# WBSC World Rankings

Men's Baseball as of 27 November 2024 :
| Rank | Change | Team | Points |
| 1 | | Japan | 6866 |
| 2 | | Chinese Taipei | 5498 |
| 3 | 1 | Venezuela | 4846 |
| 4 | 2 | Mexico | 4729 |
| 5 | | United States | 4691 |
| 6 | | South Korea | 4487 |
| 7 | | Netherlands | 3949 |
| 8 | 2 | Panama | 3394 |
| 9 | 1 | Puerto Rico | 3340 |
| 10 | 1 | Cuba | 3096 |
| 11 | 1 | Dominican Republic | 2745 |
| 12 | 3 | Australia | 2476 |
| 13 | 2 | Colombia | 2441 |
| 14 | 1 | Italy | 2214 |
| 15 | 1 | Czech Republic | 2030 |
| 16 | | Nicaragua | 1828 |
| 17 | | Germany | 1399 |
| 18 | | Great Britain | 1326 |
| 19 | | Israel | 1121 |
| 20 | | China | 900 |
| *Change from 18 September 2024 ||||
Women's Softball as of 10 November 2023 :
| Rank | Change | Team | Points |
| 1 | | United States | 4301 |
| 2 | | Japan | 2899 |
| 3 | | Puerto Rico | 2815 |
| 4 | 1 | Chinese Taipei | 2573 |
| 5 | 1 | Canada | 1885 |
| 6 | 2 | Italy | 1816 |
| 7 | 1 | Mexico | 1684 |
| 8 | 1 | Netherlands | 1602 |
| 9 | 1 | Czech Republic | 1483 |
| 10 | 3 | Australia | 1379 |
| 11 | 3 | Cuba | 953 |
| 12 | | Spain | 950 |
| 13 | | Great Britain | 936 |
| 14 | 7 | Philippines | 898 |
| 15 | 4 | China | 845 |
| 16 | 2 | Peru | 771 |
| 17 | 2 | Venezuela | 770 |
| 18 | 1 | Israel | 725 |
| 19 | 1 | Germany | 646 |
| 20 | 2 | France | 624 |
| *Change from 31 July 2023 ||||
The WBSC World Rankings is a ranking system for national teams in baseball, softball, and baseball5. The teams of the member nations of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), baseball's world governing body, are ranked based on their tournament results with the most successful teams being ranked highest. A point system is used, with points being awarded based on the results of WBSC-recognized international tournaments. Under the existing system, rankings are based on a team's performance over the last four years, with major international tournaments awarded a higher weighting compared to minor international and continental tournaments.
Five rankings are published by the WBSC, they are: Men's Baseball, Women's Baseball, Women's Softball, Men's Softball, and Baseball5.

## History

In January 2009, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) first published a listing in rank order of its member associations to provide a basis for comparison of the relative strengths of these teams. Though primarily focused on the respective men's senior teams of member nations, the current ranks also include points awarded based on results at the IBAF 'AAA' (Under 18) Junior and 'AA' (Under 16) Youth Championships held during the tracking period. As a result from the merger with softball in 2013, the WBSC is also responsible for ranking international men's and women's softball teams. Beginning in 2015, the rankings also determine which twelve teams participate in the WBSC Premier12 tournament.

