This article contains lists of achievements in major senior-level international water polo tournaments according to first-place, second-place and third-place results obtained by teams representing different nations. The objective is not to create combined medal tables; the focus is on listing the best positions achieved by teams in major international tournaments, ranking the nations according to the most podiums accomplished by teams of these nations.
For the making of these lists, results from following major international tournaments are consulted:
| Tournament | Edition | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | Latest | Next | ||
| Water polo at the Summer Olympics (quadrennially) | 1900 | 2020 | 2024 | |
| Water polo at the World Aquatics Championships (biennially) | 1973 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| FINA Water Polo World Cup (quadrennially) | 1979 | 2018 | 2023 | |
| FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup (quadrennially) | 1979 | 2018 | 2023 | |
| FINA Water Polo World League (annually) | 2002 | 2022 | Defunct | |
Medals for the demonstration events are NOT counted. Medals earned by athletes from defunct National Olympic Committees (NOCs) or historical teams are NOT merged with the results achieved by their immediate successor states. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does NOT combine medals of these nations or teams.
The tables are pre-sorted by total number of first-place results, second-place results and third-place results, then most first-place results, second-place results, respectively. When equal ranks are given, nations are listed in alphabetical order.
| Last updated after the 2023 World Aquatics Championships | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | World Championships | World Cup | World League | Number of | ||||||||||
| Rk. | Nation | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Total | ||||
| 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 8 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||||||||||
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||||||||||
| 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 | ||||||||||
| 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | ||||||||||
| 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||||||||||
| 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||||
| 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||||||||||
| 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||||||||||
| 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||||||||||
| 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||||
| 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||||
| 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | ||||||||||
| 15 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||||||
| 16 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||
| 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Last updated after the 2023 World Aquatics Championships | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | World Championships | World Cup | World League | Number of | ||||||
| Rk. | Nation | Men | Men | Men | Men | Total | ||||
| 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||||||
| 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||||||
| 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||||||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||||||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||||||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||||||
| 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||||
| 8 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | ||||||
| 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
| 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
| 11 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
| 12 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||||||
| 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||||||
| 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
| 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Last updated after the 2023 World Aquatics Championships | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | World Championships | World Cup | World League | Number of | ||||||
| Rk. | Nation | Women | Women | Women | Women | Total | ||||
| 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | ||||||
| 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | ||||||
| 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||||
| 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||||
| 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||||
| 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
| 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
| 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||||