IB data · primary-source derived
IB grade distributions by subject, level & exam session
A session-specific reference built from official International Baccalaureate statistical bulletins. It keeps May and November cohorts separate, preserves provisional versus final status, and reports candidate counts alongside percentages so small cohorts are not presented with false precision.
Source set verified September 22, 2026 · 154 subject-level rows
May 2026
Provisional- DP result candidates
- 104,369
- Diploma pass rate
- 82.6%
- Mean total points
- 30.88
- 40–45 points
- 10.1%
November 2025
Final- DP result candidates
- 18,551
- Diploma pass rate
- 74.3%
- Mean total points
- 29.4
- 40–45 points
- 10.9%
May 2025
Final- DP result candidates
- 102,233
- Diploma pass rate
- 81.9%
- Mean total points
- 30.58
- 40–45 points
- 9.8%
What these numbers do—and do not—mean
Do: compare a grade distribution within the same subject, level, and exam session.
Do not: treat a higher mean or grade-7 share as proof that one subject is intrinsically easier. Course selection changes who is in each cohort.
Do not: combine May and November silently. The cohort sizes and distributions can differ materially.
Exact 45 scores: the IB no longer publishes the number of students achieving exactly 45 in these bulletins; it reports a 40–45 band instead.
Download the data
Provisional
May 2026 subject distributions
| Subject / course | Level | Candidates | Mean | Grade 7 | Grades 4–7 | IB page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biology | HL | 33,585 | 4.5 | 7.5% | 74.0% | 25 |
| Biology | SL | 22,064 | 4.3 | 5.7% | 70.6% | 25 |
| Business Management | HL | 26,520 | 5.0 | 6.7% | 90.0% | 24 |
| Business Management | SL | 14,167 | 4.9 | 10.3% | 83.5% | 24 |
| Chemistry | HL | 20,748 | 4.9 | 15.3% | 81.9% | 25 |
| Chemistry | SL | 18,475 | 4.5 | 10.7% | 70.0% | 25 |
| Computer Science | HL | 4,536 | 4.8 | 11.0% | 79.6% | 25 |
| Computer Science | SL | 4,140 | 4.4 | 8.6% | 69.6% | 25 |
| Economics | HL | 20,472 | 5.2 | 14.8% | 90.5% | 24 |
| Economics | SL | 11,305 | 5.0 | 14.7% | 82.5% | 24 |
| English A: Language and Literature | HL | 45,440 | 4.8 | 3.9% | 89.9% | 19 |
| English A: Language and Literature | SL | 35,868 | 5.0 | 6.3% | 91.0% | 19 |
| English A: Literature | HL | 28,516 | 4.7 | 2.3% | 89.9% | 19 |
| English A: Literature | SL | 5,698 | 5.2 | 10.2% | 92.7% | 19 |
| English B: Language B | HL | 23,499 | 5.6 | 11.8% | 98.3% | 23 |
| English B: Language B | SL | 4,997 | 5.4 | 13.3% | 95.2% | 23 |
| Environmental Systems & Societies | HL | 3,857 | 4.5 | 5.5% | 75.6% | 26 |
| Environmental Systems & Societies | SL | 20,964 | 4.3 | 5.2% | 70.5% | 26 |
| Film | HL | 2,990 | 4.3 | 3.2% | 76.0% | 26 |
| Film | SL | 1,843 | 4.1 | 2.2% | 69.9% | 26 |
| Geography | HL | 5,229 | 5.3 | 12.8% | 94.0% | 24 |
| Geography | SL | 4,724 | 4.9 | 7.7% | 85.6% | 24 |
| Global Politics | HL | 6,894 | 5.0 | 6.2% | 93.5% | 24 |
| Global Politics | SL | 4,602 | 4.7 | 4.3% | 86.5% | 24 |
| History | HL | 38,195 | 4.5 | 2.7% | 82.7% | 24 |
| History | SL | 9,460 | 4.8 | 3.4% | 88.0% | 24 |
| Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches | HL | 26,591 | 5.0 | 17.0% | 84.5% | 25 |
| Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches | SL | 42,995 | 4.5 | 8.6% | 74.6% | 25 |
| Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation | HL | 8,500 | 4.6 | 10.1% | 77.6% | 25 |
| Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation | SL | 44,196 | 3.9 | 3.8% | 59.5% | 25 |
| Music | HL | 1,503 | 4.8 | 8.2% | 85.4% | 26 |
| Music | SL | 1,455 | 4.4 | 4.5% | 74.6% | 26 |
| Philosophy | HL | 2,173 | 4.9 | 8.8% | 87.1% | 24 |
| Philosophy | SL | 2,934 | 4.9 | 8.9% | 86.6% | 24 |
| Physics | HL | 19,035 | 5.0 | 20.7% | 80.3% | 25 |
| Physics | SL | 14,461 | 4.3 | 11.3% | 66.0% | 25 |
| Psychology | HL | 15,455 | 4.8 | 6.1% | 85.1% | 24 |
| Psychology | SL | 13,895 | 4.5 | 4.2% | 77.6% | 24 |
| Social & Cultural Anthropology | HL | 949 | 4.8 | 7.8% | 84.7% | 24 |
| Social & Cultural Anthropology | SL | 1,735 | 4.5 | 2.8% | 82.4% | 24 |
| Spanish A: Language and Literature | HL | 5,207 | 4.8 | 2.6% | 93.1% | 20 |
| Spanish A: Language and Literature | SL | 2,870 | 4.9 | 4.5% | 89.4% | 20 |
| Spanish A: Literature | HL | 3,765 | 4.7 | 2.2% | 91.6% | 20 |
| Spanish A: Literature | SL | 2,014 | 4.3 | 2.9% | 75.0% | 20 |
| Spanish B: Language B | HL | 8,849 | 5.2 | 17.0% | 89.6% | 23 |
| Spanish B: Language B | SL | 22,685 | 4.8 | 8.2% | 88.7% | 23 |
| Sports, Exercise & Health Science | HL | 1,942 | 4.7 | 7.0% | 81.6% | 25 |
| Sports, Exercise & Health Science | SL | 6,313 | 3.9 | 2.0% | 62.8% | 25 |
| Theatre | HL | 2,381 | 5.1 | 13.1% | 89.3% | 26 |
| Theatre | SL | 1,289 | 4.6 | 7.0% | 81.6% | 26 |
| Visual Arts | HL | 9,709 | 4.3 | 3.0% | 73.4% | 26 |
| Visual Arts | SL | 6,076 | 4.0 | 1.2% | 66.6% | 26 |
Grade-7 and grades-4–7 percentages shown here are normalized among graded candidates, excluding the bulletin's N/no-grade category. Candidate count is shown because small cohorts can make percentages look more precise than they are.
Final
November 2025 subject distributions
| Subject / course | Level | Candidates | Mean | Grade 7 | Grades 4–7 | IB page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biology | HL | 3,355 | 4.7 | 14.1% | 74.6% | 16 |
| Biology | SL | 5,123 | 3.8 | 4.3% | 52.5% | 16 |
| Business Management | HL | 3,609 | 4.8 | 10.3% | 85.0% | 15 |
| Business Management | SL | 2,661 | 4.5 | 7.0% | 75.7% | 15 |
| Chemistry | HL | 2,907 | 5.4 | 32.6% | 84.6% | 16 |
| Chemistry | SL | 3,099 | 4.1 | 12.1% | 57.1% | 16 |
| Computer Science | HL | 369 | 4.5 | 14.8% | 68.0% | 16 |
| Computer Science | SL | 350 | 3.8 | 4.7% | 49.7% | 16 |
| Economics | HL | 2,266 | 5.3 | 18.7% | 88.9% | 15 |
| Economics | SL | 1,151 | 5.1 | 17.6% | 84.2% | 15 |
| English A: Language and Literature | HL | 3,366 | 5.0 | 5.5% | 94.9% | 13 |
| English A: Language and Literature | SL | 2,730 | 5.2 | 7.1% | 95.7% | 13 |
| English A: Literature | HL | 874 | 5.3 | 8.5% | 98.6% | 13 |
| English A: Literature | SL | 513 | 5.2 | 8.4% | 96.5% | 13 |
| English B: Language B | HL | 8,820 | 4.9 | 4.3% | 90.0% | 14 |
| English B: Language B | SL | 1,183 | 5.0 | 7.0% | 88.4% | 14 |
| Environmental Systems & Societies | SL | 2,514 | 4.0 | 3.5% | 63.2% | 17 |
| Film | HL | 227 | 5.3 | 16.4% | 94.2% | 17 |
| Film | SL | 91 | 4.8 | 4.6% | 87.6% | 17 |
| Geography | HL | 657 | 5.3 | 16.4% | 91.6% | 15 |
| Geography | SL | 382 | 5.1 | 17.6% | 83.8% | 15 |
| Global Politics | HL | 655 | 4.8 | 3.5% | 92.2% | 15 |
| Global Politics | SL | 609 | 4.1 | 1.5% | 70.6% | 15 |
