United States and China will bag the most number of gold medals at the forthcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, according to a Goldman Sachs survey released on Monday.

American athletes have been predicted to win 45 gold medals at the Olympics, which kick off on Friday, one less than their 2012 London Olympics tally, while China is estimated to have 36 gold medals to its name, two fewer than their previous total, according to Goldman Sachs' economists, Reuters reported.

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According to the report, the chances of winning gold are dependent on the performance of the athletes as well as economic success of a country because "a country is more likely to produce world-class athletes in a world-class environment."

Britain is likely to win 23 gold medals, six medals fewer than in 2012, when they were hosts. However, the country's overall medal count goes up to 59 medals, leaving Russia only one medal behind.

Russia, hit by a series of doping bans, will take home 14 gold medals, a significant drop from the 26 medals from their London haul four years ago.

As per the survey, hosts Brazil are considered as under-achievers taking into account the fact that it is the fifth-largest populated country in the world with a population of 200 million people, and its ranking as the world's seventh largest economy.

The company expects Brazil to be left out of the top 10 medal winners in spite of a boost in funding ahead of the Games in Rio. The hosts are expected to be level with Jamaica when it comes to winning gold and are predicted to finish 11th with 22 medals, surpassing Ukraine, which is the 48^th largest economy and has a population count of 44 million, which is less than a quarter of Brazil's populace.

TagsUS, china, Olympics, Rio Olympics, Brazil, gold medals, gold, Goldman sachs