| Competition details | |
|---|---|
| Discipline | Karate |
| Type | Kumite andKata, biennial |
| Organiser | World Karate Federation (WKF) |
| Divisions | |
| Current weight divisions | Male -60Kg,-67Kg, -75Kg, -84Kg and +84Kg.Female -50Kg, -55Kg, -61Kg, -68Kg and +68Kg. |
| History | |
| First edition | 1970 inTokyo,Japan |
| Editions | 26 (2023) |
| Final edition | 2023 inBudapest,Hungary |
| Most wins |  Japan (214 medals) |
TheKarate World Championships, also known as theWorld Karate Championships, are the highest level of competition forkarate organized by theWorld Karate Federation (WKF).[1][2][3][4][5] The competition is held in a different city every two years.[6] Championships in the 2000s includedMadrid in 2002,Monterrey in 2004,Tampere in 2006,Tokyo in 2008, andBelgrade in 2010.[7][8] The competition was initially riddled with controversy regarding karate styles and the ruleset.[2][9][10][11][12]
In 1980, women were first allowed to compete in the championships.[9]
The result of a bout is determined by a contestant obtaining a clear lead of eight points, having the highest number of points at time-up, obtaining a decision (hantei ), or by an accumulation of prohibited behaviors imposed against a contestant.
 | This articlemay containexcessive orirrelevant examples. Please helpimprove it by removingless pertinent examples andelaborating on existing ones.(January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
1. Conformity - with standards in form and style (Ryu-ha)
2. Technical performance:
3. Athletic performance:
4. Fouls:
| Edition | Year | Host city | Country | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1970 | Tokyo |  Japan | 2 |
| 2 | 1972 | Paris [[association championnet]] |  France | 2 |
| 3 | 1975 | Long Beach |  United States | 2 |
| 4 | 1977 | Tokyo | Japan | 2 |
| 5 | 1980 | Madrid |  Spain | 10 |
| 6 | 1982 | Taipei |  Taiwan | 13 |
| 7 | 1984 | Maastricht |  Netherlands | 13 |
| 8 | 1986 | Sydney |  Australia | 15 |
| 9 | 1988 | Cairo |  Egypt | 16 |
| 10 | 1990 | Mexico City |  Mexico | 16 |
| 11 | 1992 | Granada |  Spain | 16 |
| 12 | 1994 | Kota Kinabalu |  Malaysia | 16 |
| 13 | 1996 | Sun City |  South Africa | 17 |
| 14 | 1998 | Rio de Janeiro |  Brazil | 17 |
| 15 | 2000 | Munich |  Germany | 17 |
| 16 | 2002 | Madrid | Spain | 17 |
| 17 | 2004 | Monterrey | Mexico | 17 |
| 18 | 2006 | Tampere |  Finland | 17 |
| 19 | 2008 | Tokyo | Japan | 17 |
| 20 | 2010 | Belgrade |  Serbia | 16 |
| 21 | 2012 | Paris | France | 16 |
| 22 | 2014 | Bremen | Germany | 16 |
| 23 | 2016 | Linz |  Austria | 16 |
| 24 | 2018 | Madrid | Spain | 16 |
| 25 | 2021 | Dubai |  United Arab Emirates | 16 |
| 26 | 2023 | Budapest |  Hungary | 16 |
| 27 | 2025 | Cairo | Egypt | 12 |
The following reflects the all-time medal counts as of the2023 World Karate Championships:
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 98 | 55 | 61 | 214 |
| 2 | France | 58 | 45 | 71 | 174 |
| 3 | Spain | 24 | 32 | 75 | 131 |
| 4 |  Italy | 21 | 38 | 67 | 126 |
| 5 |  Great Britain | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
 Turkey | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 | |
| 7 | Egypt | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
 Iran | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| Netherlands | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| 10 |  Azerbaijan | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
 Serbia | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 12 | Germany | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 13 | Brazil | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| United States | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| 15 |  Venezuela | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 16 |  Croatia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Finland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
 Greece | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
 Russia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 20 |  China | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 21 |  Georgia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 22 | Australia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Austria | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
 Chile | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Mexico | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
 Serbia and Montenegro | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 27 |  Chinese Taipei | 1 | 4 | 7 | 12 |
| 28 |  Vietnam | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 29 |  Benin | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 30 |  Estonia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Jordan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 Netherlands Antilles | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 Poland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 Senegal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 Slovakia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| South Africa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 Sweden | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
 Uzbekistan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 40 |  Hong Kong | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Totals (40 entries) | 333 | 180 | 286 | 799 | |
{{cite magazine}}:Cite magazine requires|magazine= (help){{cite magazine}}:Cite magazine requires|magazine= (help)| Origins | |
|---|---|
| Styles | |
| Techniques | |
| Training methods | |
| Culture | |
| Competition | |
| Kata | |
 The Karate Portal | |
National members of theWorld Karate Federation | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Countries, teams, association and federation actively joining WKF World Championships. | |||||||||||
 | Europe (EKF) | ||||||||||
| Asian (AKF) |
| ||||||||||
| African (UFAK) | |||||||||||
| Pan America (PKF) | |||||||||||
| Oceania (OKF) |
| ||||||||||