# European Women's Handball Championship

The European Women's Handball Championship is the official competition for senior women's national handball teams of Europe, and takes place every two years. In addition to crowning the European champions, the tournament also serves as a qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games and World Championship. As of December 2024, the only teams that have ever won the championship are Norway (ten times), Denmark (three times), Hungary, Montenegro and France (each once).

## History

In year 1946, the International Handball Federation was founded by eight European nations, and though non-European nations competed at the World Championships, the medals had always been taken by European nations. European Handball Federation is founded in 1991. At the same time (1995), the World Championship was changed from a quadrennial to a biannual event, and the European Handball Federation now began its own championship – which also acted as a regional qualifier for the World Championship. The tournament will be expanded to 24 teams in 2024 to take place in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland.

## 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 |
| 1994 Details | Germany | Denmark | 27–23 | Germany | Norway | 24–19 | Hungary | 12 |
| 1996 Details | Denmark | Denmark | 25–23 | Norway | Austria | 30–23 | Germany | 12 |
| 1998 Details | Netherlands | Norway | 24–16 | Denmark | Hungary | 30–24 | Austria | 12 |
| 2000 Details | Romania | Hungary | 32–30 (ET) | Ukraine | Russia | 21–16 | Romania | 12 |
| 2002 Details | Denmark | Denmark | 25–22 | Norway | France | 27–22 | Russia | 16 |
| 2004 Details | Hungary | Norway | 27–25 | Denmark | Hungary | 29–25 | Russia | 16 |
| 2006 Details | Sweden | Norway | 27–24 | Russia | France | 29–25 | Germany | 16 |
| 2008 Details | Macedonia | Norway | 34–21 | Spain | Russia | 24–21 | Germany | 16 |
| 2010 Details | Denmark / Norway | Norway | 25–20 | Sweden | Romania | 16–15 | Denmark | 16 |
| 2012 Details | Serbia | Montenegro | 34–31 (2ET) | Norway | Hungary | 41–38 (ET) | Serbia | 16 |
| 2014 Details | Croatia / Hungary | Norway | 28–25 | Spain | Sweden | 25–23 | Montenegro | 16 |
| 2016 Details | Sweden | Norway | 30–29 | Netherlands | France | 25–22 | Denmark | 16 |
| 2018 Details | France | France | 24–21 | Russia | Netherlands | 24–20 | Romania | 16 |
| 2020 Details | Denmark | Norway | 22–20 | France | Croatia | 25–19 | Denmark | 16 |
| 2022 Details | Montenegro / North Macedonia / Slovenia | Norway | 27–25 | Denmark | Montenegro | 27–25 (ET) | France | 16 |
| 2024 Details | Austria / Hungary / Switzerland | Norway | 31–23 | Denmark | Hungary | 25–24 | France | 24 |
| 2026 Details | Czech Republic / Poland / Romania / Slovakia / Turkey | | | | | | | 24 |
| 2028 Details | Denmark / Norway / Sweden | | | | | | | 24 |
| 2030 Details | TBD | | | | | | | 24 |
| 2032 Details | Denmark / Germany / Poland | | | | | | | 24 |

## Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Norway | 10 | 3 | 1 | 14 |
| 2 | Denmark | 3 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | France | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 | Hungary | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | Montenegro | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | Russia | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 7 | Spain | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Netherlands | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | Sweden | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 10 | Germany | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Ukraine | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Austria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | Croatia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | Romania | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (14 entries) | Totals (14 entries) | 16 | 16 | 16 | 48 |

## Statistics
### Summary (1994–2024)

Source (Table Section):
| Rank | Team | Part | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
| 1 | Norway | 16 | 123 | 103 | 6 | 14 | 3532 | 2725 | +807 | 212 |
| 2 | Denmark | 16 | 115 | 76 | 4 | 35 | 3020 | 2787 | +233 | 156 |
| 3 | Hungary | 16 | 109 | 59 | 5 | 45 | 2908 | 2816 | +92 | 123 |
| 4 | France | 13 | 92 | 59 | 3 | 30 | 2331 | 2118 | +213 | 121 |
| 5 | Germany | 16 | 102 | 53 | 5 | 44 | 2596 | 2557 | +39 | 111 |
| 6 | Russia | 14 | 94 | 49 | 11 | 34 | 2480 | 2284 | +196 | 109 |
| 7 | Romania | 15 | 100 | 49 | 4 | 47 | 2519 | 2530 | -11 | 102 |
| 8 | Sweden | 14 | 87 | 39 | 7 | 41 | 2238 | 2229 | +9 | 85 |
| 9 | Montenegro | 8 | 53 | 31 | 1 | 21 | 1345 | 1334 | +11 | 63 |
| 10 | Netherlands | 10 | 62 | 28 | 2 | 32 | 1639 | 1624 | +15 | 58 |
| 11 | Spain | 13 | 77 | 24 | 10 | 43 | 1896 | 1973 | -77 | 58 |
| 12 | Croatia | 13 | 63 | 26 | 2 | 34 | 1505 | 1632 | -127 | 54 |
| 13 | Ukraine | 12 | 62 | 18 | 7 | 40 | 1489 | 1627 | -138 | 40 |
| 14 | Serbia | 13 | 60 | 17 | 3 | 40 | 1604 | 1731 | -127 | 37 |
| 15 | Austria | 9 | 50 | 19 | 0 | 31 | 1202 | 1327 | -125 | 38 |
| 16 | Poland | 9 | 43 | 16 | 1 | 29 | 1017 | 1161 | -144 | 27 |
| 17 | Slovenia | 9 | 40 | 12 | 0 | 28 | 1010 | 1165 | -155 | 24 |
| 18 | North Macedonia | 7 | 33 | 7 | 3 | 23 | 756 | 934 | -178 | 17 |
| 19 | Czech Republic | 8 | 37 | 8 | 0 | 29 | 863 | 951 | -88 | 16 |
| 20 | Belarus | 4 | 18 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 460 | 509 | -49 | 9 |
| 21 | Switzerland | 2 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 264 | 326 | -62 | 5 |
| 22 | Slovakia | 3 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 303 | 427 | -124 | 3 |
| 23 | Iceland | 3 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 196 | 250 | -54 | 2 |
| 24 | Faroe Islands | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 66 | 78 | -12 | 1 |
| 25 | Turkey | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 68 | 102 | -34 | 1 |
| 26 | Portugal | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 128 | 181 | -53 | 0 |
| 27 | Lithuania | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 124 | 183 | -59 | 0 |

