IBonomicsIB November 2023 Exam Statistics
Session: November 2023
In November 2023, 20,266 students from 1,340 schools in 123 countries took IB exams, up from 18,038 in November 2022. Between them they had 91,723 subject entries.
In November 2023, 16,187 students received IB Diploma results. Of these, 72.4% were awarded the diploma, down from 82.00% in November 2022, and the average score was 29.1 points out of 45, down from 30.99.
- Students
- 20,266
- November 2022: 18,038
- Schools
- 1,340
- November 2022: 1,124
- Diploma pass rate
- 72.4%
- November 2022: 82.00%
- Average score
- 29.1
- November 2022: 30.99
November 2023 compared with November 2022
The bulletin's overview of the session, with the Diploma results, beside November 2022, the same session a year earlier.
| Figure | November 2023 | November 2022 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students | 20,266 | 18,038 | +2,228 |
| Subject entries | 91,723 | 81,977 | +9,746 |
| Schools | 1,340 | 1,124 | +216 |
| Countries | 123 | 114 | +9 |
| Mean grade, all students | 4.6 | 4.87 | −0.3 |
| Diploma results | 16,187 | 13,824 | +2,363 |
| Diplomas awarded | 11,712 | 11,336 | +376 |
| Diploma pass rate | 72.4% | 82.00% | −9.6 |
| Average score | 29.1 | 30.99 | −1.9 |
| Mean grade, Diploma students | 4.6 | 4.94 | −0.3 |
Students: everyone in the session, in the Diploma, the Career-related Programme or individual courses. Diploma results: Diploma students, including those retaking, who received results. Average score: their mean total points, out of 45. Change: for rates, in percentage points.
IB Diploma scores in November 2023
The share of Diploma results at each total, out of 45, with an average of 29.1 points. A diploma needs at least 24 points. The average IB score page has every session's.
| Total points | Share of Diploma results |
|---|---|
| 0–23 | 23.2% |
| 24–29 | 33.0% |
| 30–34 | 19.5% |
| 35–39 | 14.1% |
| 40–45 | 10.2% |
Most popular subjects in November 2023
The 10 subjects with the most students, HL and SL added, not counting the language courses, which the bulletin reports by language. Most popular IB subjects ranks every subject in the May sessions, which are much larger.
| Subject | Students | HL | SL | Share of entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches | 10,528 | 2,645 | 7,883 | 11.5% |
| 2Biology | 7,693 | 3,030 | 4,663 | 8.4% |
| 3History | 6,277 | 4,675 | 1,602 | 6.8% |
| 4Chemistry | 5,250 | 2,625 | 2,625 | 5.7% |
| 5Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation | 5,105 | 410 | 4,695 | 5.6% |
| 6Business Management | 5,024 | 2,948 | 2,076 | 5.5% |
| 7Physics | 3,705 | 1,748 | 1,957 | 4.0% |
| 8Economics | 3,157 | 2,103 | 1,054 | 3.4% |
| 9Environmental Systems and Societies | 2,322 | — | 2,322 | 2.5% |
| 10Visual Arts | 2,200 | 954 | 1,246 | 2.4% |
Share of entries: the subject's students as a percentage of all 91,723 subject entries in November 2023, the language courses included. —: not taken at that level in November 2023.
Highest grade 7 rates in November 2023
The subjects with the 10 highest shares of 7s at each level, among the subjects with at least 100 students there. Grade 7 rates reflect who takes a subject and how it is assessed, so they don't show which subjects are easier. IB grade 7 rates by subject ranks every subject in the May sessions, which are much larger.
| Subject | Grade 7 rate | Students |
|---|---|---|
| 1Theatre | 29.6% | 274 |
| 2Chemistry | 29.5% | 2,625 |
| 3Physics | 27.6% | 1,748 |
| 4Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches | 22.0% | 2,645 |
| 5Film | 20.1% | 224 |
| 6Economics | 19.3% | 2,103 |
| 7Sports, Exercise and Health Science | 18.6% | 382 |
| 8Music | 16.4% | 232 |
| 9Geography | 15.6% | 531 |
| 10Psychology | 13.8% | 1,154 |
| Subject | Grade 7 rate | Students |
|---|---|---|
| 1Economics | 18.7% | 1,054 |
| 2Physics | 11.1% | 1,957 |
| 3Psychology | 11.0% | 438 |
| 4Geography | 10.8% | 360 |
| 5Chemistry | 10.2% | 2,625 |
| 6Philosophy | 9.2% | 130 |
| 7Business Management | 7.2% | 2,076 |
| 8Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches | 6.5% | 7,883 |
| 8Theatre | 6.5% | 155 |
| 10Music | 6.1% | 132 |
Results by subject, November 2023
Every subject in the November 2023 bulletin by subject group, each group led by its totals. Each subject links to its own page, with its results in every session.
