In the sport of athletics, international competitions between national teams can be distinguished into four main types:

• Multi-sport events, commonly referred to as games, where athletics events form part of a wider sporting programme
• World championships, the primary competitions where all nations may compete
• Continental or regional championships, between nations of a specific geographical area
• Competitions where the invited nations or athletes are from a shared community, typically based on language, religion, ethnicity, occupation, or political allegiance

Competitions between athletes of different nations which do not feature team selection at the national or continental level, such as the Diamond League, are excluded.

• List of multi-sport events