### Total hosts

| Rank | Nation | Hosts | Year(s) |
| 1 | Denmark | 6 | 1996, 2002, 2010, 2020, (2028), (2032) |
| 2 | Hungary | 3 | 2004, 2014, 2024 |
| 2 | Sweden | 3 | 2006, 2016, (2028) |
| 4 | Germany | 2 | 1994, (2032) |
| 4 | North Macedonia | 2 | 2008, 2022 |
| 4 | Poland | 2 | (2026), (2032) |
| 4 | Romania | 2 | 2000, (2026) |
| 4 | Norway | 2 | 2010, (2028) |
| 9 | Austria | 1 | 2024 |
| 9 | Croatia | 1 | 2014 |
| 9 | Czech Republic | 1 | (2026) |
| 9 | France | 1 | 2018 |
| 9 | Montenegro | 1 | 2022 |
| 9 | Netherlands | 1 | 1998 |
| 9 | Serbia | 1 | 2012 |
| 9 | Slovakia | 1 | (2026) |
| 9 | Slovenia | 1 | 2022 |
| 9 | Switzerland | 1 | 2024 |
| 9 | Turkey | 1 | (2026) |

### Top scorers by tournament

The record-holder for scored goals in a single Euro Championship is Bojana Radulović, where she scored 72 goals Hungary at the 2004 European Women's Handball Championship in Hungary.
| Year | Player | Goals |
| 1994 | Ágnes Farkas | 48 |
| 1996 | Kjersti Grini | 48 |
| 1998 | Ausra Fridrikas | 68 |
| 2000 | Simona Gogîrlă | 68 |
| 2002 | Ágnes Farkas | 58 |
| 2004 | Bojana Radulović | 72 |
| 2006 | Nadine Krause | 58 |
| 2008 | Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth | 51 |
| 2010 | Cristina Neagu | 53 |
| 2012 | Katarina Bulatović | 56 |
| 2014 | Isabelle Gulldén | 58 |
| 2016 | Nora Mørk | 53 |
| 2018 | Katarina Krpež Slezak | 50 |
| 2020 | Nora Mørk | 52 |
| 2022 | Nora Mørk | 50 |
| 2024 | Katrin Klujber | 60 |

### Best players by tournament

| Year | Player |
| 1994 | Not awarded |
| 1996 | Anja Andersen |
| 1998 | Trine Haltvik |
| 2000 | Beáta Siti |
| 2002 | Karin Mortensen |
| 2004 | Gro Hammerseng |
| 2006 | Gro Hammerseng |
| 2008 | Kristine Lunde |
| 2010 | Linnea Torstenson |
| 2012 | Anja Edin |
| 2014 | Isabelle Gulldén |
| 2016 | Nycke Groot |
| 2018 | Anna Vyakhireva |
| 2020 | Estelle Nze Minko |
| 2022 | Henny Reistad |
| 2024 | Anna Kristensen |

