# List of Olympic Games boycotts

The Olympic Games is a major international multi-sport event.
Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire were not invited to attend the 1920 Antwerp games in Belgium, having lost the World War I.
South Africa were not invited to the 1964 Games, while its invitation to the 1968 Games was withdrawn after several other African countries threatened to boycott the Games due to apartheid. South Africa would not be permitted to return to the Olympics until 1992.
Rhodesia was also prevented from entering the 1972 Summer Olympics when its invitation was withdrawn by the International Olympic Committee following protests by other African countries.
Possibly the most famous Olympic boycotts occurred in 1980 and 1984, due to the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan. Iran and Albania are the only countries that boycotted both the 1980 and 1984 Olympics. Albania is also the only country that boycotted the 1976, 1980 and 1984 Olympics.
In 2021, several nations announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics to protest against Chinese mistreatment of the Uyghur population, thus prohibiting many government officials from attending the games in an official capacity, while still permitting athletes to compete. Later, India joined the boycott over China's decision to choose Qi Fabao, a regimental commander in the People's Liberation Army, as a torchbearer for the event.

## List of full boycotts of an Olympic Games or full non-attendance

| Olympiad | Year | Host Country | Host City | Boycotting countries | Boycotting countries |
| Olympiad | Year | Host Country | Host City | List | Map |
| XVI | 1956 | Australia | Melbourne | Egypt Iraq Lebanon Liechtenstein Monaco Netherlands Netherlands Antilles Cambodia Panama Spain Switzerland China | |
| XVIII | 1964 | Japan | Tokyo | North Korea Indonesia China | |
| XXI | 1976 | Canada | Montreal | Afghanistan Albania Algeria Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Republic of the Congo Egypt Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guyana Iraq Kenya Libya Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Mali Morocco Myanmar Niger Nigeria Somalia Sri Lanka Sudan Eswatini Syria Chinese Taipei Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia | |
| XXII | 1980 | Soviet Union (now part of Russia) | Moscow | Albania (no reason given)Antigua and Barbuda Argentina BahamasBahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belize Bermuda Bolivia Canada Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Egypt El Salvador Fiji Gabon Gambia Ghana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Indonesia Iran Israel Ivory Coast Japan Kenya South Korea Liberia Liechtenstein Malawi Malaysia Mauritania Monaco Mauritius Morocco Netherlands Antilles NigerNorth Yemen Norway Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Philippines Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore Somalia Sudan Suriname Eswatini Chinese Taipei (protesting the Nagoya Resolution designating it as "Chinese Taipei") Thailand Togo Tunisia Turkey United Arab Emirates United States United States Virgin Islands Uruguay West Germany Zaire | |
| XXIII | 1984 | United States | Los Angeles | Soviet UnionBulgariaEast GermanyMongoliaVietnamLaosCzechoslovakiaAfghanistanHungaryPolandCubaSouth YemenNorth KoreaEthiopiaAngolaAlbania (no reason given)IranBurkina FasoLibya | |
| XXIV | 1988 | South Korea | Seoul | Ethiopia (did not respond to invitation)Nicaragua (financial)Madagascar (financial)CubaAlbania (did not respond to invitation)North KoreaSeychelles (did not respond to invitation) | |

## List of non-attendance of government officials or diplomatic boycotts of the Olympic Games

The following is the list of countries that did not send official delegations to the Games, but permitted their athletes to participate.
| Games | Year | Host Country | Host City | Boycotting countries | Boycotting countries |
| Games | Year | Host Country | Host City | List | Map |
| XXXII Olympic Summer Olympics | 2020 | Japan | Tokyo | North Korea (medical) | |
| XXIV Olympic Winter Games | 2022 | China | Beijing | LithuaniaUnited StatesAustraliaUnited KingdomCanadaKosovoBelgiumEstoniaTaiwanDenmarkIndia | |

## Other

During the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Russia, the United States and United Kingdom diplomatically boycotted the event, and the entire Ukrainian delegation except for their flagbearer boycotted the opening ceremony due to Russia's annexation of Crimea and the violation of the Olympic Truce.