Some European Union boosters are claiming that the EU was really the medal-count winner in the just-completed Olympics, with member counties winning 87 golds (vs. 51 for China and 36 for the U.S.) and 280 total medals (vs. 110 for the U.S. and 100 for China). “The European Union therefore takes the leading position,” said French President Sarkozy, currently the EU chairman. “It’s a victory for sport and for the fundamental and common values of the people of the union.”

Well, you can’t really make such comparisons in contests where athletes qualify by country. Imagine if American or Chinese competitors represented individual states or provinces, rather than the country as a whole. In some events, the finals would likely have been entirely dominated by one or the other “unions.”

Besides, I’m not sure that the average French athlete, for example, would want to be thought of as on the same team as the Germans or the Brits.

A more-persuasive alternative count of Olympic medals is one that adjust for population. On that measure, Caribbean nations come out on top, along with Iceland, Slovenia, and the Aussies.