## 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 – Twelfth place
* 13th to 16th – Thirteenth to sixteenth place
* Q – Qualified for upcoming tournament
* q – may still qualify for upcoming tournament
* • – Did not qualify
* •× – Disqualified
* × – Did not enter / Withdrew / Banned
* – Hosts
For each tournament, the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.
| Nation | 1994 | 1996 | 1998 | 2000 | 2002 | 2004 | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2012 | 2014 | 2016 | 2018 | 2020 | 2022 | 2024 | 2026 | 2028 | 2030 | 2032 | Participations |
| Austria | 9th | 3rd | 4th | 12th | 9th | 10th | 10th | 15th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 14th | | | | | 9 |
| Belarus | • | • | • | 11th | 16th | 16th | • | 12th | • | • | • | • | • | • | × | × | | | | | 4 |
| Croatia | 5th | 6th | • | • | • | 13th | 7th | 6th | 9th | 13th | 13th | 16th | 16th | 3rd | 10th | 19th | | | | | 13 |
| Czech Republic | 8th | • | • | • | 8th | 15th | • | • | • | 12th | • | 10th | 15th | 15th | • | 15th | Q | | | | 9 |
| Denmark | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 10th | 1st | 2nd | 11th | 11th | 4th | 5th | 8th | 4th | 8th | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | | Q | | Q | 17 |
| Faroe Islands | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | 17th | | | | | 1 |
| France | • | • | • | 5th | 3rd | 11th | 3rd | 14th | 5th | 9th | 5th | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 4th | 4th | | | | | 13 |
| Germany | 2nd | 4th | 6th | 9th | 11th | 5th | 4th | 4th | 13th | 7th | 10th | 6th | 10th | 7th | 7th | 7th | | | | Q | 16 |
| Hungary | 4th | 10th | 3rd | 1st | 5th | 3rd | 5th | 8th | 10th | 3rd | 6th | 12th | 7th | 10th | 11th | 3rd | | | | | 16 |
| Iceland | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 15th | 15th | • | • | • | • | • | 16th | | | | | 3 |
| Lithuania | • | 12th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | | | | | 1 |
| Montenegro | | | | | | | • | • | 6th | 1st | 4th | 13th | 9th | 8th | 3rd | 8th | | | | | 8 |
| Netherlands | • | • | 10th | • | 14th | • | 15th | • | 8th | • | 7th | 2nd | 3rd | 6th | 6th | 6th | | | | | 10 |
| North Macedonia | × | × | 8th | 8th | • | • | 12th | 7th | • | 16th | • | • | • | • | 16th | 18th | | | | | 7 |
| Norway | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 6th | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 5th | 1st | 1st | 1st | | Q | | | 17 |
| Poland | • | 11th | 5th | • | • | • | 8th | • | • | • | 11th | 15th | 14th | 14th | 13th | 9th | Q | | | Q | 10 |
| Portugal | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 16th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 22nd | | | | | 2 |
| Romania | 10th | 5th | 11th | 4th | 7th | 7th | • | 5th | 3rd | 10th | 9th | 5th | 4th | 12th | 12th | 11th | Q | | | | 16 |
| Russia | 6th | 7th | 9th | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 2nd | 3rd | 7th | 6th | 14th | 7th | 2nd | 5th | × | × | | | | | 14 |
| Serbia | | | | | | | 14th | 13th | 14th | 4th | 15th | 9th | 11th | 13th | 15th | 21st | | | | | 10 |
| Slovakia | 12th | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 12th | • | • | • | • | 24th | Q | | | | 4 |
| Slovenia | • | • | • | • | 10th | 9th | 16th | • | 16th | • | • | 14th | 13th | 16th | 8th | 10th | | | | | 9 |
| Spain | • | • | 12th | • | 13th | 8th | 9th | 2nd | 11th | 11th | 2nd | 11th | 12th | 9th | 9th | 13th | | | | | 13 |
| Sweden | 7th | 8th | • | • | 15th | 14th | 6th | 9th | 2nd | 8th | 3rd | 8th | 6th | 11th | 5th | 5th | | Q | | | 15 |
| Switzerland | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 14th | 12th | | | | | 2 |
| Turkey | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 20th | Q | | | | 2 |
| Ukraine | 11th | 9th | 7th | 2nd | 12th | 6th | 13th | 10th | 12th | 14th | 16th | • | • | • | • | 23rd | | | | | 12 |
| Historical national teams ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Serbia and Montenegro | | | | | | 12th | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| FR Yugoslavia | × | • | • | 7th | 6th | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| Total | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | |
    $^1$ FR Yugoslavia competed as such until 2003 when the FRY was reconstituted as a State Union Serbia and Montenegro. Since the dissolution of the union in 2006, national teams exist for both countries.

## 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.
| Rank | Player | Country | From | To | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Katrine Lunde (Haraldsen) | Norway | 2002 | 2024 | 7 | 2 | – | 9 |
| 2 | Camilla Herrem | Norway | 2008 | 2024 | 6 | 1 | – | 7 |
| 3 | Karoline Dyhre Breivang | Norway | 2004 | 2014 | 5 | 1 | – | 6 |
| 3 | Marit Malm Frafjord | Norway | 2006 | 2020 | 5 | 1 | – | 6 |
| 3 | Stine Bredal Oftedal | Norway | 2010 | 2022 | 5 | 1 | – | 6 |
| 3 | Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth Koren | Norway | 2004 | 2014 | 5 | 1 | – | 6 |
| 3 | Silje Solberg-Østhassel | Norway | 2012 | 2024 | 5 | 1 | – | 6 |
| 8 | Kari Aalvik Grimsbø | Norway | 2006 | 2016 | 5 | – | – | 5 |
| 8 | Nora Mørk | Norway | 2010 | 2022 | 5 | – | – | 5 |
| 10 | Heidi Løke | Norway | 2008 | 2020 | 4 | 1 | – | 5 |