| Subject | Level | Students | Mean grade | Grade 7 rate | Grade 6 or 7 rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group 1: Studies in Language and LiteratureLanguage A: Language and Literature and Language A: Literature: reported by language, in the results explorer. | 16,796 | 4.9 | 3.0% | 25.2% | |
| Group 2: Language AcquisitionLanguage ab initio and Language B: reported by language, in the results explorer. | 15,409 | 5.2 | 14.6% | 46.4% | |
| Group 3: Individuals and Societies | 19,765 | 4.6 | 8.8% | 26.4% | |
| Brazilian Social Studies | SL | 67 | 5.0 | 4.5% | 29.9% |
| Business Management | HL | 2,948 | 4.8 | 11.8% | 33.7% |
| SL | 2,076 | 4.4 | 7.2% | 19.3% | |
| Economics | HL | 2,103 | 5.2 | 19.3% | 46.4% |
| SL | 1,054 | 5.0 | 18.7% | 44.3% | |
| Geography | HL | 531 | 5.3 | 15.6% | 47.1% |
| SL | 360 | 4.7 | 10.8% | 37.2% | |
| Global Politics | HL | 504 | 5.0 | 6.3% | 30.5% |
| SL | 294 | 4.7 | 5.8% | 18.4% | |
| History | HL | 4,675 | 4.1 | 3.0% | 10.4% |
| SL | 1,602 | 4.3 | 3.9% | 16.4% | |
| Information Technology in a Global Society | HL | 770 | 4.4 | 0.6% | 7.4% |
| SL | 775 | 4.6 | 1.0% | 14.3% | |
| Philosophy | HL | 151 | 5.2 | 7.9% | 35.1% |
| SL | 130 | 5.3 | 9.2% | 49.2% | |
| Psychology | HL | 1,154 | 5.3 | 13.8% | 44.0% |
| SL | 438 | 5.1 | 11.0% | 41.1% | |
| Social and Cultural Anthropology | HL | 91 | 5.2 | 22.0% | 51.7% |
| SL | 42 | 4.7 | 4.8% | 31.0% | |
| Group 4: Sciences | 18,412 | 4.3 | 12.9% | 27.0% | |
| Biology | HL | 3,030 | 4.6 | 11.7% | 29.6% |
| SL | 4,663 | 3.7 | 3.1% | 10.4% | |
| Chemistry | HL | 2,625 | 5.3 | 29.5% | 49.8% |
| SL | 2,625 | 3.9 | 10.2% | 22.7% | |
| Computer Science | HL | 349 | 4.5 | 12.6% | 29.8% |
| SL | 298 | 3.2 | 1.7% | 5.4% | |
| Design Technology | HL | 155 | 4.7 | 3.2% | 29.7% |
| SL | 56 | 4.0 | 0.0% | 12.5% | |
| Physics | HL | 1,748 | 5.1 | 27.6% | 45.9% |
| SL | 1,957 | 3.8 | 11.1% | 21.2% | |
| Sports, Exercise and Health Science | HL | 382 | 5.6 | 18.6% | 57.3% |
| SL | 524 | 4.1 | 3.1% | 15.7% | |
| Group 5: Mathematics | 15,633 | 4.0 | 8.0% | 20.6% | |
| Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches | HL | 2,645 | 5.1 | 22.0% | 47.8% |
| SL | 7,883 | 3.8 | 6.5% | 16.8% | |
| Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation | HL | 410 | 4.2 | 3.7% | 21.3% |
| SL | 4,695 | 3.7 | 3.2% | 11.8% | |
| Group 6: The Arts | 3,365 | 4.7 | 7.9% | 24.7% | |
| Dance | HL | 55 | 6.3 | 50.9% | 87.3% |
| SL | 13 | 4.6 | 0.0% | 15.4% | |
| Film | HL | 224 | 5.5 | 20.1% | 52.2% |
| SL | 80 | 4.2 | 5.0% | 13.8% | |
| Music | HL | 232 | 5.4 | 16.4% | 48.3% |
| SL | 132 | 4.4 | 6.1% | 19.7% | |
| Theatre | HL | 274 | 5.8 | 29.6% | 64.6% |
| SL | 155 | 4.8 | 6.5% | 26.5% | |
| Visual Arts | HL | 954 | 4.6 | 5.0% | 22.4% |
| SL | 1,246 | 4.2 | 0.2% | 6.5% | |
| Interdisciplinary | 2,343 | 4.0 | 3.4% | 12.6% | |
| Environmental Systems and Societies | SL | 2,322 | 4.0 | 3.1% | 11.9% |
| Literature and Performance | SL | 21 | 6.2 | 33.3% | 85.7% |
Group rows: the bulletin's totals for every subject in the group, the language courses included. Grade 7 rate: the share of students awarded a 7, as published. Grade 6 or 7 rate: the published shares for grades 6 and 7 added.
- Subjects the bulletin only names, because fewer than 10 students took them, are not listed here. (November 2023)
Other sessions
- IB May 2023 Exam StatisticsThe session before, 179,922 students, Diploma pass rate 80.01%
- IB May 2024 Exam StatisticsThe session after, 192,866 students, Diploma pass rate 80.5%
- IB November 2022 Exam StatisticsA year earlier, 18,038 students, Diploma pass rate 82.00%
- IB November 2024 Exam StatisticsA year later, 21,806 students, Diploma pass rate 73.1%
- IB Exam Results by SessionEvery session since November 2021
Source and methodology
These statistics are from the International Baccalaureate's statistical bulletins. The latest data shown is from the November 2023 assessment session.
Bulletins
- The IB Diploma Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, November 2023
- The IB Diploma Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, November 2022
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.
- 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 November 2022 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.