List of IIHF World Championships by attendance

A list of the top 30 most attended IIHF World Championships (out of 85 total). The 2015 tournament, in Prague and Ostrava (Czech Republic), holds the record for overall attendance and the record for average spectators per game. Not included are the Olympic tournaments, which though they are run as an IIHF tournament, have been separate from the World Championships since 1972.
Despite reluctance in some circles to have such a tournament in Olympic years, three of the five most attended World Championships overall have taken place on years that coincided with the holding of a best-on-best tournament, either the Olympics (2010 and 2014) or the World Cup of Hockey (2004).
It should be considered that because of a changing pool-size of teams through the years, the number of games contested at the IIHF World Championships can range from 32 in 1979 to 64 in 2012 and beyond, therefore "attendance per game" is an equally important statistic to measure the success of a given tournament. Ten tournaments have had averages over 9,000 spectators per game, and six have topped the 10,000 mark.
In an effort to broaden the sport's appeal, the number of top division teams was increased from a mere 8 (as late as 1991) to 16 (starting in 1998), leading to an influx of lesser teams that could negatively impact average attendance. To combat this, some organizers have aggressively pushed the sale of day passes that bundle popular games with less sought-after ones.
Finland hosted six of the top 30 most attended tournaments. There are three countries with five of the top 30 most attended tournaments: Czech Republic (including three tournaments held in Czechoslovakia), Russia (including two tournaments held in the Soviet Union) and Sweden. Germany hosted three of the top 30 most attended tournaments, Slovakia – two. There are 7 other countries who have hosted the championships at least once, and are represented on the top 30.
==List==
Year	Host country	Total attendance	Number of games	Attendance per game	Ref
2015	 	741,690 	64 	11,589 	IIHF World Attendance Record Broken
2017	& 	686,391 	64 	10,725 	
2014	 	640,044 	64 	10,001 	2014 IIHF WCH
2004	 	552,097 	56 	9,859 	
2010	 	548,768 	56 	9,799 	2010 IIHF WCH
1997	 	526,172 	52 	10,119 	
2018	 	520,481 	64 	8,133 	
2008	 	477,040 	54 	8,834 	
2019	 	470,853 	64 	7,357 	2019 IIHF WCH
2012	& 	451,054 	64 	7,048 	
2003	 	449,193 	56 	8,021 	2003 IIHF WCH
2023	& 	442,160 	64 	6,909 	
2013	† & 	427,818 	64 	6,685 	
2016	 	417,414 	64 	6,522 	
1985	† 	411,659 	40 	10,291 	http://www.internationalhockey.net/forums/showthread.php?9810-1985-IHWC-Czechoslovakia
2001	 	407,547 	56 	7,277 	
2011	 	406,804 	56 	7,264 	
1989	 	388,190 	40 	9,704 	
2009	 	379,044 	56 	6,768 	
1986	† 	362,710 	40 	9,067 	
2022	† 	356,955 	64 	5,577 	
1979	† 	354,500 	32 	11,078 	
2007	 	330,708 	56 	5,905 	
1995	 	325,571 	40 	8,139 	
2006	 	324,794 	56 	5,799 	
2005	 	323,974 	56 	5,785 	
2000	 	318,449 	56 	5,686 	
1991	 	310,627 	40 	7,765 	
2002	 	305,541 	56 	5,456 	
1978	 	248,920 	40 	6,223 	
1992	 	246,173 	39 	6,312 	
:† = team won the championship as host
==See also==
*List of IIHF World Championship medalists
*Ice Hockey World Championships
==References==
Attendance
World Championship, IIHF, attendance
Category:Ice hockey statistics