IHF World Men's Handball Championship
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2025 World Men's Handball Championship
SportHandball
Founded1938 (1938)
FounderInternational Amateur Handball Federation
Inaugural season1938
No. of teams32 (finals)
ContinentInternational (IHF)
Most recent
champion(s)
 Denmark (3rd title)
Most titles France (6 titles)

The IHF Men's Handball World Championship has been organized indoor by the International Handball Federation since 1938.

In the twenty-eight tournaments held, twelve national teams have won the title. France is the most successful team with six titles, followed by Sweden and Romania with four titles each.

The current champion is Denmark, which won its third consecutive title at the 2023 tournament in Poland and Sweden.[1]

History

The first indoor championship took place in Germany in 1938, involving four teams from Europe made up of 7 players who competed in a round robin stage to find a winner. It wouldn't be until sixteen years later where the second World Championship was held in the country of Sweden. Throughout their history, the World Championships have been dominated by European teams, with no medals being won by non-European countries until 2015, by Qatar. Over the years, the organization of the World Championships has changed. Initially, there were group games in both the preliminary and main rounds, but since the 1995 edition a knockout system has been applied after the preliminary round.[2]

Tournaments

Year Host Final Third place match Teams
Champions Score Runners-up Third place Score Fourth place
1938
Details
Nazi Germany
Germany

Germany
Round-robin
Austria

Sweden
Round-robin
Denmark
4
1954
Details
Sweden
Sweden

Sweden
17–14
Germany[lower-alpha 1]

Czechoslovakia
24–11
Switzerland
6
1958
Details
East Germany
East Germany

Sweden
22–12
Czechoslovakia

Germany[lower-alpha 2]
16–13
Denmark
16
1961
Details
West Germany
West Germany

Romania
9–8 (2ET)
Czechoslovakia

Sweden
17–14
Germany[lower-alpha 2]
12
1964
Details
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia

Romania
25–22
Sweden

Czechoslovakia
22–15
West Germany
16
1967
Details
Sweden
Sweden

Czechoslovakia
14–11
Denmark

Romania
21–19 (ET)
Soviet Union
16
1970
Details
France
France

Romania
13–12 (2ET)
East Germany

Yugoslavia
29–12
Denmark
16
1974
Details
East Germany
East Germany

Romania
14–12
East Germany

Yugoslavia
18–16
Poland
16
1978
Details
Denmark
Denmark

West Germany
20–19
Soviet Union

East Germany
19–15
Denmark
16
1982
Details
West Germany
West Germany

Soviet Union
30–27 (ET)
Yugoslavia

Poland
23–22
Denmark
16
1986
Details
Switzerland
Switzerland

Yugoslavia
24–22
Hungary

East Germany
24–23
Sweden
16
1990
Details
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia

Sweden
27–23
Soviet Union

Romania
27–21
Yugoslavia
16
1993
Details
Sweden
Sweden

Russia
28–19
France

Sweden
26–19
Switzerland
16
1995
Details
Iceland
Iceland

France
23–19
Croatia

Sweden
26–20
Germany
24
1997
Details
Japan
Japan

Russia
23–21
Sweden

France
28–27
Hungary
24
1999
Details
Egypt
Egypt

Sweden
25–24
Russia

FR Yugoslavia
27–24
Spain
24
2001
Details
France
France

France
28–25 (ET)
Sweden

FR Yugoslavia
27–17
Egypt
24
2003
Details
Portugal
Portugal

Croatia
34–31
Germany

France
27–22
Spain
24
2005
Details
Tunisia
Tunisia

Spain
40–34
Croatia

France
26–25
Tunisia
24
2007
Details
Germany
Germany

Germany
29–24
Poland

Denmark
34–27
France
24
2009
Details
Croatia
Croatia

France
24–19
Croatia

Poland
31–23
Denmark
24
2011
Details
Sweden
Sweden

France
37–35 (ET)
Denmark

Spain
24–23
Sweden
24
2013
Details
Spain
Spain

Spain
35–19
Denmark

Croatia
31–26
Slovenia
24
2015
Details
Qatar
Qatar

France
25–22
Qatar

Poland
29–28 (ET)
Spain
24
2017
Details
France
France

France
33–26
Norway

Slovenia
31–30
Croatia
24
2019
Details
Denmark Germany
Denmark / Germany

Denmark
31–22
Norway

France
26–25
Germany
24
2021
Details
Egypt
Egypt

Denmark
26–24
Sweden

Spain
35–29
France
32
2023
Details
Poland Sweden
Poland / Sweden

Denmark
34–29
France

Spain
39–36
Sweden
32
2025
Details
Croatia Denmark Norway
Croatia / Denmark / Norway
32
2027
Details
Germany
Germany
32
2029
Details
TBD 32
2031
Details
TBD 32