## Men's
### Baseball
#### Men's ranking leaders

Teams ranking in the top five :
| Date | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
| 31 December 2012 | Cuba | United States | Japan | South Korea | Chinese Taipei |
| 31 December 2014 | Japan | United States | Cuba | Chinese Taipei | Netherlands |
| 31 December 2016 | Japan | United States | South Korea | Chinese Taipei | Cuba |
| 25 September 2018 | United States | Japan | South Korea | Cuba | Chinese Taipei |
| 17 December 2018 | Japan | United States | South Korea | Chinese Taipei | Cuba |
| 31 December 2019 | Japan | United States | South Korea | Chinese Taipei | Mexico |
| 18 March 2020 | Japan | United States | South Korea | Chinese Taipei | Mexico |
| 28 June 2021 | Japan | Chinese Taipei | South Korea | United States | Mexico |
| 11 August 2021 | Japan | South Korea | Chinese Taipei | United States | Mexico |
| 31 December 2021 | Japan | Chinese Taipei | South Korea | Mexico | United States |
| 31 December 2022 | Japan | Chinese Taipei | United States | South Korea | Mexico |
| 28 March 2023 | Japan | United States | Mexico | Chinese Taipei | South Korea |
| 15 August 2023 | Japan | United States | Mexico | South Korea | Chinese Taipei |
| 5 October 2023 | Japan | United States | Mexico | South Korea | Chinese Taipei |
| 2 November 2023 | Japan | Mexico | United States | South Korea | Chinese Taipei |
| 18 December 2023 | Japan | Mexico | United States | South Korea | Chinese Taipei |
| 31 December 2023 | Japan | Mexico | United States | South Korea | Chinese Taipei |
| 9 March 2024 | Japan | Mexico | Chinese Taipei | United States | Venezuela |
| 18 September 2024 | Japan | Mexico | Chinese Taipei | Venezuela | United States |
| 27 November 2024 | Japan | Chinese Taipei | Venezuela | Mexico | United States |
The rankings of November 2023 saw a record 80 nations earning rankings.

#### Best Movers

Top five movers per ranking :
| Date | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
| 31 December 2014 | Israel | Curaçao | Iran | Slovenia | Austria |
| 31 December 2016 | Guatemala | Slovakia | Sweden | Poland | Lithuania |
| 25 September 2018 | Israel | Indonesia | El Salvador | Sri Lanka | Honduras |
| 17 December 2018 | Curaçao | U.S. Virgin Islands | Aruba | South Africa | Venezuela |
| 31 December 2019 | American Samoa | Guam | Greece | Great Britain | Spain |
| 18 March 2020 | Guam | El Salvador | New Zealand | Honduras | Peru |
| 28 June 2021 | Switzerland | Honduras | Indonesia | Aruba | Nigeria |
| 11 August 2021 | Slovenia | Ireland | Croatia | Uganda | American Samoa |
| 31 December 2021 | Sweden | Hungary | Croatia | Great Britain | Venezuela |
| 31 December 2022 | Northern Mariana Islands | Bahamas | Curaçao | Bulgaria | Palau |
| 28 March 2023 | Costa Rica | Bangladesh | Honduras | China | Kenya |
| 15 August 2023 | Palestine | Ecuador | Indonesia | Norway | Afghanistan |
| 5 October 2023 | Switzerland | Greece | Sweden | Croatia | Ukraine |
| 2 November 2023 | Panama | Colombia | South Africa | Laos | El Salvador |
| 18 December 2023 | Pakistan | Palestine | Hong Kong | Costa Rica | Philippines |
| 31 December 2023 | Norway | Finland | — | — | — |
| 9 March 2024 | Bahamas | Poland | Serbia | Romania | Tied |
| 18 September 2024 | El Salvador | Tied | Tied | Venezuela | United States |
| 27 November 2024 | U.S. Virgin Islands | Chile | Singapore | Tied | Tied |
* ↑ Ireland, Slovenia, Norway
* ↑ Sri Lanka and Costa Rica
* ↑ Curaçao and Australia

### Softball

Top 20 Rankings as of 26 April 2023 :
| Rank | Change | Team | Points |
| 1 | | Argentina | 4224 |
| 2 | 2 | Australia | 3551 |
| 3 | | Japan | 3451 |
| 4 | 2 | Canada | 3358 |
| 5 | | United States | 2655 |
| 6 | | Czech Republic | 2526 |
| 7 | | New Zealand | 2280 |
| 8 | | Venezuela | 2133 |
| 9 | | Cuba | 1807 |
| 10 | | Mexico | 1775 |
| 11 | | Denmark | 1069 |
| 12 | 2 | Singapore | 994 |
| 13 | | Guatemala | 934 |
| 14 | 2 | South Africa | 894 |
| 15 | | Philippines | 623 |
| 16 | | Netherlands | 412 |
| 17 | 4 | Israel | 339 |
| 18 | 1 | Botswana | 253 |
| 19 | 1 | Dominican Republic | 221 |
| 20 | 1 | Chinese Taipei | 192 |
| *Change from 31 December 2022 ||||

