Aug 17: Updated, as there was a significant number of pending long-term MVP renewals. I guess these things can happen when people need to accept their renewal during vacation.

Another year, another Microsoft MVP award cycle. And a new program logo, if you spotted it. This year, this post took a while longer to get published. This is due to the date the renewals were announced, as well as the vacation period, which may have delayed people from confirming their renewal agreement.

The numbers below are from the public MVP portal as of July 31st. The yearly MVP renewal period is a good time to take a quick look at the MVP population. Comparing them to the end of July from recent years should give an idea of trends and which award categories and technologies are in focus.

Some observations:

• 3.681 public MVP profiles were processed. The overall number stayed roughly the same compared to last year. However, compared to the number of MVPs at the end of June, the number fell by 13% (was 4.193).
• US remains a dominant location (577). Looking at representation relative to its population, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden remain strong, while India is underrepresented (134).
• China saw a sharp decline in absolute (-42) and relative (-32%) numbers.
• Again, some minor category shuffling took place, as Microsoft Foundry replaced AI Platform.
• See the Sankey diagram further down this article to see where new awardees entered, awardees moved between categories, or who exited the program.
• While 4 new countries are represented (Cyprus, Mauritania, New Caledonia, Tunisia), 4 countries lost theirs (Benin, Myanmar, Oman, Tanzania).
• Emerging growth in non-Western areas, e.g., Saudi Arabia (+125%), Vietnam (+100%), UAE (+100%), Honduras (+100%), Guatemala (+67%), El Salvador (+50%), Egypt (+40%), North Macedonia (+38%), Thailand (+35%).
• The number of MVPs with more than one award category has increased by 15%.
• The MVP award category with the most MVPs is now M365 (was Developer Technologies).

MVP Awardees per Category

The following chart and table show awardees per category from 2021 to 2025, plus change percentages compared to previous years.

Category	Jul’22	%	Jul’23	%	Jul’24	%	Jul’25	%	Jul’26	%
Microsoft Foundry	128	-7%	105.0	-18%	–	-100%	386	0%	263	-32%
Business Applications	351	9%	442.0	26%	474.0	7%	483	2%	533	10%
Cloud and Datacenter Management	164	-25%	136.0	-17%	111.0	-18%	106	-5%	117	10%
Data Platform	364	-7%	335.0	-8%	307.0	-8%	329	7%	320	-3%
Developer Technologies	715	-7%	747	4%	761	2%	859	13%	862	0%
Enterprise Mobility	149	12%	100	-33%	–	-100%	–	0%	–	0%
Internet of Things	–	0%	43	0%	43	0%	39	-9%	35	-10%
M365	492	-12%	541	10%	643	19%	819	27%	922	13%
M365 Development	59	-14%	70	19%	–	-100%	–	0%	–	0%
Microsoft Azure	546	2%	526	-4%	527	0%	539	2%	583	8%
Mixed Reality	–	0%	45	0%	35	-22%	–	-100%	–	0%
Security	–	0%	171	0%	305	78%	349	14%	438	26%
Windows and Devices	45	7%	61	36%	102	67%	–	-100%	137	0%
Windows Development	92	-23%	37	-60%	30	-19%	35	17%	35	0%
Total Categories	3,105	-6%	3,359	8%	3,338	-1%	3,944	18%	4,245	8%
Total MVPs	3,023	-6%	3,175	5%	3,187	0%	3,589	13%	3,681	3%

Note: The difference between Total Categories and Total MVPs is caused by MVPs awarded in more than one category.

Where did they go?

The Sankey diagram below displays the number of awarded categories moving from last year to now. The move is based on the MVP, the categories they had, and the new categories they have currently been awarded in, which can be multiple. New awardees are categorized as New, and those who were not renewed are categorized as Out.

MVP Awardees per Country

The following chart and table display the awardees per country, plus change percentages compared to July last year. Countries that show a 0 no longer have any MVP. “Fun facts,” such as MVP’s per 1M population and area, are based on data provided by countries.dev.

