Summary
| Nation | Slalom | Flatwater | Total | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K-1 M | C-1 M | C-2 M | K-1 W | Men | Women | Boats | Athletes | |||||||||||
| K-1 500 | K-1 1000 | K-2 500 | K-2 1000 | K-4 1000 | C-1 500 | C-1 1000 | C-2 500 | C-2 1000 | K-1 500 | K-2 500 | K-4 500 | |||||||
|  Andorra | X | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
|  Angola | X | X | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
|  Argentina | X | X | X | 3 | 2 | |||||||||||||
|  Austria | X | X | X | 3 | 4 | |||||||||||||
|  Australia | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 13 | 16 | |||
| .svg.png.webp) Belarus | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 7 | 8 | |||||||||
| .svg.png.webp) Belgium | X | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||||
|  Brazil | X | X | X | 3 | 2 | |||||||||||||
|  Bulgaria | X | X | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| .svg.png.webp) Canada | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 15 | 21 | |
|  Chile | X | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
|  China | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 15 | 23 | |
|  Ivory Coast | X | X | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
|  Croatia | X | X | X | 3 | 2 | |||||||||||||
|  Cuba | X | X | X | X | X | X | 6 | 4 | ||||||||||
|  Czech Republic | X | X | X | X | X | 5 | 7 | |||||||||||
|  Denmark | X | X | X | X | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||
|  Finland | X | X | X | X | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||
|  France | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 12 | 15 | ||||
|  Macedonia | X | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
|  Germany | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 16 | 22 | 
|  Great Britain | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 7 | 7 | |||||||||
|  Greece | X | X | X | X | 4 | 3 | ||||||||||||
|  Guam | X | X | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
|  Hungary | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 12 | 16 | ||||
|  Ireland | X | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
|  Israel | X | X | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
|  Italy | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 10 | 16 | ||||||
|  Japan | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 7 | 9 | |||||||||
|  Kazakhstan | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 7 | 7 | |||||||||
|  Latvia | X | X | X | X | 4 | 3 | ||||||||||||
|  Lithuania | X | X | 2 | 4 | ||||||||||||||
|  Mexico | X | X | X | X | X | 5 | 3 | |||||||||||
| .svg.png.webp) Myanmar | X | X | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
|  Netherlands | X | X | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||
|  New Zealand | X | X | X | X | X | 5 | 5 | |||||||||||
|  Norway | X | X | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
|  Poland | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 15 | 21 | |
|  Portugal | X | X | X | X | 4 | 4 | ||||||||||||
|  Romania | X | X | X | X | 4 | 5 | ||||||||||||
|  Russia | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 11 | 14 | |||||
|  Samoa | X | X | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
|  São Tomé and Príncipe | X | X | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
|  Senegal | X | X | X | 3 | 2 | |||||||||||||
|  Seychelles | X | X | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
|  Slovakia | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 8 | 12 | ||||||||
|  Slovenia | X | X | X | 3 | 3 | |||||||||||||
|  South Africa | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 9 | 10 | |||||||
| .svg.png.webp) South Korea | X | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
|  Spain | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 9 | 10 | |||||||
|  Sweden | X | X | X | X | 4 | 3 | ||||||||||||
|  Switzerland | X | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
|  Togo | X | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
|  Ukraine | X | X | X | X | X | 5 | 6 | |||||||||||
|  United States | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 7 | 7 | |||||||||
|  Uzbekistan | X | X | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||||||
|  Venezuela | X | X | X | 3 | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Total: 57 NOCs | 21 | 16 | 12 | 21 | 29 | 26 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 22 | 15 | 13 | 25 | 17 | 10 | 289 | 330 | 
Slalom
An NOC may enter up to 1 boat in each slalom event at the Olympics. Qualification places are awarded to the NOC and not to the athletes.
Qualification timeline:
| Event | Date | Venue | 
|---|---|---|
| Senior World Championships | September 19–23, 2007 |  Foz do Iguaçu | 
| African Championships | January 27, 2008 |  Masinga Dam | 
| Oceania Championships Archived 2008-08-07 at the Wayback Machine | March 15–16, 2008 | .svg.png.webp) Penrith | 
| American Championships | April 25–27, 2008 |  Charlotte | 
| European Championships Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine | May 9–11, 2008 |  Kraków | 
| Asian Championships | May 17–18, 2008 |  Nakhon Nayok | 
Places:
| Event | K-1 Men | C-1 Men | C-2 Men | K-1 Women | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior World Championships |  France  Germany  Great Britain  Italy  Spain  United States  Slovakia  Austria  Poland  Czech Republic  Switzerland  Slovenia  Ireland .svg.png.webp) Canada |  Slovakia  France  Australia  Germany  Great Britain  Poland  Spain  Czech Republic  Russia |  Slovakia  France  Italy  Germany  Czech Republic  China |  Germany  Slovakia  Czech Republic  France  Great Britain  Austria  China  Andorra  Spain  Poland  Russia  Australia  Netherlands  United States  Japan | 
| African Championships |  Togo |  South Africa |  South Africa |  Algeria | 
| Oceania Championships |  Australia |  New Zealand |  Australia |  New Zealand | 
| American Championships |  Chile |  United States .svg.png.webp) Canada** |  United States | .svg.png.webp) Canada  Brazil* | 
| European Championships |  Netherlands  Macedonia |  Croatia  Greece |  Poland  Russia |  Greece  Italy | 
| Asian Championships |  Japan |  Japan |  Japan |  Kazakhstan | 
| Host Qualifiers |  China |  China | - | - | 
| TOTAL | 21 | 16 | 12 | 21 | 
* Algeria received the African spot, but decided not to take place, leaving its place to Kenya, who chose not to participate, either. According to the classification rules, Brazil received the quota place as the next best country in the American qualification tournament.
