herzegovina | 0 (5 in lower divisions) | 2008 | 2019 | 44th place (4th in Division III) (2016) |
Mongolia | 0 (5 in lower divisions) | 2007 | 2013 | 45th place (5th in Division III) (2007) |
Chinese Taipei | 0 (3 in lower divisions) | 2017 | 2019 | 44th place (4th in Division III) (2018) |
Kuwait | 0 (2 in lower divisions) | 2018 | 2019 | 50th place (4th in Division III Q) (2018) |
Turkmenistan | 0 (2 in lower divisions) | 2018 | 2019 | 43rd place (3rd in Division III) (2019) |
Kyrgyzstan | 0 (1 in lower divisions) | 2019 | 2019 | 52nd place (6th in Division III Q) (2019)[lower-alpha 7] |
Thailand | 0 (1 in lower divisions) | 2019 | 2019 | 49th place (3rd in Division III Q) (2019) |
- Breakdown of successor teams
Team | Number of appearances | Debut | Most recent | Best result |
---|---|---|---|---|
Czechia (1993–) | 27 | 1993 | 2019 | Champions (×6) |
Czechoslovakia (1920–1992) | 51 | 1920 | 1992 | Champions (×6) |
Team | Number of appearances | Debut | Most recent | Best result |
---|---|---|---|---|
Germany (1991–) | 26 (3 in lower divisions) | 1991 | 2019 | 4th place (2010) |
West Germany (1951–1990) | 24 (6 in lower divisions) | 1952 | 1990 | Runners-up (1953) |
East Germany (1951–1990) | 15 (14 in lower divisions) | 1956 | 1990 | 5th place (1957, 1965, 1966, 1970) |
Germany (1928–1939) | 10 | 1928 | 1939 | Runners-up (1930) |
Team | Number of appearances | Debut | Most recent | Best result |
---|---|---|---|---|
Russia (1992–) | 28 | 1992 | 2019 | Champions (1993, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014) |
Soviet Union (1954–1991) | 34 | 1954 | 1991 | Champions (×22) |
Team | Number of appearances | Debut | Most recent | Best result |
---|---|---|---|---|
Serbia (2007–) | 0 (13 in lower divisions) | 2007 | 2019 | 27th place (6th in Division I A) (2010) |
FR Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro (1995–2006) | 0 (11 in lower divisions) | 1995 | 2006 | 28th place (8th in Group C) (1995) |
Yugoslavia (1951–1991) | 0 (30 in lower divisions) | 1951 | 1991 | 8th place (2nd in Group B) (1974) |
Yugoslavia (1939) | 1 | 1939 | 1939 | 13th place (1939) |
Results of host nations
|
|
Results of defending champions
|
|
Medal table
Rank | Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Russia | 5 | 3 | 5 | 13 |
Soviet Union | 22 | 7 | 5 | 34 | |
Total | 27 | 10 | 10 | 47 | |
2 | Canada | 26 | 15 | 9 | 50 |
3 | Czechia | 6 | 1 | 5 | 12 |
Czechoslovakia | 6 | 12 | 16 | 34 | |
Total | 12 | 13 | 21 | 46 | |
4 | Sweden | 11 | 19 | 17 | 47 |
5 | Finland | 3 | 8 | 3 | 14 |
6 | United States | 2 | 9 | 8 | 19 |
7 | Great Britain | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
8 | Slovakia | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
9 | Switzerland | 0 | 3 | 8 | 11 |
10 | Germany | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
West Germany | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
Total | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
11 | Austria | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Totals (11 countries) | 83 | 83 | 83 | 249 |
Droughts
This section is a list of droughts associated with the participation of men's national ice hockey teams in the IIHF World Championships, including Final appearance and World Champion droughts up to and including the 2019 IIHF World Championship. Those teams which have not participated in any World Championship are listed by the year that they entered the IIHF tournaments.
