# IHF World Men's Handball Championship

The IHF Men's Handball World Championship has been organized indoor by the International Handball Federation since 1938.
In the twenty-nine tournaments held, twelve national teams have won the title. France is the most successful team with six titles, followed by Sweden, Denmark and Romania with four titles each.
The current champion is Denmark, which won its fourth consecutive title at the 2025 tournament in Croatia, Denmark and Norway.

## 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.

## Tournaments

| Year | Host | Final | Final | Final | Third place match | Third place match | Third place match | Teams |
| Year | Host | Champions | Score | Runners-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | Teams |
| 1938 Details | Germany | Germany | Round-robin | Austria | Sweden | Round-robin | Denmark | 4 |
| 1954 Details | Sweden | Sweden | 17–14 | Germany | Czechoslovakia | 24–11 | Switzerland | 6 |
| 1958 Details | East Germany | Sweden | 22–12 | Czechoslovakia | Germany | 16–13 | Denmark | 16 |
| 1961 Details | West Germany | Romania | 9–8 (2ET) | Czechoslovakia | Sweden | 17–14 | Germany | 12 |
| 1964 Details | Czechoslovakia | Romania | 25–22 | Sweden | Czechoslovakia | 22–15 | West Germany | 16 |
| 1967 Details | Sweden | Czechoslovakia | 14–11 | Denmark | Romania | 21–19 (ET) | Soviet Union | 16 |
| 1970 Details | France | Romania | 13–12 (2ET) | East Germany | Yugoslavia | 29–12 | Denmark | 16 |
| 1974 Details | East Germany | Romania | 14–12 | East Germany | Yugoslavia | 18–16 | Poland | 16 |
| 1978 Details | Denmark | West Germany | 20–19 | Soviet Union | East Germany | 19–15 | Denmark | 16 |
| 1982 Details | West Germany | Soviet Union | 30–27 (ET) | Yugoslavia | Poland | 23–22 | Denmark | 16 |
| 1986 Details | Switzerland | Yugoslavia | 24–22 | Hungary | East Germany | 24–23 | Sweden | 16 |
| 1990 Details | Czechoslovakia | Sweden | 27–23 | Soviet Union | Romania | 27–21 | Yugoslavia | 16 |
| 1993 Details | Sweden | Russia | 28–19 | France | Sweden | 26–19 | Switzerland | 16 |
| 1995 Details | Iceland | France | 23–19 | Croatia | Sweden | 26–20 | Germany | 24 |
| 1997 Details | Japan | Russia | 23–21 | Sweden | France | 28–27 | Hungary | 24 |
| 1999 Details | Egypt | Sweden | 25–24 | Russia | FR Yugoslavia | 27–24 | Spain | 24 |
| 2001 Details | France | France | 28–25 (ET) | Sweden | FR Yugoslavia | 27–17 | Egypt | 24 |
| 2003 Details | Portugal | Croatia | 34–31 | Germany | France | 27–22 | Spain | 24 |
| 2005 Details | Tunisia | Spain | 40–34 | Croatia | France | 26–25 | Tunisia | 24 |
| 2007 Details | Germany | Germany | 29–24 | Poland | Denmark | 34–27 | France | 24 |
| 2009 Details | Croatia | France | 24–19 | Croatia | Poland | 31–23 | Denmark | 24 |
| 2011 Details | Sweden | France | 37–35 (ET) | Denmark | Spain | 24–23 | Sweden | 24 |
| 2013 Details | Spain | Spain | 35–19 | Denmark | Croatia | 31–26 | Slovenia | 24 |
| 2015 Details | Qatar | France | 25–22 | Qatar | Poland | 29–28 (ET) | Spain | 24 |
| 2017 Details | France | France | 33–26 | Norway | Slovenia | 31–30 | Croatia | 24 |
| 2019 Details | Denmark / Germany | Denmark | 31–22 | Norway | France | 26–25 | Germany | 24 |
| 2021 Details | Egypt | Denmark | 26–24 | Sweden | Spain | 35–29 | France | 32 |
| 2023 Details | Poland / Sweden | Denmark | 34–29 | France | Spain | 39–36 | Sweden | 32 |
| 2025 Details | Croatia / Denmark / Norway | Denmark | 32–26 | Croatia | France | 35–34 | Portugal | 32 |
| 2027 Details | Germany | | | | | | | 32 |
| 2029 Details | France / Germany | | | | | | | 32 |
| 2031 Details | Denmark / Iceland / Norway | | | | | | | 32 |

## Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | France | 6 | 2 | 5 | 13 |
| 2 | Sweden | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| 3 | Denmark | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| 4 | Romania | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | Germany | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 6 | Russia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | Spain | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 8 | Croatia | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| 9 | Czechoslovakia | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 10 | Soviet Union | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | Yugoslavia | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 12 | West Germany | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | East Germany | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 14 | Norway | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | Poland | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 16 | Austria | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | Hungary | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 16 | Qatar | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | Yugoslavia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 20 | Slovenia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (20 entries) | Totals (20 entries) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 87 |

## 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 | 1938 | 1954 | 1958 | 1961 | 1964 | 1967 | 1970 | 1974 | 1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1990 | 1993 | 1995 | 1997 | 1999 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | 2019 | 2021 | 2023 | 2025 | 2027 | 2029 | 2031 | Total |
| Algeria | Part of France | Part of France | Part of France | Part of France | × | × | × | 15th | • | 16th | 16th | 16th | • | 16th | 17th | 15th | 13th | 18th | 17th | • | 19th | 15th | 17th | 24th | • | • | 22nd | 31st | 30th | | | | 17 |
| Angola | Part of Portugal | Part of Portugal | Part of Portugal | Part of Portugal | Part of Portugal | Part of Portugal | Part of Portugal | Part of Portugal | • | • | • | • | × | × | × | • | × | • | 20th | 21st | • | • | • | • | 24th | 23rd | 30th | • | • | | | | 5 |
| Argentina | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 22nd | 21st | 15th | 17th | 18th | 16th | 18th | 12th | 18th | 12th | 18th | 17th | 11th | 19th | 20th | | | | 15 |
| Australia | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 24th | • | 21st | 24th | 24th | 24th | 24th | 24th | • | × | • | • | • | × | | | | 7 |
| Austria | 2nd | × | 11th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 14th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 18th | • | 13th | • | 19th | 26th | • | 17th | | | | 8 |
| Bahrain | Part of Great Britain | Part of Great Britain | Part of Great Britain | Part of Great Britain | Part of Great Britain | Part of Great Britain | Part of Great Britain | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 23rd | • | •• | 23rd | 20th | 21st | 16th | 29th | | | | 6 |
| Belarus | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | • | 9th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 15th | 18th | 11th | • | 17th | × | × | | | | 5 |
| Belgium | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 21st | • | | | | 1 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 20th | • | • | • | • | • | | | | 1 |
| Brazil | × | × | 15th | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | 24th | 24th | 16th | 19th | 22nd | 19th | 19th | 21st | 21st | 13th | 16th | 16th | 9th | 18th | 17th | 7th | | | | 17 |
| Bulgaria | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | 11th | 14th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | × | | | | 2 |
| Canada | × | × | × | × | • | 16th | • | × | 15th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 23rd | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | × | • | | | | 3 |
| Cape Verde | Part of Portugal | Part of Portugal | Part of Portugal | Part of Portugal | Part of Portugal | Part of Portugal | Part of Portugal | Part of Portugal | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | 32nd | 23rd | 23rd | | | | 3 |
| Chile | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 22nd | 23rd | 23rd | 21st | 16th | 27th | 26th | 24th | | | | 8 |
| China | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | 20th | 20th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | × | • | | | | 2 |