Medal table

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 France62412
2 Sweden44412
3 Romania4026
4 Denmark3317
5 Germany2215
6 Russia2103
7 Spain2035
8 Croatia1315
9 Czechoslovakia1225
10 Soviet Union1203
11 Yugoslavia1124
12 West Germany1001
13 East Germany0224
14 Norway0202
15 Poland0134
16 Austria0101
 Hungary0101
 Qatar0101
19 Yugoslavia0022
20 Slovenia0011
Totals (20 entries)28282884

Participating nations

Legend
  • 1st – Champions
  • 2nd – Runners-up
  • 3rd – Third place
  • 4th – Fourth place
  • 5th – Fifth place
  • 6th – Sixth place
  • 7th – Seventh place
  • 8th – Eighth place
  • 9th – Ninth place
  • 10th – Tenth place
  • 11th – Eleventh place
  • 12th to 24th – Twelfth to twenty-fourth place
  • Q — Qualified for upcoming tournament
  •  ••  — Qualified but withdrew
  •    — Did not qualify
  •  ×  — Did not enter / Withdrew from the World Championship / Banned
  •    — Hosts
Team Germany
1938
Sweden
1954
East Germany
1958
West Germany
1961
Czechoslovakia
1964
Sweden
1967
France
1970
East Germany
1974
Denmark
1978
West Germany
1982
Switzerland
1986
Czechoslovakia
1990
Sweden
1993
Iceland
1995
Japan
1997
Egypt
1999
France
2001
Portugal
2003
Tunisia
2005
Germany
2007
Croatia
2009
Sweden
2011
Spain
2013
Qatar
2015
France
2017
Denmark
Germany
2019
Egypt
2021
Poland
Sweden
2023
Croatia
Denmark
Norway
2025
Germany
2027
TBD
2029
TBD
2031
Total
 AlgeriaPart of  France×××15th16th16th16th16th17th15th13th18th17th19th15th17th24th22nd31st16
 AngolaPart of  Portugal20th21st24th23rd30th5
 Argentina×××××××22nd21st15th17th18th16th18th12th18th12th18th17th11th19th14
 Australia××××××××24th21st24th24th24th24th24th××7
 Austria2nd×11th14th18th13th19th26th7
 BahrainPart of  Great Britain×23rd••23rd20th21st16th5
 BelarusPart of  Soviet Union9th15th18th11th17th××5
 Bosnia and HerzegovinaPart of  Yugoslavia20th1
 Belgium××××××××21st1
 Brazil××15th××××24th24th16th19th22nd19th19th21st21st13th16th16th9th18th17th16
 Bulgaria××××××11th14th2
 Canada××××16th×15th23rd×3
 Cape VerdePart of  Portugal32nd23rd2
 Chile××××××××22nd23rd23rd21st16th27th26th7
 China××××××××20th20th×2
 CroatiaPart of  Yugoslavia2nd13th10th9th1st2nd5th2nd5th3rd6th4th6th15th9thQ16
 Cuba××××××××13th15th14th13th14th8th20th7
 Czech RepublicSee  Czechoslovakia8th11th18th10th12th17th••6
 Denmark4th5th4th5th7th2nd4th8th4th4th7th9th19th9th9th13th3rd4th2nd2nd5th10th1st1st1stQ26
 DR Congo××××××××28th1
 Egypt××××14th×××12th6th6th7th4th15th14th17th14th14th16th14th13th8th7th7th17
 Finland×14th×1
 France×6th9th8th13th10th12th16th9th2nd1st3rd6th1st3rd3rd4th1st1st6th1st1st3rd4th2ndQ25
 Germany
(including West Germany)
1st2nd3rd4th4th6th5th9th1st7th7th6th4th5th8th2nd9th1st5th11th5th7th9th4th12th5thQ27
 Greece××××××××6th1
 Greenland××××××××20th24th22nd3
 Hungary×7th8th8th8th7th9th9th2nd6th11th17th4th11th6th9th6th7th8th7th10th5th8th22
 Iceland××10th6th9th11th14th13th6th10th8th14th5th11th7th15th8th6th12th11th14th11th20th12th22
 Iran××××××××21st24th2
 Italy×××××××18th1
 Japan×××12th16th11th10th12th12th14th15th23rd15th16th16th22nd24th19th×15