| History | HL | 4,997 | 4.2 | 2.6% | 78.2% | 15 |
| History | SL | 1,826 | 4.4 | 4.0% | 79.8% | 15 |
| Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches | HL | 3,389 | 5.1 | 25.0% | 82.1% | 16 |
| Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches | SL | 7,900 | 3.9 | 7.7% | 55.2% | 16 |
| Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation | HL | 642 | 4.1 | 8.4% | 59.6% | 16 |
| Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation | SL | 5,400 | 3.6 | 3.1% | 46.5% | 16 |
| Music | HL | 261 | 5.3 | 15.9% | 95.2% | 17 |
| Music | SL | 149 | 4.4 | 3.5% | 76.7% | 17 |
| Philosophy | HL | 180 | 4.8 | 3.3% | 84.2% | 15 |
| Philosophy | SL | 139 | 5.1 | 8.2% | 94.0% | 15 |
| Physics | HL | 2,354 | 5.0 | 25.6% | 77.2% | 16 |
| Physics | SL | 2,327 | 4.0 | 9.5% | 55.1% | 16 |
| Psychology | HL | 1,304 | 5.3 | 13.2% | 92.2% | 15 |
| Psychology | SL | 495 | 5.0 | 9.1% | 87.9% | 15 |
| Social & Cultural Anthropology | HL | 62 | 5.5 | 23.0% | 91.9% | 15 |
| Social & Cultural Anthropology | SL | 51 | 4.5 | 8.0% | 65.9% | 15 |
| Spanish A: Language and Literature | HL | 5,535 | 4.7 | 0.9% | 92.5% | 13 |
| Spanish A: Language and Literature | SL | 261 | 4.9 | 4.2% | 91.9% | 13 |
| Spanish A: Literature | HL | 2,686 | 4.6 | 1.2% | 93.0% | 13 |
| Spanish A: Literature | SL | 368 | 4.7 | 3.1% | 88.1% | 13 |
| Spanish B: Language B | HL | 78 | 5.8 | 25.1% | 98.7% | 14 |
| Spanish B: Language B | SL | 193 | 5.6 | 22.3% | 96.9% | 14 |
| Sports, Exercise & Health Science | HL | 500 | 5.6 | 20.1% | 94.8% | 16 |
| Sports, Exercise & Health Science | SL | 713 | 4.2 | 4.7% | 67.9% | 16 |
| Theatre | HL | 260 | 5.9 | 32.3% | 99.6% | 17 |
| Theatre | SL | 273 | 4.7 | 5.5% | 90.0% | 17 |
| Visual Arts | HL | 885 | 4.4 | 2.4% | 78.2% | 17 |
| Visual Arts | SL | 1,366 | 4.2 | 0.8% | 83.1% | 17 |
Grade-7 and grades-4–7 percentages shown here are normalized among graded candidates, excluding the bulletin's N/no-grade category. Candidate count is shown because small cohorts can make percentages look more precise than they are.
Final
May 2025 subject distributions
| Subject / course | Level | Candidates | Mean | Grade 7 | Grades 4–7 | IB page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biology | HL | 33,102 | 4.5 | 7.3% | 73.8% | 25 |
| Biology | SL | 21,939 | 4.3 | 6.0% | 68.1% | 25 |
| Business Management | HL | 24,513 | 5.0 | 7.6% | 89.2% | 24 |
| Business Management | SL | 13,304 | 4.9 | 11.6% | 84.7% | 24 |
| Chemistry | HL | 20,095 | 4.8 | 15.2% | 78.3% | 25 |
| Chemistry | SL | 17,646 | 4.3 | 9.7% | 67.8% | 25 |
| Computer Science | HL | 4,751 | 4.7 | 8.6% | 77.8% | 25 |
| Computer Science | SL | 4,402 | 4.3 | 8.7% | 65.7% | 25 |
| Economics | HL | 20,089 | 5.2 | 14.1% | 89.8% | 24 |
| Economics | SL | 10,797 | 5.0 | 15.2% | 82.3% | 24 |
| English A: Language and Literature | HL | 43,338 | 4.8 | 4.2% | 90.2% | 19 |
| English A: Language and Literature | SL | 31,216 | 4.9 | 5.0% | 92.3% | 19 |
| English A: Literature | HL | 30,239 | 4.6 | 1.5% | 89.9% | 19 |
| English A: Literature | SL | 5,734 | 5.1 | 7.1% | 94.5% | 19 |
| English B: Language B | HL | 23,089 | 5.6 | 13.5% | 97.7% | 23 |
| English B: Language B | SL | 4,648 | 5.5 | 14.7% | 95.1% | 23 |
| Environmental Systems & Societies | SL | 22,078 | 4.3 | 5.2% | 69.8% | 26 |