## Women's
### Softball
#### Women's ranking leaders

Teams ranking in the top five :
| Date | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
| 31 December 2016 | Japan | United States | Canada | Australia | New Zealand |
| 17 December 2018 | United States | Japan | Canada | Puerto Rico | Mexico |
| 31 December 2019 | United States | Japan | Canada | Puerto Rico | Mexico |
| 1 January 2020 | United States | Japan | Canada | Puerto Rico | Mexico |
| 28 June 2021 | United States | Japan | Canada | Puerto Rico | Mexico |
| 11 August 2021 | Japan | United States | Canada | Mexico | Puerto Rico |
| 31 December 2021 | United States | Japan | Canada | Mexico | Puerto Rico |
| 31 December 2022 | United States | Japan | Chinese Taipei | Canada | Puerto Rico |
| 12 April 2023 | United States | Japan | Chinese Taipei | Puerto Rico | Canada |
| 31 July 2023 | United States | Japan | Puerto Rico | Canada | Chinese Taipei |
| 10 November 2023 | United States | Japan | Puerto Rico | Chinese Taipei | Canada |
| 31 December 2023 | United States | Japan | Puerto Rico | Chinese Taipei | Canada |
Softball saw a ranking featuring 66 countries in November 2023.

#### Best Movers

Top five movers per ranking :
| Date | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
| 17 December 2018 | South Africa | Ireland | India | Mexico | Dominican Republic |
| 31 December 2019 | Belgium | Germany | Poland | Spain | Ireland |
| 28 June 2021 | Croatia | Germany | Slovakia | Spain | Russia |
| 11 August 2021 | Cuba | Indonesia | Hong Kong | Botswana | Curaçao |
| 31 December 2021 | Denmark | Peru | Belgium | Slovakia | Sweden |
| 31 December 2022 | Argentina | El Salvador | Slovakia | Greece | Israel |
| 12 April 2023 | Singapore | Philippines | South Korea | Thailand | Botswana |
| 31 July 2023 | Cuba | Curaçao | Botswana | Venezuela | South Africa |
| 10 November 2023 | Philippines | Singapore | Hong Kong | Belgium | Hungary |
| 31 December 2023 | Dominican Republic | Colombia | Guatemala | Chile | Ecuador |

### Baseball

Top 20 Rankings as of 22 September 2023 :
| Rank | Change | Team | Points |
| 1 | | Japan | 970 |
| 2 | | Chinese Taipei | 841 |
| 3 | 2 | Venezuela | 581 |
| 4 | | United States | 510 |
| 5 | 7 | Mexico | 496 |
| 6 | 3 | Puerto Rico | 490 |
| 7 | 4 | Hong Kong | 451 |
| 8 | 5 | Canada | 428 |
| 9 | 1 | South Korea | 413 |
| 10 | 3 | Cuba | 350 |
| 11 | 3 | Philippines | 324 |
| 12 | 3 | China | 277 |
| 13 | 5 | Australia | 264 |
| 14 | 2 | France | 180 |
| 15 | 3 | India | 177 |
| 16 | 3 | Pakistan | 115 |
| 17 | | Indonesia | 109 |
| 18 | 12 | Dominican Republic | 72 |
| 19 | | Thailand | 68 |
| 20 | | Czech Republic | 56 |
| *Change from 31 December 2021 ||||
In the wake of the International Olympic Committee's decision to cut baseball from the 2012 Olympics program, the IBAF pushed the growth of women's baseball as to include a women's component in its bid for a reinstatement of the sport in future Olympics. The effort to unify the sports resulted in the merger of the IBAF with the International Softball Federation in 2013 to create the WBSC.
The initial women's baseball rankings were based upon results from past Women's Baseball World Cups. While the calculations of the women's rankings are similar to that of the men's, one main difference is that they are inclusive of the three most recent IBAF Women's Baseball World Cups whereas the men's rankings only include the last two. Points are weighted in favor of the more recent results.