 Kuwait××××××××15th20th19th23rd20th22nd19th22nd8
 LithuaniaPart of  Soviet Union10th1
 Luxembourg××16th×1
 MontenegroPart of  YugoslaviaPart of  Serbia and Montenegro22nd18th2
 MoroccoFrance / Spain×××××22nd23rd17th22nd23rd20th29th30th8
 Netherlands×××11th×14th2
 Nigeria××××××××23rd1
 North MacedoniaPart of  Yugoslavia18th11th14th9th15th15th23rd27th8
 Norway×6th7th11th13th13th13th12th13th14th7th13th9th9th2nd2nd6th6thQ18
 Poland××5th12th14th4th6th3rd14th11th10th2nd3rd8th9th3rd17th13th15th17
 Portugal×××××19th16th12th10th13th5
 QatarPart of  Great Britain×16th21st23rd20th2nd8th13th8th22nd9
 Romania××13th1st1st3rd1st1st7th5th9th3rd10th10th15th19th14
 RussiaSee  Soviet Union1st5th1st2nd6th5th8th6th16th7th19th12th14th14th××14[upper-alpha 1]
 Saudi Arabia××××××××21st22nd21st10th23rd19th22nd20th21st29th10
 SerbiaPart of  YugoslaviaPart of  Serbia and Montenegro8th10th10th18th11th5
 SlovakiaPart of  Czechoslovakia10th17th2
 SloveniaPart of  Yugoslavia18th17th11th12th10th4th8th3rd9th10th10
 South Korea××××××××12th12th15th12th8th14th12th15th12th13th21stKorea S.31st28th13
 Spain×12th13th10th8th5th5th5th11th7th4th5th4th1st7th13th3rd1st4th5th7th3rd3rd22
 Sweden3rd1st1st3rd2nd5th6th10th8th11th4th1st3rd3rd2nd1st2nd13th11th7th4th10th6th5th2nd4th26
  Switzerland×4th×10th12th14th15th12th11th13th4th7th16th11
 TunisiaFrance France×××15th×15th16th12th10th14th4th11th17th20th11th15th19th12th25th25th16
 UkrainePart of  Soviet Union7th14th2
 United States××××15th16th16th16th21st24th••20thQQ9
 Uruguay××××××××24th32nd2
Discontinued teams
 Czechoslovakia×3rd2nd2nd3rd1st7th6th11th10th13th7th7thSee  Czech Republic12
 East Germany××××10th9th2nd2nd3rd6th3rd8thSee  Germany8
 KoreaSee  North Korea and  South Korea22nd North Korea/ South Korea1
 Serbia and MontenegroPart of  Yugoslavia9th3rd3rd8th5thSee  Serbia and  Montenegro5
 Soviet Union×××5th4th9th5th2nd1st10th2ndSee  Russia8
 Yugoslavia××8th9th6th7th3rd3rd5th2nd1st4th10
Total46161216161616161616161624242424242424242424242424323232323232

Statistics

List of hosts

List of hosts by number of championships hosted.

Times
hosted
Host Year(s)
8 Germany (including East* and West Germany**)1938, 1958*, 1961**, 1974*, 1982**, 2007, 2019, (2027)
5 Sweden1954, 1967, 1993, 2011, 2023
3 Denmark1978, 2019, (2025)
3 France1970, 2001, 2017
2 Croatia2009, (2025)
2 Czechoslovakia1964, 1990
2 Egypt1999, 2021
1 Iceland1995
1 Japan1997
1 Norway(2025)
1 Poland2023
1 Portugal2003
1 Qatar2015
1 Spain2013
1  Switzerland1986
1 Tunisia2005

All-time table for champions (1938–2023)

TeamParticipations PldWDL TitlesTop 4
 Croatia15 12389628 16
 Czechoslovakia12 7241724 15
 Denmark25 174115851 313
 France24 178121651 614
 Germany[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]19 145991135 28
 Romania14 8351428 46
 Russia[lower-alpha 3]13 10766833 23
 Soviet Union8 5135214 14
 Spain22 164114842 28
 Sweden26 187129652 415
 West Germany7 4428412 12
 Yugoslavia10 9257728 15

Draws include knockout matches decided in a penalty shootout.