Country	WAS (2025)	NOW (2026)	Change PERCENTAGE	MVPs per 1M ppl	MVPs per 1,000 km^2
Albania	1	1	0%	0.35	0.03
Angola	1	1	0%	0.03	0.00
Argentina	19	20	5%	0.44	0.01
Australia	113	121	7%	4.71	0.02
Austria	37	39	5%	4.37	0.46
Azerbaijan	3	2	-33%	0.20	0.02
Bahrain	2	2	0%	1.18	2.61
Bangladesh	1	1	0%	0.01	0.01
Belgium	64	68	6%	5.88	2.23
Benin	1	0	-100%	–	–
Bolivia	5	4	-20%	0.34	0.00
Bosnia and Herzegovina	6	5	-17%	1.52	0.10
Brazil	139	141	1%	0.66	0.02
Bulgaria	8	10	25%	1.44	0.09
Cambodia	1	1	0%	0.06	0.01
Cameroon	3	4	33%	0.15	0.01
Canada	130	133	2%	3.50	0.01
Chile	5	5	0%	0.26	0.01
China	134	92	-31%	0.07	0.01
Colombia	14	14	0%	0.28	0.01
Congo (DRC)	1	1	0%	0.01	0.00
Costa Rica	2	2	0%	0.39	0.04
Côte d’Ivoire	1	1	0%	0.04	0.00
Croatia	11	10	-9%	2.47	0.18
Cyprus	0	2	100%	1.66	0.22
Czechia	31	35	13%	3.27	0.44
Denmark	63	69	10%	11.83	1.60
Dominican Republic	6	5	-17%	0.46	0.10
Ecuador	4	4	0%	0.23	0.01
Egypt	10	14	40%	0.14	0.01
El Salvador	2	3	50%	0.46	0.14
Estonia	4	3	-25%	2.25	0.07
Finland	39	40	3%	7.23	0.12
France	114	116	2%	1.72	0.18
Gabon	1	1	0%	0.45	0.00
Georgia	2	2	0%	0.54	0.03
Germany	179	184	3%	2.21	0.52
Ghana	6	6	0%	0.19	0.03
Greece	10	10	0%	0.93	0.08
Guatemala	3	5	67%	0.30	0.05
Honduras	1	2	100%	0.20	0.02
Hong Kong SAR	7	9	29%	1.20	8.15
Hungary	6	8	33%	0.82	0.09
Iceland	6	5	-17%	13.65	0.05
India	148	134	-9%	0.10	0.04
Indonesia	9	8	-11%	0.03	0.00
Ireland	32	33	3%	6.61	0.47
Israel	17	15	-12%	1.63	0.72
Italy	76	84	11%	1.41	0.28
Japan	164	163	-1%	1.30	0.43
Jordan	1	1	0%	0.10	0.01
Kazakhstan	1	1	0%	0.05	0.00
Kenya	8	7	-13%	0.13	0.01
Korea	59	49	-17%	0.95	0.49
Latvia	3	2	-33%	1.05	0.03
Lebanon	1	1	0%	0.15	0.10
Lithuania	5	3	-40%	1.07	0.05
Luxembourg	2	2	0%	3.16	0.77
Malaysia	5	6	20%	0.19	0.02
Malta	3	4	33%	7.61	12.66
Mauritania	0	1	100%	0.22	0.00
Mauritius	2	2	0%	1.58	0.98
Mexico	21	23	10%	0.18	0.01
Morocco	7	6	-14%	0.16	0.01
Myanmar	1	0	-100%	–	–
Nepal	5	6	20%	0.21	0.04
Netherlands	197	224	14%	12.84	5.35
New Caledonia	0	1	100%	3.68	0.05
New Zealand	35	36	3%	7.08	0.13
Nicaragua	2	2	0%	0.30	0.02
Nigeria	23	24	4%	0.12	0.03
North Macedonia	8	11	38%	5.28	0.43
Norway	52	57	10%	10.60	0.18
Oman	1	0	-100%	–	–
Pakistan	15	17	13%	0.08	0.02
Panama	1	1	0%	0.23	0.01
Paraguay	1	1	0%	0.14	0.00
Peru	15	17	13%	0.52	0.01
Philippines	6	7	17%	0.06	0.02
Poland	73	74	1%	1.95	0.24
Portugal	25	28	12%	2.72	–
Puerto Rico	1	1	0%	0.31	0.11
Qatar	1	1	0%	0.35	0.09
Romania	19	19	0%	0.99	0.08
Saudi Arabia	4	9	125%	0.26	0.00
Serbia	10	11	10%	1.59	0.12
Singapore	23	30	30%	5.28	42.25
Slovakia	5	5	0%	0.92	0.10
Slovenia	7	9	29%	4.29	0.44
South Africa	14	15	7%	0.25	0.01
Spain	124	137	10%	2.89	0.27
Sri Lanka	10	12	20%	0.55	0.18
Sweden	98	102	4%	9.85	0.23
Switzerland	66	80	21%	9.26	1.94
Taiwan	46	38	-17%	1.62	1.05
Tanzania	1	0	-100%	–	–
Thailand	17	23	35%	0.33	0.04
Tunisia	0	4	100%	0.34	0.02
Türkiye	24	23	-4%	0.27	0.03
Ukraine	16	16	0%	0.36	0.03
United Arab Emirates	4	8	100%	0.81	0.10
United Kingdom	306	294	-4%	4.37	1.21
United States	563	577	2%	1.75	0.06
Uruguay	2	2	0%	0.58	0.01
Uzbekistan	1	1	0%	0.03	0.00
Venezuela	1	1	0%	0.04	0.00
Vietnam	5	10	100%	0.10	0.03
Yemen	1	1	0%	0.03	0.00

If you have questions or comments, please leave them in the comments below.