Map of the world showing the achievements of each country during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Gold for countries achieving at least one gold medal. Silver for countries achieving at least one silver medal. Brown for countries achieving at least one bronze medal. Green for countries that did not win a medal. Black for countries that did not participate. A yellow square displays the host city (Beijing). Blue asterisks display countries achieving their first medal ever in a Summer Olympics.
Overall, athletes from a record 87 countries won at least one medal,[6] and 55 of them won at least one gold medal.[7]Afghanistan,[8]Mauritius,[9]Sudan,[10]Tajikistan[11] and Togo won their first Olympic medals of any kind.[12] Athletes from Mongolia (which previously held the record for most medals without a gold)[13] and Panama won their first Olympic gold medals.[14]Serbian swimmer Milorad Čavić won the first medal for the country as an independent state.[15]Samoa won its first Olympic medal due to a reallocation of medals after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) retested doping samples in 2016.[16]
Athletes from the host nation China won the most gold medals, with 48, while athletes from the United States won the most medals overall, with 112.[7] Among individual participants, American swimmer Michael Phelps won the most gold medals and the most total medals with eight each, breaking Mark Spitz's 1972 record for the most gold medals won at an Olympic Games.[17]
During and after the games, many athletes who were caught doping, or tested positive for banned substances, were disqualified from competition and had their medals revoked.[18][19]