The Official International Rugby League (IRL) World Rankings are calculated on each nation’s performance over the current season and the three preceding seasons. 

Points are awarded to each team for each match based on:

• The result of the match i.e. win, lose or draw 
• The margin of victory (or defeat) - the larger the winning margin the greater the value to the rankings
• The relative strength of opposition faced - if you play a higher ranked team that is of greater value than playing a lower ranked team
• The date of the match – more recent matches are weighted more heavily - a result in the most recent 2 years is worth double a result 3 years ago and 4 times a result that is 4 years old
• The importance of the match - World Cup matches are ranked top followed in order by World Cup Qualifiers, Regional Championships and one-off international matches

The points are then used to create the Official World Rankings by ordering the teams by virtue of the points gained over the four year period.

Only officially sanctioned matches played at senior level between two approved members are considered as part of the rankings.