| Film | HL | 2,962 | 4.4 | 3.9% | 79.8% | 26 |
| Film | SL | 1,792 | 4.2 | 2.7% | 69.2% | 26 |
| Geography | HL | 5,218 | 5.3 | 13.1% | 94.3% | 24 |
| Geography | SL | 4,528 | 4.9 | 9.3% | 82.1% | 24 |
| Global Politics | HL | 6,263 | 5.1 | 5.7% | 93.5% | 24 |
| Global Politics | SL | 4,111 | 4.7 | 6.8% | 83.5% | 24 |
| History | HL | 37,228 | 4.4 | 2.7% | 79.1% | 24 |
| History | SL | 9,253 | 4.7 | 3.7% | 86.1% | 24 |
| Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches | HL | 24,966 | 4.9 | 16.6% | 83.1% | 25 |
| Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches | SL | 42,358 | 4.5 | 9.3% | 74.9% | 25 |
| Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation | HL | 8,527 | 4.5 | 9.7% | 76.1% | 25 |
| Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation | SL | 42,968 | 3.9 | 4.1% | 59.4% | 25 |
| Music | HL | 1,475 | 4.8 | 6.6% | 87.0% | 26 |
| Music | SL | 1,551 | 4.3 | 4.1% | 75.1% | 26 |
| Philosophy | HL | 1,904 | 5.0 | 10.0% | 89.9% | 24 |
| Philosophy | SL | 2,745 | 4.9 | 9.3% | 86.1% | 24 |
| Physics | HL | 17,984 | 4.9 | 19.4% | 79.8% | 25 |
| Physics | SL | 14,442 | 4.2 | 10.5% | 63.4% | 25 |
| Psychology | HL | 15,094 | 4.8 | 5.7% | 85.5% | 24 |
| Psychology | SL | 13,565 | 4.4 | 4.5% | 74.3% | 24 |
| Social & Cultural Anthropology | HL | 1,091 | 4.9 | 10.6% | 83.9% | 24 |
| Social & Cultural Anthropology | SL | 1,711 | 4.5 | 3.1% | 79.0% | 24 |
| Spanish A: Language and Literature | HL | 5,122 | 4.8 | 2.7% | 91.7% | 21 |
| Spanish A: Language and Literature | SL | 2,741 | 4.8 | 4.6% | 89.2% | 21 |
| Spanish A: Literature | HL | 3,943 | 4.7 | 2.8% | 92.1% | 21 |
| Spanish A: Literature | SL | 1,871 | 4.4 | 3.1% | 75.7% | 21 |
| Spanish B: Language B | HL | 8,520 | 5.2 | 16.4% | 89.4% | 23 |
| Spanish B: Language B | SL | 22,140 | 4.9 | 10.0% | 88.3% | 23 |
| Sports, Exercise & Health Science | HL | 1,947 | 4.8 | 10.8% | 80.9% | 25 |
| Sports, Exercise & Health Science | SL | 5,987 | 3.8 | 3.4% | 56.0% | 25 |
| Theatre | HL | 2,518 | 5.1 | 14.3% | 89.0% | 26 |
| Theatre | SL | 1,264 | 4.6 | 6.9% | 80.1% | 26 |
| Visual Arts | HL | 10,312 | 4.3 | 2.7% | 72.7% | 26 |
| Visual Arts | SL | 6,080 | 4.0 | 0.7% | 71.0% | 26 |
Grade-7 and grades-4–7 percentages shown here are normalized among graded candidates, excluding the bulletin's N/no-grade category. Candidate count is shown because small cohorts can make percentages look more precise than they are.
Methodology & primary sources
The dataset transcribes the subject tables in the official IB statistical bulletins and preserves each bulletin's session, publication status, source page, candidate count, mean grade, N/no-grade share, and grade 1–7 distribution.
Derived fields are labeled as derived. The share receiving grades 4–7 is not described as a subject “pass rate,” because the IB Diploma award depends on the full Diploma requirements rather than a single subject threshold.
May 2026 remains explicitly labeled provisional. November 2025 and May 2025 use final bulletins. We do not estimate unpublished exact-45 counts or infer subject difficulty from mean grades.
iBacalao is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the International Baccalaureate Organization. “IB” and “International Baccalaureate” identify the programme whose public statistics are referenced here.