** New Zealand received the spot, but decided not to take place, Canada received the quota place as the next best country in the American qualification tournament.
Flatwater
An NOC may enter 1 boat in each flatwater competition. Qualification place is awarded to the NOC and not to the athletes. The Host Nation is awarded 1 boat in K-1 Men, K-1 Women and C-1 Men events and if they do not qualify through the world championships, the lowest ranked boat from the world championships will be replaced by the boat from the Host Nation.
First allocation
Qualification timeline:
| Event | Date | Venue | 
|---|---|---|
| Senior World Championships | August 8–12, 2007 |  Duisburg | 
| African Championships | January 24–27, 2008 |  Masinga Dam | 
| Oceania Championships Archived 2008-08-07 at the Wayback Machine | March 12–16, 2008 | .svg.png.webp) Penrith | 
| Asian Championships | May 9–11, 2008 |  Komatsu | 
| European Championships | May 15–18, 2008 |  Milano | 
| American Championships | May 15–18, 2008 | .svg.png.webp) Montreal | 
Minimum boat quota places:
Second allocation
The IOC caps the total number of athletes in the flat water competition, which determines the minimum boat quota places listed above. However, an athlete may represent his NOC in more than one event, in which case an additional Athlete Quota Place becomes available. The additional entry is awarded to the next best ranked NOC at the corresponding Continental Qualification in which the NOC of the repeating athlete competes.
Second allocation after global qualification :
- K-1 500m Men: 4 Europe (  Russia, Russia, Sweden, Sweden, France, France, Israel ), 1 America ( Israel ), 1 America ( Mexico ), 1 Africa ( Mexico ), 1 Africa ( Ivory Coast ) Ivory Coast )
- K-1 1000m Men: 3 Europe (  Russia, Russia, Portugal, Portugal, Israel ), 1 America ( Israel ), 1 America ( Cuba ) Cuba )
- K-2 500m Men: 1 Europe (  Italy ) Italy )
- K-2 1000m Men: -
- K-4 1000m Men: -
- C-1 500m Men: 4 Europe ( .svg.png.webp) Belarus, Belarus, France, France, Greece, Greece, Latvia ), 1 America ( Latvia ), 1 America ( Brazil ), 1 Africa ( Brazil ), 1 Africa ( Angola ) Angola )
- C-1 1000m Men: 1 Europe (  Greece ), 1 Oceania ( Greece ), 1 Oceania ( Guam ) Guam )
- C-2 500m Men: 2 Europe (  Lithuania, Lithuania, France ), 1 America ( France ), 1 America ( Mexico ), 1 Asia ( Mexico ), 1 Asia ( Uzbekistan Uzbekistan
- C-2 1000m Men: -
- K-1 500m Women: 5 Europe (  Slovenia, Slovenia, Denmark, Denmark, Russia, Russia, Portugal, Portugal,.svg.png.webp) Belarus ), 1 Asia ( Belarus ), 1 Asia (.svg.png.webp) South Korea ), 2 America ( South Korea ), 2 America ( Argentina, Argentina, Venezuela ) Venezuela )
- K-2 500m Women: 4 Europe (  Spain, Spain, Czech Republic, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Great Britain, Portugal ) Portugal )
- K-4 500m Women: -
Tripartite Commission Invitation
- K-1 500m Men & K-1 1000m Men: .svg.png.webp) Myanmar, Myanmar, São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe
Additional
Athletes filling a quota place in one event may compete in other events as well
- K-1 500m Men:  China, China, Cuba, Cuba, New Zealand, New Zealand, Norway, Norway, Portugal, Portugal, Samoa, Samoa, Senegal Senegal
- K-1 1000m Men:  Argentina, Argentina, Ivory Coast, Ivory Coast, Croatia, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Mexico, Seychelles Seychelles
- K-2 500m Men:  Australia, Australia, China, China, Denmark, Denmark, Finland, Finland, Poland Poland
- K-2 1000m Men:  Italy, Italy, Latvia, Latvia, Sweden, Sweden, Venezuela Venezuela
- K-4 1000m Men: -
- C-1 500m Men:  Guam, Guam, Hungary, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovakia, Uzbekistan Uzbekistan
- C-1 1000m Men:  Angola, Angola,.svg.png.webp) Belarus, Belarus, Brazil, Brazil, Cuba, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Latvia, Romania, Romania, Ukraine Ukraine
- C-2 500m Men: .svg.png.webp) Belarus, Belarus, Cuba Cuba
- C-2 1000m Men:  Bulgaria, Bulgaria, France, France, Mexico, Mexico, Russia Russia
- K-1 500m Women:  Australia, Australia, Spain, Spain, Japan Japan
- K-2 500m Women:  Australia, Australia, Japan, Japan, South Africa South Africa
- K-4 500m Women: -
References
- International Canoe Federation
- 2008 Olympic Qualification System
- Flatwater Racing Quotas Situation after Global Qualification Competition
- National Federations Qualified for the Olympic Games 21.07.08