## Coed
### Baseball5

Baseball5 is a mixed-gender sport, with each team of 5 active players having at least 2 players of either gender.
Top 20 Rankings as of 9 August 2024 :
| Rank | Change | Team | Points |
| 1 | | Chinese Taipei | 3306 |
| 2 | 1 | Cuba | 2947 |
| 3 | 1 | Tunisia | 2535 |
| 4 | | France | 2390 |
| 5 | | Japan | 2322 |
| 6 | | South Africa | 1929 |
| 7 | 1 | Mexico | 1896 |
| 8 | 1 | South Korea | 1811 |
| 9 | | China | 1476 |
| 10 | | Lithuania | 1342 |
| 11 | | Ghana | 1222 |
| 12 | | Turkey | 1144 |
| 13 | 2 | Venezuela | 1127 |
| 14 | 1 | Malaysia | 1056 |
| 15 | 1 | Kenya | 1046 |
| 16 | | Zambia | 798 |
| 17 | | Hong Kong | 778 |
| 18 | | Netherlands | 723 |
| 19 | | Belgium | 716 |
| 20 | | Italy | 702 |
| *Change from 16 May 2024 ||||

## Calculation method
### Men's baseball

Points are awarded in the men's baseball rankings according to finishes in the Premier12, World Baseball Classic, U-23 Baseball World Cup, U-18 Baseball World Cup, U-15 Baseball World Cup and U-12 Baseball World Cup as follows.

#### Premier 12

| Final rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| Points | 1380 | 1102 | 1004 | 906 | 808 | 710 | 612 | 514 | 416 | 318 | 220 | 122 |

#### World Baseball Classic

| Final rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| Points | 1150 | 940 | 880 | 820 | 760 | 700 | 640 | 580 | 520 | 460 | 400 | 340 | 280 | 220 | 160 | 100 |

#### U-23 Baseball World Cup

| Final rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| Points | 690 | 551 | 502 | 453 | 404 | 355 | 306 | 257 | 208 | 159 | 110 | 61 |

#### U-18 Baseball World Cup

| Final rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| Points | 575 | 459 | 418 | 377 | 336 | 295 | 254 | 213 | 172 | 131 | 90 | 49 |

#### U-15 Baseball World Cup

| Final rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| Points | 460 | 367 | 334 | 301 | 268 | 235 | 202 | 169 | 136 | 103 | 70 | 37 |

#### U-12 Baseball World Cup

| Final rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| Points | 345 | 275 | 250 | 225 | 200 | 175 | 150 | 125 | 100 | 75 | 50 | 25 |

## Controversies

Criticism of the WBSC World Ranking focus on how the rankings are calculated and how each countries' strengths are often misrepresented.
The current system strongly favors the winners of the WBSC Premier12, awarding 1380 points; this is far greater than that of winning the World Baseball Classic, which awards just 1150 points. This practice has led to some controversies, as players on the active roster for the Major League Baseball, arguably world's best players, do not participate in the former competition. This in turn causes the WBSC ranking to be disproportionately unfavorable to countries with more players in the MLB, such as the United States or the Dominican Republic. In fact, former WBC champions Dominican Republic have never been in the top 5 rankings, despite having the second most active players in the MLB, just behind the United States.
Additionally, the current rankings system take junior competitions, such as the U-12 Baseball World Cup and the likes of them, into account under the same ranking hierarchy. Critics argue that this practice alters the rankings to misrepresent how well the senior men's team perform by including irrelevant competitions within the ranking.