Most successful players

Boldface denotes active handball players and highest medal count among all players (including these who not included in these tables) per type.

Multiple gold medalists

Rank Player Country From To Gold Silver Bronze Total
1Thierry Omeyer France20012017527
2Nikola Karabatić France200520234127
3Jérôme Fernandez France20012015426
Michaël Guigou France20052019426
Daniel Narcisse France20012017426
6Cédric Sorhaindo France20092019415
7Mikkel Hansen Denmark20112023325
Niklas Landin Jacobsen Denmark20112023325
9Cornel Oțelea Romania195919703 1 *1 5 *
10Mads Mensah Larsen Denmark20132023314
Henrik Møllgaard Denmark20132023314

* Including one medal won at the 1959 World Outdoor Field Handball Championship

Multiple medalists

The table shows players who have won at least 6 medals in total at the World Championships.

Rank Player Country From To Gold Silver Bronze Total
1Thierry Omeyer France20012017527
2Nikola Karabatić France200520234127
3Jérôme Fernandez France20012015426
Michaël Guigou France20052019426
Daniel Narcisse France20012017426
6Magnus Andersson Sweden199020012226
Ola Lindgren Sweden199020012226
Magnus Wislander Sweden199020012226
9Jackson Richardson France199320052136

Top scorers by tournament

The record-holder for scored goals in a single World Championship is Kiril Lazarov. He scored 92 goals for Macedonia in nine matches at the 2009 World Championship.

Year Player Goals
1938 Sweden Yngve Lamberg
Germany Hans-Werner Obermark
Germany Hans Theilig
6
1954 Germany Otto Maychrzak 16
1958 Denmark Mogens Olsen 46
1961 Romania Petre Ivănescu
Czechoslovakia Zdeněk Rada
24
1964 Romania Hans (Ioan) Moser 33
1967 West Germany Herbert Lübking 38
1970 Soviet Union Vladimir Maksimov 31
1974 Romania Ștefan Birtalan 43
1978 Poland Jerzy Klempel
Hungary Péter Kovács
47
1982 Romania Vasile Stîngă 65
1986 South Korea Kang Jae-won 67
1990 Cuba Roberto Julián Duranona
Soviet Union Aleksandr Tuchkin
55
1993 Switzerland Marc Baumgartner
Hungary József Éles
South Korea Yoon Kyung-shin
41
1995 South Korea Yoon Kyung-shin 86
1997 South Korea Yoon Kyung-shin 62
1999 Cuba Rolando Uríos 57
2001 Russia Eduard Koksharov 61
2003 Hungary Carlos Pérez 64
2005 Tunisia Wissem Hmam 81
2007 Iceland Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson 66
2009 North Macedonia Kiril Lazarov 92
2011 Denmark Mikkel Hansen 68
2013 Denmark Anders Eggert 62
2015 Slovenia Dragan Gajić 71
2017 North Macedonia Kiril Lazarov 50
2019 Denmark Mikkel Hansen 72
2021 Qatar Frankis Carol 58
2023 Denmark Mathias Gidsel 60

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 In 1954, Germany sent a team fully composed of players from the West Germany.
  2. 1 2 3 In 1958 and 1961, Germany sent a united team composed of players from the West Germany and the East Germany.
  3. Not including 2021 results (3 victories, 1 draw and 2 loses in 6 matches) because the team participated as the Russian Handball Federation in accordance with a ban by WADA and a decision by CAS.

References

  1. "Danmark vinder VM for tredje gang i streg efter drama" (in Danish). TV 2. 29 January 2023.
  2. "IHF official website – Men's World Championships – Statistics (1938–2009)" (PDF). IHF.
  1. Russia's total includes one appearance as Russian Handball Federation in 2021.
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