Note:
- Does not include droughts between 1940 and 1946, when no championships were held due to World War II, nor were held during the Olympic years 1980, 1984, and 1988, and 2020 championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Longest active Final droughts
Does not include two teams that made the 2019 Final: Canada and Finland.
Team | Last appearance in the Final | Subsequent Semifinal losses | Drought |
---|---|---|---|
United States | Never (IIHF introduced a playoff system in 1992) | 9 (1994, 1996, 2001, 2004, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018) | 29 years |
Germany | Never (IIHF introduced a playoff system in 1992) | 1 (2010) | 29 years |
Czechia | 2010 | 4 (2011, 2012, 2014, 2019) | 10 years |
Slovakia | 2012 | 0 | 8 years |
Russia | 2015 | 3 (2016, 2017, 2019) | 5 years |
Sweden | 2018 | 0 | 2 years |
Switzerland | 2018 | 0 | 2 years |
Longest all-time Final droughts
Active Final drought is highlighted
Team | Prev. appearance in the Final | Intervening Semifinal losses | Next appearance in the Final | Drought |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | Never (IIHF introduced a playoff system in 1992) | 9 (1994, 1996, 2001, 2004, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018) | –––– | 29 years |
Germany | Never (IIHF introduced a playoff system in 1992) | 1 (2010) | –––– | 29 years |
Switzerland | Never (IIHF introduced a playoff system in 1992) | 2 (1992, 1998) | 2013 | 21 years |
Czechia | 2010 | 4 (2011, 2012, 2014, 2019) | –––– | 10 years |
Slovakia | 2002 | 2 (2003, 2004) | 2012 | 9 years |
Russia | 1993 | 0 | 2002 | 8 years |
Canada | 2009 | 0 | 2015 | 5 years |
1997 | 0 | 2003 | ||
Sweden | 2006 | 2 (2009, 2010) | 2011 | 4 years |
1998 | 3 (1999, 2001, 2002) | 2003 | ||
Finland | 2001 | 1 (2002) | 2006 | 4 years |
Longest active Champion droughts
Does not include the most-recent World Champion: Finland.
Team | Last Champion | Subsequent Final losses | Drought |
---|---|---|---|
Switzerland | Never (debut in 1920) | 2 (2013, 2018) | 101 years |
Great Britain | 1936 | Never | 84 years |
United States | 1960 | Never | 60 years |
Slovakia | 2002 | 1 (2012) | 18 years |
Czechia | 2010 | 0 | 10 years |
Russia | 2014 | 1 (2015) | 6 years |
Canada | 2016 | 2 (2017, 2019) | 4 years |
Sweden | 2018 | 0 | 2 years |
Longest all-time Champion droughts
Active Champion drought is highlighted
Team | Prev. Champion | Intervening Final losses | Next Champion | Drought |
---|---|---|---|---|
Switzerland | Never (debut in 1920) | 2 (2013, 2018) | –––– | 101 years |
Great Britain | 1936 | Never | –––– | 84 years |
United States | 1960 | Never | –––– | 60 years |
Canada | 1961 | Never | 1994 | 32 years |
Slovakia | 2002 | 1 (2012) | –––– | 18 years |
Finland | 1995 | 4 (1998, 1999, 2001, 2007) | 2011 | 15 years |
Russia | 1993 | 1 (2002) | 2008 | 14 years |
Sweden | 1962 | Never | 1987 | 14 years |
Czechia | 2010 | 0 | –––– | 10 years |
Longest active appearance droughts
Does not include teams that have not made their first appearance.
Team | Last appearance | WC Missed |
---|---|---|
Armenia[lower-alpha 8] | 2010 (Division III B) | 9 |
Greece[lower-alpha 9] | 2013 (Division III) | 6 |
Ireland[lower-alpha 10] | 2013 (Division III) | 6 |
Mongolia[lower-alpha 11] | 2013 (Division III) | 6 |
Longest all-time appearance droughts
Only includes droughts begun after a team's first appearance and until the team ceased to exist. Updated to include participation for the 2019 World Championships.
