1 world, 1 dream, 44 billion USD: Beijing 2008 in numbers

Image: Hong Jiang via Unsplash

Ten stats that show just how big the Beijing games were

Besides the many mean feats of athletic achievement, Beijing 2008 also set a new standard in Olympic pageantry. Here's just a handful of the standout figures from the games.

4.7 billion

people worldwide watched the Beijing Olympics on TV – that's two-thirds of the Earth's human population.

44 billion

The estimated total cost (in USD) of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, including all infrastructure, venues, logistics and operating costs.

2,008

drummers kicked off the opening ceremony.

Image: U.S. Army via Wikimedia Commons

10,942

athletes from 204 countries competed in the 2008 Olympics.

34

world records were broken, while 109 new Olympic records were set.

1st

Mongolia (men's judo) and Panama (men's long jump) collected their first-ever gold medals.

The Marshall Islands came too – they didn't win a medal, but it's the taking part that counts, of course.

Image: U.S. Army via Wikimedia Commons

153,725

The Bahamas (2) had the best medals per capita return, at one for every 153,725 people; India (3) had the worst, scooping up one for every 382,665,299 of its population.

100

China's final total medal count (following the later stripping of three golds) – 48 gold, 22 silver and 30 bronze.

Chinese gymnast Yang Wei wins gold in the men's individual all-round.

Image: eviltomthai via Wikimedia Commons

67

The age of the oldest competitor at the games, Japanese horse rider Hiroshi Hoketsu; 12-year-old Cameroonian swimmer Antoinette Guedia Mouafo was the youngest.

137,000

km travelled on the controversial pre-Olympic torch relay.

Sources: Nielsen, ESPN, Olympic.org

In our July-August issue, we're taking a deeper look at the Beijing Olympics and their impact on the city – hit 'Read more' for the full story.

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