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With about 200 thousand nationals, the Caribbean island-state of Saint Lucia is far above all other nations in Nobel prizes for literature per capita, reaching an index of 538, or 54 times the median 10. In fact, Saint-Lucia could further claim the honor of being the nation with the most Nobel prizes per capita, all categories included, if only Arthur Lewis, Nobel prize for economics in 1979, had been given his native country citizenship, instead of becoming British for the sole reason that he was born under UK colonial rule. Literature is also the only discipline in which a Stateless person held the award — it happened with Russian-born Ivan Bunin in 1933.
Take a look at the complete list of Nobel prizes for literature
| Country ¹ | Number | Population 2023 | Per capita |
|---|---|---|---|
| (million) | (number÷million×100) | ||
| Australia | 1 | 26.3 | 3.8 |
| Austria | 2 | 9.1 | 22.0 |
| Belgium | 1 | 11.7 | 8.5 |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 1 | 3.2 | 30.9 |
| Canada | 1 | 38.7 | 2.6 |
| Chile | 2 | 19.2 | 10.4 |
| China | 1 | 1,452.1 | 0.1 |
| Colombia | 1 | 51.7 | 1.9 |
| Czechia | 1 | 10.7 | 9.3 |
| Denmark | 3 | 5.9 | 51.2 |
| Egypt | 1 | 108.0 | 0.9 |
| Finland | 1 | 5.6 | 18.0 |
| France | 16 | 65.7 | 24.3 |
| Germany | 8 | 83.8 | 9.5 |
| Greece | 2 | 10.3 | 19.5 |
| Guatemala | 1 | 18.9 | 5.3 |
| Hungary | 1 | 9.6 | 10.4 |
| Iceland | 1 | 0.3 | 287.9 |
| India | 1 | 1,419.7 | 0.1 |
| Ireland | 4 | 5.1 | 79.2 |
| Israel | 1 | 9.1 | 11.0 |
| Italy | 6 | 60.1 | 10.0 |
| Japan | 2 | 125.1 | 1.6 |
| Mauritius | 1 | 1.3 | 78.4 |
| Mexico | 1 | 132.8 | 0.8 |
| Nigeria | 1 | 222.2 | 0.5 |
| Norway | 4 | 5.6 | 72.0 |
| Peru | 1 | 34.0 | 2.9 |
| Poland | 5 | 37.7 | 13.3 |
| Portugal | 1 | 10.1 | 9.9 |
| Russia | 4 | 145.6 | 2.7 |
| Saint Lucia | 1 | 0.2 | 538.3 |
| South Africa | 2 | 61.5 | 3.3 |
| Spain | 5 | 46.7 | 10.7 |
| Stateless | 1 | ||
| Sweden | 8 | 10.3 | 77.9 |
| Switzerland | 2 | 8.8 | 22.7 |
| Tanzania | 1 | 65.1 | 1.5 |
| Turkey | 1 | 86.0 | 1.2 |
| Ukraine | 1 | 42.9 | 2.3 |
| United Kingdom | 12 | 68.8 | 17.5 |
| United States | 13 | 336.7 | 3.9 |
| Total | 124 | ||
| Median | 9.9 | ||
| Average | 36.0 | ||
| ¹ Double nationals are counted twice, once for each nationality. Former Yugoslavia appears under Bosnia and Herzegovina. Former Czechoslovakia appears under Czechia. Former Soviet Union appears under Russia. | |||
Sources: Nobelprize and UN Population Division