The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is a prestigious award and is presented every year by the Academy of Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences. It is presented to a full-length motion picture that is produced outside of the United States. These motion pictures have mainly non-English dialogue.

Who has won the most Oscars in Foreign Language Category?

The first Academy Award was held in 1929; however, at that time, there was no separate category for foreign language films. But, Special/Honorary Awards were given to foreign language films between the years 1947 and 1955 that were released in the US. The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film came into existence at the 1956 (29th) Academy Awards. Since then, the award has been given annually.

Unlike the other Academy Awards, the Best Foreign Language Film Award is not given to a person but the entire nation. Over 126 countries have submitted at least one film, as of 2018.

Italy has won the most Academy Awards for the Best Foreign Language Film. Incidentally, Italy has also won the first Best Foreign Language Film Award. To date, Italy has won 14 awards and 28 nominations. France is the second most successful country, winning 12 awards. It has also won 37 nominations, which is the most by any country. Spain and Japan are the next two most successful nations and have bagged four awards each.

The European nations of Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands have won three awards each. The Soviet Union, which existed from 1922 to 1991, also won three awards. Germany, Hungary, Argentina, Switzerland, Austria, Iran and Czechoslovakia, which dissolved in 1993, have won two awards each.

Countries that have won just one Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film are Poland, Mexico, Former West Germany, Chile, Canada, Russia, Algeria, Taiwan, Czech Republic, South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Ivory Coast. In 2018, Roma, a Mexican film, won the Oscars for the Best Foreign Language Film.

This is Mexico’s first award at the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Roma has won ten nominations at the 91st Academy Awards. Apart from the Best Foreign Language Film, the other accolades are Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography, and Best Director.

The table below provides information on the number of Best Foreign Language Film awards won by each nation.

Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film Tally by Country

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