BWF World Ranking
The BWF World Ranking is the official ranking of the Badminton World Federation for badminton players who participate in tournaments sanctioned by Badminton World Federation. It is used to determine the qualification for the World Championships and Summer Olympic Games, as well as BWF World Tour tournaments. Seedings of draws at all BWF-sanctioned tournaments are conducted using the BWF World Ranking.
Players under 19 years of age are eligible to rank in the BWF World Junior Ranking, which were introduced in January 2011. The following lists are the rankings:
Overview
The ranking points are awarded based on the level and progress of the tournament from each player/pair. Ranking points calculated are based on the tournaments each players/pairs participate in from the last 52 weeks. If a player or pair has participated in ten or fewer World Ranking tournaments, then the ranking is worked out by adding together the points won at tournaments in the last 52 weeks. If a player or pair has participated in 11 or more World Ranking tournaments, only the 10 highest points scored in the tournaments during the 52-week period count towards their ranking. The highest possible ranking points are 116,000.Points system
Points system used are as follows:2007–2017 system
2018–2021 system
Since 2018, BWF has started a new system for counting points:Current rankings
Men's singles
Women's singles
Men's doubles
Women's doubles
Mixed doubles
World team rankings
Year-end number one players
| Year | Men's Singles | Women's Singles | Men's Doubles | Women's Doubles | Mixed Doubles |
| 2008 |  Lee Chong Wei |  Zhou Mi |  Markis Kido Hendra Setiawan |  Du Jing Yu Yang | Nova Widianto Liliyana Natsir |
| 2009 | Lee Chong Wei | Wang Yihan | Koo Kien Keat Tan Boon Heong | Ma Jin Wang Xiaoli |  Lee Yong-dae Lee Hyo-jung |
| 2010 | Lee Chong Wei | Wang Xin |  Mathias Boe Carsten Mogensen |  Cheng Wen-hsing Chien Yu-chin | Thomas Laybourn Kamilla Rytter Juhl |
| 2011 | Lee Chong Wei | Wang Yihan | Cai Yun Fu Haifeng | Wang Xiaoli Yu Yang | Zhang Nan Zhao Yunlei |
| 2012 | Lee Chong Wei | Li Xuerui | Mathias Boe Carsten Mogensen | Tian Qing Zhao Yunlei | Xu Chen Ma Jin |
| 2013 | Lee Chong Wei | Li Xuerui | Mohammad Ahsan Hendra Setiawan | Wang Xiaoli Yu Yang | Zhang Nan Zhao Yunlei |
| 2014 | Chen Long | Li Xuerui | Lee Yong-dae Yoo Yeon-seong | Tian Qing Zhao Yunlei | Zhang Nan Zhao Yunlei |
| 2015 | Chen Long |  Carolina Marín | Lee Yong-dae Yoo Yeon-seong | Luo Ying Luo Yu | Zhang Nan Zhao Yunlei |
| 2016 | Lee Chong Wei | Tai Tzu-ying | Goh V Shem Tan Wee Kiong |  Misaki Matsutomo Ayaka Takahashi | Zheng Siwei Chen Qingchen |
| 2017 | Viktor Axelsen | Tai Tzu-ying | Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo | Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan | Zheng Siwei Chen Qingchen |
| 2018 | Kento Momota | Tai Tzu-ying | Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo | Yuki Fukushima Sayaka Hirota | Zheng Siwei Huang Yaqiong |
| 2019 | Kento Momota | Chen Yufei | Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo | Chen Qingchen Jia Yifan | Zheng Siwei Huang Yaqiong |
Number one ranked players timeline
The following is a list of players who have achieved the number one position since 1 October 2009 :Last updated: 17 March 2020
NOTE: BWF has frozen the World Rankings from 17 March until further notice due to the COVID-19 situation. The backdated rankings will come into play from 31 March 2020 until the freeze ends.
Men's singles
Women's singles
Men's doubles
Women's doubles
Mixed doubles
Players with highest career rank 2–5
Last update: 17 March 2020The following is a list of players who were ranked world no. 5 or higher but not no. 1 in the period since the introduction of the BWF computer rankings :