Active appearance drought is highlighted
Teams with no IIHF World Championship appearances
25 out of 81 current IIHF members have not entered in any World Championship tournaments.
Country | IIHF Member since | Notes |
---|---|---|
Algeria* | 2019 | Have participated in the Arab Cup in 2008. |
Andorra* | 1995 | Hosted the 1997 IIHF World Championship Group D tournament in Canillo. Have participated in the Development Cup in 2017 and 2018. |
Argentina* | 1998 | Have participated in the Pan American Tournament from 2014 to 2017 and the Amerigol LATAM Cup since 2018. |
Azerbaijan | 1992 | Unknown |
Brazil* | 1984 | Have participated in the Pan American Tournament from 2014 to 2017 and the Amerigol LATAM Cup since 2018. |
Chile** | 1999 | Currently an IIHF affiliate member and therefore only to have participated in the IIHF Inline Hockey World Championship. Their last appearance was 2015. However, the IIHF cancelled the tournament in 2019 and can no longer govern inline hockey.[4] |
Colombia* | 2019 | Have participated in the Pan American Tournament from 2014 to 2017 and the Amerigol LATAM Cup since 2018. |
India | 1989 | Have only participated in the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia since 2009, except for 2010 and 2019, when unable to participate due to lack of equipment and money. |
Indonesia* | 2016 | Have participated in the Asian Winter Games in 2017, the Southeast Asian Games in 2017 and 2019, and the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia since 2018. |
Iran* | 2019 | Iran was supposed to participate at the 2017 Asian Winter Games, but was disqualified due to a number of Iranian players were deemed ineligible in the regional games.[5] |
Jamaica* | 2012 | Jamaica was the first Caribbean nation to joined the IIHF on 18 May 2012.[6] Have participated in the Amerigol LATAM Cup in 2019. |
Lebanon* | 2019 | Have only played four exhibition games against other national teams in 2017. The ball hockey national team have participated in the Ball Hockey World Championship in 2017. |
Liechtenstein* | 2001 | Have only played two exhibition games, lost twice to Luxembourg in 2003 and 2007. Liechtenstein has not been active since 2007. |
Macau* | 2005 | Have participated in the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia since 2008 and the Asian Winter Games in 2007 and 2017. |
Malaysia | 2006 | Have participated in the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia since 2008, the Asian Winter Games since 2007, and the Southeast Asian Games in 2017 and 2019. |
Moldova* | 2008 | Unknown |
Morocco* | 2010 | Have participated in the Arab Cup in 2008 and the Development Cup in 2017. |
Nepal* | 2016 | Unknown |
North Macedonia* | 2001 | Have played two exhibition games against Bosnia & Herzegovina over the weekend. They won the first game 8–7 and lost the second game 7–6 in overtime a day later.[7] Have participated in the Development Cup in 2018. |
Oman* | 2014 | Have participated in the GCC Gulf Championship from 2010 to 2016, and the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia since 2015, except for 2016 and 2018. |
Philippines | 2016 | Have participated in the Asian Winter Games in 2017, the Southeast Asian Games in 2017 and 2019, and the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia since 2018. |
Portugal* | 1999 | Have participated in the Development Cup in 2017 and 2018. |
Qatar | 2012 | Have participated in the GCC Gulf Championship in 2014 and 2016, the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia Division I in 2016, and the Asian Winter Games in 2017. |
Singapore* | 1996 | Have participated in the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia from 2008 to 2010, and since 2013, the Asian Winter Games in 2017, and the Southeast Asian Games in 2017 and 2019. |
Uzbekistan* | 2019 | Representing the Uzbek SSR at the Winter Spartakiad from 1978 to 1986. Uzbekistan has not been active since the USSR being dissolved in 1991. |
* – IIHF associate member, ** – IIHF affiliate member
Notes
- The modern format for the World Championship features a minimum of 40 teams: 16 teams in the main championship group (Top Division), 12 teams in Division I, and 12 teams in Division II. If there are more than 40 teams, the rest compete in Division III, and the newly created Division IV.[3]
- Czechoslovakia participated 51 times in the World Championship prior to being divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993. The IIHF considers the Czech Republic as the successor team of Czechoslovakia.
- Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany since 1949, has been represented by the same governing body, Deutscher Eishockey-Bund (DEB), since 1909. After World War II, DEB was re-admitted to the IIHF as West Germany. East Germany fielded a team of its own before joining with West Germany and DEB in the German reunification. Thus, the IIHF considers Germany and West Germany as one entity and officially attributes all international results of the DEB team since 1909 to Germany, including the results of West Germany from 1951–1990.
- The Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1939) and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1951–1991) participated 31 times in the World Championship under the name "Yugoslavia" prior to its breakup by the secession of many of its constituent republics in 1992. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia participated 7 times from 1995–2002 under the name "FR Yugoslavia", then changed its name to "Serbia and Montenegro" in 2003. The FR Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro are considered the predecessors of the current Serbia team by the IIHF, which first participated under that name in 2007. These national teams which resulted from the breakup of the SFR Yugoslavia in 1992 (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and FYR Macedonia), are considered distinct entities from the Yugoslavia team of 1939, 1951–1991.
- The USSR participated 34 times in the World Championship prior to being dissolved in 1991. The 15 nations that were former Soviet Republics. 7 out of 15 former Soviet Republics now compete separately until Armenia (2004), Georgia (2013), Turkmenistan (2018) and Kyrgyzstan (2019). The IIHF considers Russia as the successor team of the USSR.
- Chinese Taipei competed unofficially in the 1987 World Championship Group D tournament in Perth, Australia. Due to the political status of Taiwan and related issues with China, the games were considered as exhibition games and the results does not count towards the standings of the tournament.
- In the 2019 World Championship Division III qualification tournament, after winning their first four games, Kyrgyzstan's wins were later voided and the results were changed to 5–0 forfeits, due to the use of an ineligible player. Kyrgyzstan was relegated to a new Division IV for 2020.
- Armenia was suspended by the IIHF in April 2010, due to the use of ineligible players on their national team that participate in the 2010 World Championship Division III Group B. Thus, all their games were counted as forfeited 5–0 wins for the opposing teams and were not included in the final ranking of the tournament.
- Greece is currently not active in any IIHF tournaments because they cannot fulfilled their minimum participation standards of having one operational indoor rink.
- Ireland is currently not active in any IIHF tournaments because with the closure of the Dundalk Ice Dome and the country no longer meet their minimum participation standards.
- Mongolia has only participate in the IIHF Challenge Cup of Asia, a regional tournament for lower-tier hockey nations in Asia since 2013. When the IIHF enacted new "minimum participation standards", stipulating that the country must have at least one functional, full-sized indoor rink.
- Participated as part of the USSR from 1954–1991.
- Canada withdrew from IIHF tournaments from 1970–1976, and was later suspended after a dispute over allowing professional players at the tournament. Canada returned to the IIHF tournament in 1977.
- The host Dutch government had suspended diplomatic relations with Yugoslavia, due to the Kosovo War, and did not allow the Yugoslavian team to participate in the 1999 tournament.
References
- Steiss, Adam (2 March 2020). "IIHF cancels March tournaments". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- Steiss, Adam (21 March 2020). "2020 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship cancelled". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- "2014-2018 IIHF Statutes and Bylaws" (PDF). IIHF.com. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- Merk, Martin (24 June 2019). "Statutes, Regulations amended". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 27 June 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- Pavitt, Michael (19 February 2017). "Iranian ice hockey team disqualified from Sapporo 2017 over ineligible players". Inside the Games. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- "Welcome Jamaica & Qatar". IIHF.com. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- "Macedonia wins and loses in OT in Bosnia and Hercegovina". Eurohockey.com. 22 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.