| Croatia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | • | 2nd | 13th | 10th | 9th | 1st | 2nd | 5th | 2nd | 5th | 3rd | 6th | 4th | 6th | 15th | 9th | 2nd | | | | 16 |
| Cuba | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | 13th | 15th | 14th | • | 13th | 14th | 8th | • | × | × | × | 20th | • | × | × | × | × | × | • | 32nd | | | | 8 |
| Czech Republic | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | 8th | 11th | • | 18th | • | 10th | 12th | • | • | • | 17th | • | • | •• | • | 19th | | | | 7 |
| Denmark | 4th | 5th | 4th | 5th | 7th | 2nd | 4th | 8th | 4th | 4th | 7th | • | 9th | 19th | • | 9th | • | 9th | 13th | 3rd | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | 5th | 10th | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | Q | | Q | 27 |
| DR Congo | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | × | × | × | • | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 28th | • | • | | | | 1 |
| Egypt | × | × | × | × | 14th | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | 12th | 6th | 6th | 7th | 4th | 15th | 14th | 17th | 14th | 14th | 16th | 14th | 13th | 8th | 7th | 7th | 5th | | | | 18 |
| Finland | × | • | 14th | • | • | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | | 1 |
| France | × | 6th | 9th | 8th | 13th | 10th | 12th | • | 16th | • | • | 9th | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 6th | 1st | 3rd | 3rd | 4th | 1st | 1st | 6th | 1st | 1st | 3rd | 4th | 2nd | 3rd | | Q | | 26 |
| Germany (including West Germany) | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 6th | 5th | 9th | 1st | 7th | 7th | • | 6th | 4th | • | 5th | 8th | 2nd | 9th | 1st | 5th | 11th | 5th | 7th | 9th | 4th | 12th | 5th | 6th | Q | Q | | 29 |
| Greece | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 6th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | | 1 |
| Greenland | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 20th | 24th | • | 22nd | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | | 3 |
| Guinea | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | 31st | | | | 1 |
| Hungary | × | • | 7th | • | 8th | 8th | 8th | 7th | 9th | 9th | 2nd | 6th | 11th | 17th | 4th | 11th | • | 6th | • | 9th | 6th | 7th | 8th | • | 7th | 10th | 5th | 8th | 8th | | | | 23 |
| Iceland | × | × | 10th | 6th | 9th | • | 11th | 14th | 13th | • | 6th | 10th | 8th | 14th | 5th | • | 11th | 7th | 15th | 8th | • | 6th | 12th | 11th | 14th | 11th | 20th | 12th | 9th | | | Q | 24 |
| Iran | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 21st | • | • | • | 24th | • | | | | 2 |
| Italy | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 18th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 16th | | | | 2 |
| Japan | × | × | × | 12th | 16th | 11th | 10th | 12th | 12th | 14th | • | 15th | • | 23rd | 15th | • | • | • | 16th | • | • | 16th | • | • | 22nd | 24th | 19th | × | 28th | | | | 16 |
| Kuwait | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | 15th | • | • | • | 20th | • | 19th | 23rd | 20th | 22nd | 19th | 22nd | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 27th | | | | 9 |
| Lithuania | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | • | • | 10th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | | 1 |
| Luxembourg | × | × | 16th | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | | 1 |
| Montenegro | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | • | • | • | 22nd | • | • | • | • | 18th | • | | | | 2 |
| Morocco | / | / | × | × | × | × | • | × | • | × | × | • | • | 22nd | 23rd | 17th | 22nd | 23rd | • | 20th | • | • | • | • | • | • | 29th | 30th | • | | | | 8 |
| Netherlands | × | × | × | 11th | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 14th | 12th | | | | 3 |
| Nigeria | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | × | × | × | • | 23rd | × | • | × | • | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | | 1 |
| North Macedonia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | • | • | • | 18th | • | • | • | • | 11th | • | 14th | 9th | 15th | 15th | 23rd | 27th | 15th | | | | 9 |
| Norway | × | • | 6th | 7th | 11th | 13th | 13th | • | • | • | • | • | 13th | • | 12th | 13th | 14th | • | 7th | 13th | 9th | 9th | • | • | 2nd | 2nd | 6th | 6th | 10 | | | Q | 19 |
| Poland | × | × | 5th | • | • | 12th | 14th | 4th | 6th | 3rd | 14th | 11th | • | • | • | • | • | 10th | • | 2nd | 3rd | 8th | 9th | 3rd | 17th | • | 13th | 15th | 25th | | | | 18 |
