Orienteering Merit Badge History
Earned through 2020888,402
Best year199626,192 earned
All-time popularity#45official, as of 2020#45by 2025 (estimate)
Earned by Year
First earned in 1973. Peak year 1996 with 26,192. Hover over or tap a year for its numbers.
Known count No data available
"—" means merit badges were earned that year but the exact number is not currently known. "#62 of 141" means the badge was number 62 of the 141 merit badges earned that year. National counts have not been published since 2020, but the rankings have. The grand total comes from official reports and includes the years without a known count. The 2025 all-time place is an estimate, because the counts for 2021 to 2025 are worked out from each year's official ranking and the total number of merit badges earned that year.
197336#122 of 122
19744,640#81 of 121
197513,145#52 of 128
197615,588#44 of 130
197715,197#40 of 130
197815,180#37 of 131
197914,659#33 of 132
19809,874#32 of 132
198115,518#32 of 134
1982—
1983—
1984—
1985—
1986—
1987—
1988—
1989—
1990—
1991—
1992—
19933,879#74 of 123
1994—
1995—
199626,192#29 of 134
1997—
1998—
1999—
200025,571#29 of 128
200122,430#30 of 129
200224,077#29 of 129
200324,966#29 of 130
200423,162#31 of 121
200521,395#31 of 121
200620,267#31 of 121
200719,803#31 of 121
200820,035#32 of 121
200920,723#33 of 122
201018,328#34 of 125
201120,221#29 of 129
201218,989#31 of 132
201316,909#26 of 129
201416,871#36 of 136
201515,642#36 of 138
201613,753#40 of 138
201711,742#45 of 139
201812,538#42 of 139
201912,249#44 of 139
20205,337#67 of 137
2021—#45 of 137
2022—#50 of 138
2023—#52 of 138
2024—#56 of 138
2025—#62 of 141
Grand total through 2020:
This page keeps growing. More of this badge's history, including its patches and pamphlets, is being checked and will be added once it is confirmed.