Athletes from across the globe are getting ready for their Olympic moment in Milan Cortina. The 2026 Winter Olympics will begin this week when competitors walk under the wave of their nation’s flags at Friday’s Opening Ceremony. The ceremony not only offers Olympians a chance to represent the ir country on the international stage, but it also gives viewers a chance to learn of some countries they had never heard of before. Here’s a guide to how many countries will participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics and which ones are making their debut: How many countries will be at the 2026 Winter Olympics? There are 92 National Olympic Committees representing 2,900 athletes at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics Jan 31 What to know about Russia's competing status at the Milan Cortina Olympics 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics Feb 1 What to know about the history of Winter Olympic medals ahead of Milan Cortina 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics Jan 13 Who is on Team USA? See the full list of athletes for the Milan Cortina Olympics Additionally, there will be “Individual Neutral Athletes” (AIN) from Russia and Belarus. Those athletes will compete under the AIN name at the 2026 Winter Games since Russia is facing punishment at the Games due to its involvement in the war with Ukraine. How many National Olympic Committees are there? There are 206 National Olympic Committees worldwide, which are devised by the IOC and the International Sport Federation. These two organizations are the sole authorities who come together to recognize NOCs for the official Summer and Winter Games.  What new countries are competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics? Benin, Guinea-Bissau and the United Arab Emirates will make their Winter Olympics debuts at the Milan Cortina Games. Are there any countries not returning to the 2026 Winter Olympics? Seven NOCs that participated at the 2022 Beijing Olympics will not be appearing at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics: American Samoa, Belarus, Ghana, Peru, Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), Timor-Leste and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Full list of countries participating at the 2026 Winter Olympics Below are the 92 National Olympic Committees that will be heading to the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics: Albania Andorra Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Belgium Benin Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil Bulgaria Canada Chile Colombia Croatia Cyprus Czechia Denmark Ecuador Eritrea Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Great Britain Greece Guinea-Bissau Haiti Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Ireland Islamic Republic of Iran Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Kazakhstan Kenya Kosovo Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lebanon Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malaysia Malta Mexico Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria North Macedonia Norway Pakistan People’s Republic of China Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Republic of Korea Republic of Moldova Romania San Marino Saudi Arabia Serbia Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Thailand Chinese Taipei Trinidad and Tobago Turkey Ukraine United Arab Emirates United States of America Uruguay Uzbekistan Venezuela ...read more read less