| Portugal | × | × | × | • | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 19th | • | 16th | 12th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 10th | 13th | 4th | | | | 6 |
| Qatar | Part of Great Britain | Part of Great Britain | Part of Great Britain | Part of Great Britain | Part of Great Britain | Part of Great Britain | Part of Great Britain | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 16th | 21st | 23rd | • | • | 20th | 2nd | 8th | 13th | 8th | 22nd | 21st | | | | 10 |
| Romania | × | × | 13th | 1st | 1st | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 7th | 5th | 9th | 3rd | 10th | 10th | • | • | • | • | • | • | 15th | 19th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | | 14 |
| Russia | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | See Soviet Union | 1st | 5th | 1st | 2nd | 6th | 5th | 8th | 6th | 16th | • | 7th | 19th | 12th | 14th | 14th | × | × | | | | 14 |
| Saudi Arabia | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | 21st | 22nd | 21st | 19th | • | • | 23rd | • | 19th | 22nd | 20th | 21st | • | 29th | • | | | | 10 |
| Serbia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | Part of Serbia and Montenegro | • | 8th | 10th | 10th | • | • | 18th | • | 11th | • | | | | 5 |
| Slovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | See Czechoslovakia | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 10th | 17th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | | 2 |
| Slovenia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | • | 18th | • | • | 17th | 11th | 12th | 10th | • | • | 4th | 8th | 3rd | • | 9th | 10th | 13th | | | | 11 |
| South Korea | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | 12th | 12th | 15th | 12th | 8th | 14th | 12th | • | • | 15th | 12th | 13th | 21st | • | • | S. | 31st | 28th | • | | | | 13 |
| Spain | × | • | 12th | • | • | • | • | 13th | 10th | 8th | 5th | 5th | 5th | 11th | 7th | 4th | 5th | 4th | 1st | 7th | 13th | 3rd | 1st | 4th | 5th | 7th | 3rd | 3rd | 18th | | | | 23 |
| Sweden | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 3rd | 2nd | 5th | 6th | 10th | 8th | 11th | 4th | 1st | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 13th | 11th | • | 7th | 4th | • | 10th | 6th | 5th | 2nd | 4th | 14th | | | | 27 |
| Switzerland | × | 4th | × | 10th | 12th | 14th | 15th | • | • | 12th | 11th | 13th | 4th | 7th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 16th | • | 11th | | | | 12 |
| Tunisia | France | France | × | × | × | 15th | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | 15th | 16th | 12th | 10th | 14th | 4th | 11th | 17th | 20th | 11th | 15th | 19th | 12th | 25th | 25th | 22nd | | | | 17 |
| Ukraine | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | Part of Soviet Union | • | • | • | • | 7th | • | • | 14th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | | 2 |
| United States | × | × | × | × | 15th | • | 16th | 16th | • | • | • | • | 16th | 21st | • | • | 24th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | •• | 20th | 26th | Q | | | 9 |
| Uruguay | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 24th | 32nd | • | | | | 2 |
| Discontinued teams ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Czechoslovakia | × | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 1st | 7th | 6th | 11th | 10th | 13th | 7th | 7th | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | See Czech Republic | 12 |
| East Germany | | × | | | 10th | 9th | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 6th | 3rd | 8th | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | See Germany | 8 |
| Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | See North Korea and South Korea | 22nd | North Korea/ South Korea | North Korea/ South Korea | North Korea/ South Korea | North Korea/ South Korea | North Korea/ South Korea | North Korea/ South Korea | 1 |
| Serbia and Montenegro | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | Part of Yugoslavia | • | • | 9th | 3rd | 3rd | 8th | 5th | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | See Serbia and Montenegro | 5 |
| Soviet Union | × | × | × | • | 5th | 4th | 9th | 5th | 2nd | 1st | 10th | 2nd | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | See Russia | 8 |
| Yugoslavia | × | × | 8th | 9th | 6th | 7th | 3rd | 3rd | 5th | 2nd | 1st | 4th | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 |
| Total | 4 | 6 | 16 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | |

