Latest UEFA Country Coefficient Rankings

Spain and England remain firmly ahead of the rest of Europe in the latest UEFA country coefficients following the latest round of European club action in the Champions League and Europa League.

The rankings, which cover a five-year period back to the 2015/16 season, are determined by how each country’s clubs perform in UEFA competitions and in turn govern how many places a given nation will get in the Champions League or Europa League the following season and at what stage of the competition (group stage, qualifying rounds, etc) those team will enter.

Real Madrid have won the Champions three times in the last five years / VI-Images/Getty Images

Spain and England are reaping the rewards of recent successes, which comfortably protects their four automatic group stage places in the Champions League. Italy and Germany enjoy the same privilege, but their respective rankings are considerably lower and Italy in particular has only been restored to four Champions League places since 2018/19, having previously lost one.

The reason for Spain’s high ranking comes from all of the country’s recent successes. Since the start of the 2015/16 season, when the current period began, Real Madrid have won the Champions League three times, while Atletico Madrid and Sevilla have each won the Europa League.

Atletico have also been losing Champions League finalists and semi-finalists, while Barcelona, Valencia and Celta Vigo have also been to semi-finals (in the UCL or Europa League) in that time.

It is a similar story for England. Liverpool have won the Champions League in the last five years, while both Manchester United and Chelsea have won the Europa League. Tottenham have been losing finalists in the Champions League and Arsenal in the Europa League.

Here's a look at the current top 15 ranked countries...

15. Cyprus - 27.250pts

APOEL often fly the flag for Cyprus in Europe / TF-Images/Getty Images

Best Achievements: Champions League group stage (APOEL)

14. Denmark - 27.375pts

Copenhagen were in the Europa League quarter finals in 2019/20 / MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN/Getty Images

Best Achievements: Europa League quarter-final (Copenhagen)

13. Turkey - 30.100pts

Besiktas were the last Turkish club to reach the Champions League knockouts / VI-Images/Getty Images

Best Achievements: Champions League last 16 (Besiktas)

12. Ukraine - 30.300pts

Shakhtar Donetsk often reach knockout rounds in Europe / SERGEI SUPINSKY/Getty Images

Best Achievements: Champions League last 16 x 2 (Shakhtar Donetsk, Dynamo Kyiv), Europa League semi-final (Shakhtar Donetsk)

11. Scotland - 30.625pts

Rangers took Scotland to the last 16 of the Europa League last season / Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Best Achievements: Europa League last 16 (Rangers), Europa League last 32 x 3 (Celtic)

10. Austria - 33.825pts

Red Bull Salzburg were in the semi-finals of the Europa League in 2017/18 / CHRISTOF STACHE/Getty Images

Best Achievements: Europa League semi-final (Red Bull Salzburg)

9. Belgium - 35.100pts

Genk got to the Europa League quarter finals in 2016/17 / Isosport/MB Media/Getty Images

Best Achievements: Europa League quarter-final (Anderlecht, Genk)

8. Netherlands - 35.800pts

Ajax were seconds away from the 2019 Champions League final / VI-Images/Getty Images

Best Achievements: Champions League semi-final (Ajax), Europa League runner-up (Ajax)

7. Russia - 37.882pts

Zenit St Petersburg were the last Russian club in the Champions League knockout rounds / KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/Getty Images

Best Achievements: Champions League last 16 (Zenit St Petersburg), Europa League quarter-final (CSKA Moscow)

6. Portugal - 44.349pts

Porto in 2018/19 were the last from Portugal in the Champions League quarter finals / VI-Images/Getty Images

Best Achievements: Champions League quarter-final x 2 (Porto, Benfica)

5. France - 52.748pts

PSG were beaten Champions League finalists in 2020 / MANU FERNANDEZ/Getty Images

Best Achievements: Champions League runner-up (PSG), Europa League runner-up (Marseille)

4. Germany - 66.570pts

Bayern Munich recaptured the Champions League in 2020 / Pool/Getty Images

Best Achievements: Champions League win (Bayern Munich), Champions League semi-final x 2 (Bayern Munich)

3. Italy - 67.295pts

Juventus reached the 2017 Champions League final / VI-Images/Getty Images

Best Achievements: Champions League runner-up (Juventus), Europa League runner-up (Inter)

2. England - 85.997pts

Liverpool won the 2018/19 Champions League / VI-Images/Getty Images

Best Achievements: Champions League win (Liverpool), Europa League win (Manchester United, Chelsea)

1. Spain - 87.426pts

Real Madrid's three Champions League wins have kept Spain on top / VI-Images/Getty Images

Best Achievements: Champions League win x 3 (Real Madrid), Europa League win x2 (Atletico Madrid, Sevilla)

For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter and Facebook!