IBonomicsIB Grade Distribution by Subject Group
Latest data: May 2026Provisional
In May 2026, Language Acquisition had the highest grade 7 rate of the subject groups (12.7%) and The Arts the lowest (3.9%). Mean grades ranged from 5.2 in Language Acquisition to 4.3 in The Arts.
Each group's figures are the bulletin's totals for every subject in it, the language courses included.
Grade distributions reflect the students taking each subject, how it is assessed and many other factors, so they don't show which subjects are easier.
November sessions are much smaller, and taken mostly in the southern hemisphere, so compare May with May.
Grade distribution by subject group, May 2026
Grades 1 to 7 in each subject group in May 2026. Each bar starts with grade 7. In the table, the darker a cell, the larger its share.
| Subject group | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | N | 6 or 7 | Mean grade | Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature | 0.0 | 1.0 | 7.5 | 24.8 | 35.8 | 23.8 | 4.9 | 2.2 | 28.7 | 4.9 | 155,380 |
| Group 2: Language Acquisition | 0.1 | 1.4 | 7.5 | 18.2 | 27.7 | 30.9 | 12.7 | 1.5 | 43.6 | 5.2 | 117,213 |
| Group 3: Individuals and Societies | 0.3 | 3.6 | 10.0 | 23.6 | 30.2 | 23.0 | 7.1 | 2.4 | 30.1 | 4.8 | 184,461 |
| Group 4: Sciences | 1.1 | 6.1 | 18.5 | 22.9 | 21.6 | 17.5 | 10.3 | 2.0 | 27.8 | 4.5 | 150,081 |
| Group 5: Mathematics | 2.2 | 9.0 | 16.6 | 24.0 | 22.3 | 15.1 | 8.7 | 2.1 | 23.8 | 4.4 | 122,282 |
| Group 6: The Arts | 0.4 | 4.0 | 20.3 | 30.4 | 24.4 | 12.9 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 16.8 | 4.3 | 28,117 |
| Interdisciplinary | 0.9 | 6.5 | 19.9 | 24.8 | 24.7 | 15.2 | 5.1 | 2.8 | 20.3 | 4.4 | 25,695 |
Percentage of students at each grade, as published. The grade 6 or 7 rate is the two shares added.
Students: subject entries in the group, so a student taking two of its subjects is counted twice.
May 2026 figures are provisional.
Subject groups over the May sessions
Each group's mean grade and grade 7 rate in every May session from May 2022 to May 2026. November sessions are in the session picker above.
| Subject group | May 2022 | May 2023 | May 2024 | May 2025 | May 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature | 5.09 | 4.83 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.9 |
| Group 2: Language Acquisition | 5.39 | 5.24 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.2 |
| Group 3: Individuals and Societies | 5.01 | 4.74 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.8 |
| Group 4: Sciences | 4.76 | 4.35 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Group 5: Mathematics | 4.80 | 4.37 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 |
| Group 6: The Arts | 4.51 | 4.38 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.3 |
| Interdisciplinary | 4.48 | 4.24 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.4 |
May 2026 figures are provisional.
| Subject group | May 2022 | May 2023 | May 2024 | May 2025 | May 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature | 8.3% | 3.9% | 3.5% | 4.3% | 4.9% |
| Group 2: Language Acquisition | 20.4% | 14.3% | 13.8% | 13.9% | 12.7% |
| Group 3: Individuals and Societies | 11.8% | 7.6% | 7.5% | 7.4% | 7.1% |
| Group 4: Sciences | 13.5% | 8.2% | 9.6% | 10.0% | 10.3% |
| Group 5: Mathematics | 12.5% | 8.8% | 8.2% | 8.9% | 8.7% |
| Group 6: The Arts | 5.6% | 4.5% | 3.5% | 3.8% | 3.9% |
| Interdisciplinary | 7.5% | 5.5% | 4.8% | 5.0% | 5.1% |
May 2026 figures are provisional.
- These bulletins print no N (no grade) column, so grades 1-7 are shares of the students who received a grade, and N is shown as —. (May 2022, May 2023)
- These bulletins include N (no grade) in the total, so grades 1-7 add up to less than 100% and are measured on a slightly different basis from sessions without an N column. (May 2024, May 2025, May 2026)
- The IB states that these results combine examination and non-examination assessment routes, which were used during the COVID-19 disruption. (May 2022)
- Grade cells the bulletin leaves blank are shown as 0.0%. (May 2022, May 2023, May 2024, May 2025)
Source and methodology
These statistics are from the International Baccalaureate's statistical bulletins. The latest data shown is from the May 2026 assessment session.
Bulletins
- The IB Diploma Programme and Career-Related Programme Provisional Statistical Bulletin, May 2026
- The IB Diploma Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, November 2025
- The IB Diploma Programme and Career-Related Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, May 2025
- The IB Diploma Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, November 2024
- The IB Diploma Programme and Career-Related Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, May 2024
- The IB Diploma Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, November 2023
- The IB Diploma Programme and Career-Related Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, May 2023
- The IB Diploma Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, November 2022
- The IB Diploma Programme and Career-Related Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, May 2022
- The IB Diploma Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, November 2021
About this data
- May and November are separate assessment sessions. November is much smaller and mostly taken by schools in the southern hemisphere, so its figures aren't directly comparable with May's.
- The May 2026 figures are from the IB's provisional bulletin and may change when the final bulletin is published.
- Older bulletins call the people sitting the exams “candidates” and newer ones “students”. This site says “students” throughout.
- “<10” means the IB didn't publish the exact number because fewer than 10 students took the subject. These figures are never estimated or counted as zero.
- The grade 7 rate is the share of students the bulletin reports at grade 7. The grade 6 or 7 rate is calculated by IBonomics by adding the published shares for grades 6 and 7. Every other figure is as published.
- From November 2023 the bulletins include students who received no grade (N) in each subject's percentages, so grades 1 to 7 add up to slightly less than 100%. Earlier bulletins give percentages of graded students only.
- Bulletins up to May 2023 print figures to two decimal places and later ones to one. Each figure is shown as printed, and changes are compared at the lower precision.
IBonomics is not affiliated with or endorsed by the International Baccalaureate.