## Statistics
### List of hosts

List of hosts by number of championships hosted.
| Times hosted | Host | Year(s) |
| 9 | Germany (including East* and West Germany**) | 1938, 1958*, 1961**, 1974*, 1982**, 2007, 2019, (2027, 2029) |
| 5 | Sweden | 1954, 1967, 1993, 2011, 2023 |
| 4 | Denmark | 1978, 2019, 2025, (2031) |
| 4 | France | 1970, 2001, 2017, (2029) |
| 2 | Croatia | 2009, 2025 |
| 2 | Czechoslovakia | 1964, 1990 |
| 2 | Egypt | 1999, 2021 |
| 2 | Iceland | 1995, (2031) |
| 2 | Norway | 2025, (2031) |
| 1 | Japan | 1997 |
| 1 | Poland | 2023 |
| 1 | Portugal | 2003 |
| 1 | Qatar | 2015 |
| 1 | Spain | 2013 |
| 1 | Switzerland | 1986 |
| 1 | Tunisia | 2005 |

### All-time table for semi-finalists (1938–2025)

| Team | Participations | Participations | Participations | Participations | Participations | Games | Games | Games | Games | Games | Games | Games |
| Team | Nb | Titles | % | Top 4 | % | Pld | W | % | D | % | L | % |
| Austria | 8 | 0 | 0,0 % | 1 | 12,5 % | 45 | 17 | 37,8 % | 4 | 8,9 % | 24 | 53,3 % |
| Croatia | 16 | 1 | 6,3 % | 7 | 43,8 % | 132 | 95 | 72,0 % | 7 | 5,3 % | 30 | 22,7 % |
| Czechoslovakia | 12 | 1 | 8,3 % | 5 | 41,7 % | 72 | 41 | 56,9 % | 7 | 9,7 % | 24 | 33,3 % |
| Denmark | 26 | 4 | 15,4 % | 14 | 53,8 % | 183 | 124 | 67,8 % | 8 | 4,4 % | 51 | 27,9 % |
| East Germany | 8 | 0 | 0,0 % | 4 | 50,0 % | 45 | 24 | 53,3 % | 6 | 13,3 % | 15 | 33,3 % |
| Egypt | 18 | 0 | 0,0 % | 1 | 5,6 % | 130 | 60 | 46,2 % | 8 | 6,2 % | 62 | 47,7 % |
| France | 25 | 6 | 24,0 % | 15 | 60,0 % | 188 | 130 | 69,1 % | 7 | 3,7 % | 51 | 27,1 % |
| Germany | 20 | 2 | 10,0 % | 8 | 40,0 % | 152 | 104 | 68,4 % | 11 | 7,2 % | 37 | 24,3 % |
| Hungary | 23 | 0 | 0,0 % | 2 | 8,7 % | 164 | 84 | 51,2 % | 11 | 6,7 % | 69 | 42,1 % |
| Norway | 18 | 0 | 0,0 % | 2 | 11,1 % | 119 | 65 | 54,6 % | 7 | 5,9 % | 47 | 39,5 % |
| Poland | 18 | 0 | 0,0 % | 5 | 27,8 % | 121 | 66 | 54,5 % | 6 | 5,0 % | 49 | 40,5 % |
| Portugal | 6 | 0 | 0,0 % | 1 | 16,7 % | 39 | 20 | 51,3 % | 2 | 5,1 % | 17 | 43,6 % |
| Qatar | 10 | 0 | 0,0 % | 1 | 10,0 % | 67 | 24 | 35,8 % | 0 | 0,0 % | 43 | 64,2 % |
| Romania | 14 | 4 | 28,6 % | 6 | 42,9 % | 92 | 57 | 62,0 % | 4 | 4,8 % | 31 | 33,7 % |
| Russia | 13 | 2 | 15,4 % | 3 | 23,1 % | 107 | 66 | 61,7 % | 8 | 7,5 % | 33 | 30,8 % |
| Slovenia | 11 | 0 | 0,0 % | 2 | 18,2 % | 79 | 40 | 50,6 % | 5 | 6,3 % | 34 | 43,0 % |
| Soviet Union | 8 | 1 | 12,5 % | 4 | 50,0 % | 51 | 35 | 68,6 % | 2 | 3,9 % | 14 | 27,5 % |
| Spain | 23 | 2 | 8,7 % | 8 | 34,8 % | 182 | 124 | 68,1 % | 9 | 4,9 % | 49 | 26,9 % |
| Sweden | 27 | 4 | 14,8 % | 15 | 55,6 % | 193 | 131 | 67,9 % | 8 | 4,1 % | 54 | 28,0 % |
| Switzerland | 12 | 0 | 0,0 % | 2 | 16,7 % | 62 | 25 | 40,3 % | 5 | 8,1 % | 32 | 51,6 % |
| Tunisia | 17 | 0 | 0,0 % | 1 | 5,6 % | 116 | 44 | 37,9 % | 10 | 8,6 % | 62 | 53,4 % |
| West Germany | 7 | 1 | 14,3 % | 2 | 28,6 % | 44 | 28 | 63,6 % | 4 | 9,1 % | 12 | 27,3 % |
| Yugoslavia | 10 | 1 | 10,0 % | 5 | 50,0 % | 59 | 35 | 59,3 % | 5 | 8,5 % | 19 | 32,2 % |
| Yugoslavia | 5 | 0 | 0,0 % | 2 | 40,0 % | 42 | 27 | 64,3 % | 4 | 9,5 % | 11 | 26,2 % |
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 are not included in these tables) per type.

