IBonomicsCompare IB Subject Statistics
Latest data: May 2026Provisional
In May 2026, 23 subjects had at least 100 students at HL and 30 at SL, not counting the language courses, which are reported by language. Of these subjects, Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches had the most students. Physics had the highest grade 7 rate at HL (20.5%) and Turkey in the 20th Century at SL (14.6%), and Geography the highest mean grade at HL (5.3) and Turkey in the 20th Century at SL (5.5).
Subject comparisons
Each ranks the subjects with at least 100 students on one figure, for May 2026 and every May session since May 2022.
- IB Subjects With the Highest Grade 7 RatesSubjects ranked by the share of students awarded a 7
- Average IB Grade by SubjectMean grades at HL and SL, ranked
- Most Popular IB SubjectsSubjects ranked by number of students
- IB Grade Distribution by SubjectGrades 1 to 7 side by side for every subject
- IB Results Explorer: All Subjects and LanguagesEvery subject and language, with no minimum number of students
The leading subjects in each May session
The subjects with the highest grade 7 rate and the highest mean grade at HL and at SL in each May session, among those with at least 100 students at the level.
| Session | Highest grade 7 rate, HL | Highest grade 7 rate, SL | Highest mean grade, HL | Highest mean grade, SL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2026provisional | Physics 20.5% | Turkey in the 20th Century 14.6% | Geography 5.3 | Turkey in the 20th Century 5.5 |
| May 2025 | Physics 19.2% | Economics 14.9% | Geography 5.3 | Turkey in the 20th Century 5.5 |
| May 2024 | Physics 19.6% | Turkey in the 20th Century 17.0% | Geography 5.3 | Turkey in the 20th Century 5.4 |
| May 2023 | Physics 16.6% | Turkey in the 20th Century 13.0% | Geography 5.27 | Turkey in the 20th Century 5.27 |
| May 2022 | Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches 21.1% | Computer Science 25.2% | Geography 5.52 | Turkey in the 20th Century 5.47 |
Subjects named together had the same figure.
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)
IB subjects side by side, May 2026
The 30 subjects with at least 100 students at HL or SL in May 2026, in name order, with their students, mean grade and grade 7 rate at each level. The chart shows the mean grades.
| Subject | HL students | SL students | HL mean grade | SL mean grade | HL grade 7 rate | SL grade 7 rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art History | — | 115 | — | 3.7 | — | 7.0% |
| Biology | 33,585 | 22,064 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 7.4% | 5.5% |
| Brazilian Social Studies | — | 503 | — | 5.1 | — | 8.7% |
| Business Management | 26,520 | 14,167 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 6.6% | 10.0% |
| Chemistry | 20,748 | 18,475 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 15.1% | 10.5% |
| Computer Science | 4,536 | 4,140 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 10.9% | 8.4% |
| Dance | 394 | 463 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 6.1% | 5.2% |
| Design Technology | 2,159 | 1,966 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 3.4% | 0.3% |
| Digital Society | 1,160 | 1,284 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 2.3% | 3.1% |
| Economics | 20,472 | 11,305 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 14.7% | 14.3% |
| Environmental Systems and Societies | 3,857 | 20,964 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 5.4% | 5.0% |
| Film | 2,990 | 1,843 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.1% | 2.0% |
| Geography | 5,229 | 4,724 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 12.7% | 7.5% |
| Global Politics | 6,894 | 4,602 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 6.1% | 4.1% |
| History | 38,195 | 9,460 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 2.6% | 3.3% |
| Language and Culture | — | 258 | — | 5.1 | — | 7.4% |
| Literature and Performance | — | 616 | — | 5.0 | — | 5.5% |
| Marine Science | — | 523 | — | 3.8 | — | 3.6% |
| Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches | 26,591 | 42,995 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 16.8% | 8.5% |
| Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation | 8,500 | 44,196 | 4.6 | 3.9 | 10.0% | 3.7% |
| Music | 1,503 | 1,455 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 7.9% | 4.2% |
| Philosophy | 2,173 | 2,934 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 8.6% | 8.6% |
| Physics | 19,035 | 14,461 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 20.5% | 11.1% |
| Psychology | 15,455 | 13,895 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 6.0% | 4.0% |
| Social and Cultural Anthropology | 949 | 1,735 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 7.7% | 2.6% |
| Sports, Exercise and Health Science | 1,942 | 6,313 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 6.9% | 1.9% |
| Theatre | 2,381 | 1,289 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 12.8% | 6.7% |
| Turkey in the 20th Century | — | 753 | — | 5.5 | — | 14.6% |
| Visual Arts | 9,709 | 6,076 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 2.9% | 1.2% |
| World Religions | — | 1,917 | — | 4.6 | — | 2.3% |
—: not offered at that level, or fewer than 100 students took it.
May 2026 figures are provisional.
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 and Career-Related Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, May 2025
- The IB Diploma Programme and Career-Related Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, May 2024
- The IB Diploma Programme and Career-Related Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, May 2023
- The IB Diploma Programme and Career-Related Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, May 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.
- 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 May 2024 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.