List of countries in the Eurovision Song Contest

[[File:Eurovision participation map.svg|thumb|350px|Map showing debuts in the contest by decade:

Kosovo participated as part of Yugoslavia between 1961 and 1991 and as part of FR Yugoslavia in 1992 and later Serbia & Montenegro until 2005 and as a part of Serbia in 2007]]



Fifty-two countries have participated in the Eurovision Song Contest since it started in 1956. Of these, twenty-seven have won the contest. The contest, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), is held annually between members of the Union. Broadcasters from different countries submit songs to the event, and cast votes to determine the most popular in the competition.

Participation in the contest is primarily open to all active member broadcasters of the EBU. To be an active member, broadcasters must be a member of the European Broadcasting Union, or be in a Council of Europe member country. Eligibility to participate is not determined by geographic inclusion within the continent of Europe, despite the "Euro" in "Eurovision" — nor does it have a direct connection with the European Union. Several countries geographically outside the boundaries of Europe have competed: Israel, Cyprus and Armenia, in Western Asia, since 1973, 1981 and 2006 respectively; Morocco, in North Africa, in the 1980 competition alone; and Australia making a debut in the 2015 contest. In addition, several transcontinental countries with only part of their territory in Europe have competed: Turkey, since 1975; Russia, since 1994; Georgia, since 2007; and Azerbaijan, which made its first appearance in the 2008 edition. Two of the countries that have previously sought to enter the competition, Lebanon and Tunisia, in Western Asia and North Africa respectively, are also outside of Europe. The Gulf state of Qatar, in Western Asia, announced in 2009 its interest in joining the contest in time for the 2011 edition. However, this did not materialise, and there are no known plans for a future Qatari entry the Eurovision Song Contest. Australia, where the contest has been broadcast since the 1970s, debuted as a participant in the 2015 edition, with entries in 2016 and 2017.

The number of countries participating each year has grown steadily, from seven in 1956 to over twenty in the late 1980s. A record 43 countries participated in 2008 and 2011. As the number of contestants has risen, preliminary competitions and relegation have been introduced, to ensure that as many countries as possible get the chance to compete. In 1993, a preliminary show, Kvalifikacija za Millstreet ("Qualification for Millstreet"), was held to select three Eastern European countries to compete for the first time at the main Contest. After the 1993 Contest, a relegation rule was introduced; the six lowest-placed countries in the contest would not compete the following year. In 1996, a new system was introduced. Audio tapes of all twenty-nine entrants were submitted to national juries. The twenty-two highest-placed songs after the juries voted reached the contest. Norway, as host country, was given a bye to the final. From 1997 to 2001 a system was used whereby the countries with the lowest average scores over the previous five years were relegated. Countries could not be relegated for more than one year.

Between 2001 and 2003, the relegation system used in 1994 and 1995 was used. In 2004, a semi-final was introduced. The ten highest-placed countries in the previous year's Contest qualified for the final, along with the "Big Four": the largest financial contributors to the EBU. All other countries entered the semi-final. Ten countries qualified from the semi, leaving a final of twenty-four. In 2008, two semi-finals were held with all countries, except the host country and the Big Four, participating in one of the semi-finals.

Some countries, such as Germany, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom, have entered on all but a handful of occasions; Morocco, on the other hand, has only entered once. Two countries, Tunisia and Lebanon, have attempted to enter the contest but withdrew before making a début. Liechtenstein, a country without an eligible television service, tried unsuccessfully to enter in 1976.

Participants
The following table lists the countries that have participated in the contest at least once. Shading indicates countries that have withdrawn from the contest.

Morocco participated in the contest once, in 1980. Luxembourg, one of the original seven participants, has not been seen at the contest since 1993. Italy withdrew from the contest in 1997 and returned in 2011. Slovakia previously competed three times between 1994 and 1998, failing to break into the top ten, but returned in 2009. Monaco returned to the contest in 2004, after over two decades out of the contest. However, the country failed to advance from the semi-final with each of its first three entries post-return, and withdrew after the 2006 Contest.

Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro were both dissolved, in 1991 and 2006 respectively. Serbia and Montenegro in the attempt to mask as Yugoslavia, participated in the 1992 Contest under its name but representing the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which consisted of only the two republics. Both Montenegro and Serbia have competed as separate countries since 2007.


 * Table key
 * Withdrawn – Countries who have participated in the past but have withdrawn.
 * Former – Former countries that have been dissolved.

Participating countries in the decades
The table lists the participating countries in each decade since the first Eurovision Song Contest was held in 1956.

Seven countries participated in the first contest. Since then, the number of entries has increased steadily. In 1970, a Nordic-led boycott of the contest reduced the number of countries entering to twelve. By the late 1980s, over twenty countries had become standard.

In 1993, the collapse of the USSR in Eastern Europe gave many new countries the opportunity to compete. Three countries—Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, all of them former Yugoslav republics, won through from a pre-qualifier to compete. After the 1993 event, a relegation system was introduced, allowing even more Eastern European countries to compete: seven more made their debut in 1994.

In 2003, three countries applied to make their debut: Albania, Belarus and Ukraine. In addition, Serbia and Montenegro, who had not competed since 1992, applied to return. The EBU, having originally accepted the four countries' applications, later rejected all but Ukraine; allowing four extra countries to compete would have meant relegating too many countries. The semi-final was introduced in 2004 in an attempt to prevent situations like this. The Union set a limit of forty countries, but by 2005 thirty-nine were competing. In 2007, the EBU lifted the limit, allowing forty-two countries to compete. Two semi-finals were held for the first time in 2008.

Table key

 * Winner – The country won the Eurovision Song Contest that year.
 * Second place – The country was ranked second that year.
 * Third place – The country was ranked third that year.
 * Remaining places – The country placed from fourth to second last this year.
 * Last – The country was ranked last that year.
 * Non-qualified – The country did not qualify to the final (2004–).
 * Non-qualified for the contest – The country did not survive the pre-qualifying round (1993, 1996)
 * Undecided – The country has confirmed participation for the next Eurovision Song Contest, however, the competition has not yet taken place.
 * Debutant – The country made its debut during the decade.
 * Did not participate – The country did not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest that year.
 * Disqualified or withdrawn – The country was going to participate in the Eurovision that year, but was disqualified or withdrew that year.
 * A cross (X) means that the country participated in the contest that year.