### Multiple gold medalists

| Rank | Player | Country | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Thierry Omeyer | France | 2001 | 2017 | 5 | – | 2 | 7 |
| 2 | Nikola Karabatić | France | 2005 | 2023 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 3 | Mads Mensah Larsen | Denmark | 2013 | 2025 | 4 | 1 | – | 5 |
| 3 | Henrik Møllgaard | Denmark | 2013 | 2025 | 4 | 1 | – | 5 |
| 5 | Jérôme Fernandez | France | 2001 | 2015 | 4 | – | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | Michaël Guigou | France | 2005 | 2019 | 4 | – | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | Daniel Narcisse | France | 2001 | 2017 | 4 | – | 2 | 6 |
| 8 | Cédric Sorhaindo | France | 2009 | 2019 | 4 | – | 1 | 5 |
| 9 | Simon Hald | Denmark | 2019 | 2025 | 4 | – | – | 4 |
| 9 | Jóhan Hansen | Denmark | 2019 | 2025 | 4 | – | – | 4 |
| 9 | Magnus Landin Jacobsen | Denmark | 2019 | 2025 | 4 | – | – | 4 |

### 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 |
| 1 | Thierry Omeyer | France | 2001 | 2017 | 5 | – | 2 | 7 |
| 2 | Nikola Karabatić | France | 2005 | 2023 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 3 | Jérôme Fernandez | France | 2001 | 2015 | 4 | – | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | Michaël Guigou | France | 2005 | 2019 | 4 | – | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | Daniel Narcisse | France | 2001 | 2017 | 4 | – | 2 | 6 |
| 6 | Magnus Andersson | Sweden | 1990 | 2001 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 6 | Ola Lindgren | Sweden | 1990 | 2001 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 6 | Magnus Wislander | Sweden | 1990 | 2001 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 9 | Jackson Richardson | France | 1993 | 2005 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |

## 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 | Yngve Lamberg Hans-Werner Obermark Hans Theilig | 6 |
| 1954 | Otto Maychrzak | 16 |
| 1958 | Mogens Olsen | 46 |
| 1961 | Petre Ivănescu Zdeněk Rada | 24 |
| 1964 | Hans (Ioan) Moser | 33 |
| 1967 | Herbert Lübking | 38 |
| 1970 | Vladimir Maksimov | 31 |
| 1974 | Ștefan Birtalan | 43 |
| 1978 | Jerzy Klempel Péter Kovács | 47 |
| 1982 | Vasile Stîngă | 65 |
| 1986 | Kang Jae-won | 67 |
| 1990 | Roberto Julián Duranona Aleksandr Tuchkin | 55 |
| 1993 | Marc Baumgartner József Éles Yoon Kyung-shin | 41 |
| 1995 | Yoon Kyung-shin | 86 |
| 1997 | Yoon Kyung-shin | 62 |
| 1999 | Rolando Uríos | 57 |
| 2001 | Eduard Koksharov | 61 |
| 2003 | Carlos Pérez | 64 |
| 2005 | Wissem Hmam | 81 |
| 2007 | Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson | 66 |
| 2009 | Kiril Lazarov | 92 |
| 2011 | Mikkel Hansen | 68 |
| 2013 | Anders Eggert | 62 |
| 2015 | Dragan Gajić | 71 |
| 2017 | Kiril Lazarov | 50 |
| 2019 | Mikkel Hansen | 72 |
| 2021 | Frankis Carol | 58 |
| 2023 | Mathias Gidsel | 60 |
| 2025 | Mathias Gidsel | 74 |