After a busy start to the calendar year of 2026 with teams playing in the FIH Hockey Pro League across three continents as well as the FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers in Chile, Egypt and India, there have been plenty of movements across the World Rankings Table.

In the men’s rankings, Netherlands (3460) and Belgium (3453) remain neck-and-neck as the top two sides. Australia (3258) are in third, up one spot from the start of the year, followed by England (3152) in fourth, up three spots from where they started 2026!

Argentina (3126) in fifth have been steady, while Germany (3110) in sixth, are down three places from the start of the year, followed by Spain (2936) and India (2774), who are both down one place each in seventh and eighth respectively. Ireland (2547) in ninth are up two spots, followed by France (2385) down one spot in tenth. New Zealand (2353) in eleventh are down one spot as a result of Ireland’s move up the rankings.

Pakistan’s (2316) four wins in the Qualifiers in Ismailia has seen them climb up two places to twelfth, followed by South Africa (2227)—who are down one spot having already qualified for the World Cup via the Africa Cup of Nations. Japan (2150) in fourteenth are one of the biggest climbers of the year, up from eighteenth place, thanks to their stellar run in the Qualifiers in Egypt, which ended in a third place finish and a spot in the World Cup.

Malaysia (2140) in fifteenth, Scotland (2082) in seventeenth and Egypt (2005) in eighteenth have all dropped down a couple of places each, while Wales (2108) in sixteenth and Canada (1926) in nineteenth have remained steady. China (1821) in twentieth, Chile (1827) in twenty first, Poland (1825) in twenty second, Korea (1813) in twenty third, Austria (1772) in twenty fourth and United States (1702) in twenty fifth, round out the top-25 standings in men’s rankings.

In the women’s rankings, tthe top-5 in the standings remain intact from the start of the year. Leading the way are Netherlands (3927), well clear atop the standings, followed by Argentina (3467) in second place, Belgium (3230) in third, China (3143) in fourth and Spain (2961) in fifth.

England (2764) have moved up two spots — up into sixth — following their involvement in the Pro League as well as the World Cup Qualifiers. Germany (2711) remain in seventh despite tough results in the Pro League, while Australia (2513) have swapped places with England, dropping two places, down into eighth.

India (2420) in ninth and New Zealand (2391) in tenth hold on to their spots from the end of the previous year, and are closely followed by Chile (2342) who are amongst the biggest rank gainers, moving up to their all-time high ranking of eleventh, having started the year in fifteenth. USA (2337) in twelfth have dropped a spot, followed by Ireland (2306) who remain in thirteenth. Scotland (2206) in fourteenth are up one place after qualifying for their first World Cup in 24 years, followed by Japan (2192) in fifteenth, who have dropped three spots, after finishing fourth in Chile and qualifying for the World Cup, thanks to their superior world ranking.

France in sixteenth and Uruguay in seventeenth have climbed one and two spots respectively, while Korea have dropped three places down into eighteenth, with South Africa in nineteenth and Italy in twentieth round out the top-20.

To see the complete FIH World Rankings including Indoor, Hockey5s and Junior World Rankings, please click here.

The rankings calculations model that FIH introduced on 1st January 2020 moved away from the previous tournament-based rankings system to a dynamic, match-based method where opposing teams exchange points in official, FIH sanctioned games. The number of points exchanged depends on the result of the match, the relative ranking of the teams and the importance of the match. More information about the new rankings model can be found below.

How the FIH World Rankings work:

The number of points exchanged depends on the result of the match, the relative ranking of the teams and the importance of the match.

FIH World Rankings explained:

  • Based on the Elo rating system, which is used as the basis of many other sports ranking systems
  • When two nations play against each other, a number of ranking points are exchanged between them
  • In every match, the number of points gained by one team is exactly matched by the number of points lost by the other
  • Teams will win more points for beating teams ranked above them, and therefore teams will lose more points for losing to a team ranked below them
  • Teams will win less points for beating teams ranked below them, and therefore teams will lose less points for losing to a team ranked above them
  • If a draw occurs, the lower ranked team will gain a small number of points and the higher ranked team will lose the same number of points
  • The number of points exchanged is dependent on the result of the match (win, lose, shootout win/loss or draw), the importance of the match (part of a major tournament, or a test series for example), and the relative difference in ranking points between the teams before the match.

More details about the formula used in the algorithm, weightings of matches and other factors can be found HERE together with a Frequently Asked Questions document HERE.