IBonomicsMost Popular IB Subjects
Latest data: May 2026Provisional
Of the IB subjects other than the language courses, Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches had the most students in May 2026, 69,586 at HL and SL combined, followed by Biology (55,649) and Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation (52,696).
Earlier May sessions are compared the same way. November sessions aren't: they are much smaller, and taken mostly in the southern hemisphere.
Most popular IB subjects, May 2026
The 30 subjects with at least 100 students across HL and SL in May 2026, most first. Each bar is a subject's HL and SL students end to end. The table adds the subject's share of all 784,409 subject entries in the session and how its students changed from May 2025.
| Subject | Students | HL | SL | Share of entries | Change from May 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches | 69,586 | 26,591 | 42,995 | 8.9% | +2,262 |
| 2Biology | 55,649 | 33,585 | 22,064 | 7.1% | +608 |
| 3Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation | 52,696 | 8,500 | 44,196 | 6.7% | +1,201 |
| 4History | 47,655 | 38,195 | 9,460 | 6.1% | +1,174 |
| 5Business Management | 40,687 | 26,520 | 14,167 | 5.2% | +2,870 |
| 6Chemistry | 39,223 | 20,748 | 18,475 | 5.0% | +1,482 |
| 7Physics | 33,496 | 19,035 | 14,461 | 4.3% | +1,070 |
| 8Economics | 31,777 | 20,472 | 11,305 | 4.1% | +891 |
| 9Psychology | 29,350 | 15,455 | 13,895 | 3.7% | +691 |
| 10Environmental Systems and Societies | 24,821 | 3,857 | 20,964 | 3.2% | +2,743 |
| 11Visual Arts | 15,785 | 9,709 | 6,076 | 2.0% | −607 |
| 12Global Politics | 11,496 | 6,894 | 4,602 | 1.5% | +1,122 |
| 13Geography | 9,953 | 5,229 | 4,724 | 1.3% | +207 |
| 14Computer Science | 8,676 | 4,536 | 4,140 | 1.1% | −477 |
| 15Sports, Exercise and Health Science | 8,255 | 1,942 | 6,313 | 1.1% | +321 |
| 16Philosophy | 5,107 | 2,173 | 2,934 | 0.7% | +458 |
| 17Film | 4,833 | 2,990 | 1,843 | 0.6% | +79 |
| 18Design Technology | 4,125 | 2,159 | 1,966 | 0.5% | +129 |
| 19Theatre | 3,670 | 2,381 | 1,289 | 0.5% | −112 |
| 20Music | 2,958 | 1,503 | 1,455 | 0.4% | −68 |
| 21Social and Cultural Anthropology | 2,684 | 949 | 1,735 | 0.3% | −118 |
| 22Digital Society | 2,444 | 1,160 | 1,284 | 0.3% | −114 |
| 23World Religions | 1,917 | — | 1,917 | 0.2% | +56 |
| 24Dance | 857 | 394 | 463 | 0.1% | +7 |
| 25Turkey in the 20th Century | 753 | — | 753 | 0.1% | −95 |
| 26Literature and Performance | 616 | — | 616 | 0.1% | +33 |
| 27Marine Science | 523 | — | 523 | 0.1% | +94 |
| 28Brazilian Social Studies | 503 | — | 503 | 0.1% | +62 |
| 29Language and Culture | 258 | — | 258 | 0.0% | +73 |
| 30Art History | 115 | — | 115 | 0.0% | −16 |
Students: HL and SL added, in May 2026 only. Share of entries: the subject's students as a percentage of all 784,409 subject entries in May 2026, the language courses included. Change: the difference from May 2025.
— under HL or SL: no results at that level in May 2026.
May 2026 figures are provisional.
The language courses
Language A: Language and Literature, Language A: Literature, Language ab initio and Language B aren't in the ranking. Each is taken in many languages, and the bulletins report each language separately.
In May 2026, the Group 1 (Studies in Language and Literature) courses had 155,380 students between them and the Group 2 (Language Acquisition) courses 117,213, each more than the 69,586 who took Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches. Each group's results are in IB grade distribution by subject group, and each language's in the results explorer.
How subjects are ranked
- Each ranking is of one May session, and every figure in it is from that session's bulletin.
- A subject's students are its HL and SL students in the same session added together. May and November are never added together.
- Only subjects with at least 100 students across HL and SL are ranked. The results explorer has every subject, whatever its size.
- The language courses (Language A: Language and Literature, Language A: Literature, Language ab initio, Language B) aren't ranked, because the bulletins report their results by language.
- Subjects with the same figure share a rank, and the next rank is skipped.
More subject comparisons
- 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
- IB Grade Distribution by SubjectGrades 1 to 7 side by side for every subject
- Compare IB Subject StatisticsThe leading subjects in every May session
- IB Results Explorer: All Subjects and LanguagesEvery subject and language, with no minimum number of students
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.
- 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.