IB fast facts
One page of key information about the IB
Mission
The International Baccalaureate® (IB) aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.
To this end the IB works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
Find out more—Mission and strategy.
Main activities
The IB works in four areas.
- Development of curriculum
- Assessment of students
- Training and professional development of teachers
- Authorization and evaluation of schools
Size
The IB works with 3,023 schools in 139 countries to offer the three IB programmes to approximately 844,000 students.
Programmes
The IB offers three programmes for students aged 3 to 19. The programmes can be offered individually or as a continuum by IB World Schools.
- The Primary Years Programme (PYP) for students aged 3 to 12 started in 1997 and is now offered by
698 IB World Schools.
Primary Years Programme at a glance - The Middle Years Programme (MYP) for students aged 11 to 16 started in 1994 and is now offered by
791 IB World Schools.
Middle Years Programme at a glance - The Diploma Programme for students aged 16 to 19 started in 1968 with first examinations in 1970 and is now offered by
2,184 IB World Schools.
Diploma Programme at a glance
What makes the IB unique
- We offer a continuum of education, consisting of three programmes for students aged 3 to 19.
- We are proud of our reputation for high quality education sustained for over 35 years.
- We encourage international-mindedness in IB students. To do this, we believe that students must first develop an understanding of their own cultural and national identity.
- We encourage a positive attitude to learning by encouraging students to ask challenging questions, to critically reflect, to develop research skills, to learn how to learn and to participate in community service.
- We ensure that our programmes are accessible to students in a wide variety of schools—national, international, public and private—through our unique relationship with IB World Schools worldwide.
Find out more—What makes the IB unique?
IB World Schools statistics
Schools by IB region
| Africa/ Europe/ Middle East | Asia-Pacific | Latin America | North America & the Caribbean | Total schools | |
| PYP only | 32 | 84 | 19 | 249 | 384 |
| MYP only | 11 | 34 | 4 | 334 | 383 |
| DP only | 610 | 214 | 203 | 736 | 1,763 |
| All three | 58 | 49 | 26 | 18 | 151 |
| PYP+MYP | 21 | 12 | 13 | 24 | 70 |
| PYP+DP | 34 | 37 | 15 | 7 | 93 |
| MYP+DP | 41 | 19 | 11 | 117 | 188 |
| Total schools | 807 | 449 | 291 | 1485 | 3,032 |
Number of programmes by region |
|||||
| Total PYP | 145 | 182 | 73 | 298 | 698 |
| Total MYP | 131 | 114 | 54 | 493 | 792 |
| Total DP | 743 | 319 | 255 | 878 | 2,195 |
| Total programmes | 1,019 | 615 | 382 | 1,669 | 3,685 |
Top ten largest IB countries (List all countries >)
| Country | Region | IB World Schools | Programmes | ||
| PYP | MYP | DP | |||
| UNITED STATES | NA | 1,164 | 238 | 351 | 719 |
| CANADA | NA | 297 | 53 | 137 | 138 |
| UNITED KINGDOM | AEM | 226 | 12 | 9 | 219 |
| AUSTRALIA | AP | 131 | 56 | 47 | 61 |
| MEXICO | LA | 79 | 36 | 24 | 54 |
| INDIA | AP | 72 | 19 | 7 | 68 |
| CHINA | AP | 54 | 18 | 17 | 45 |
| SPAIN | AEM | 49 | 3 | 8 | 49 |
| ARGENTINA | LA | 48 | 7 | 3 | 47 |
| ECUADOR | LA | 44 | 4 | 4 | 42 |
Staffing
The IB employs staff/representatives in Beijing, Buenos Aires, Cardiff, Geneva, Mumbai, New York, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Vancouver.
Find out more—IB offices.
The IB works with more than 5,000 examiners located worldwide. IB examiners are frequently teachers. Each subject has a chief examiner who is always a senior university academic with international standing in their subject.
Budget
The main sources of IB income are:
- authorization and evaluation fees
- workshops and conferences
- publications
- annual school fee
- examination fees
- other.
Find out more—Information for donors.
Governance
The IB is governed by an elected 17-member Board of Governors, which appoints the director general, sets the strategic direction of the organization, adopts a mission statement, makes policy, oversees the IB's financial management, and ensures the autonomy and integrity of IB Diploma Programme examinations and other student assessment. Board membership represents cultural and geographical diversity.
Find out more—IB governance.
Strategy
The strategic plan of the IB addresses the key issues facing the IB—sustaining high quality and encouraging wider access in the context of rapid growth.
Find out more—Strategic plan.
Growth
One-year growth by programme
| Programme | Jul 2009 | Jul 2010 | Increase |
| PYP | 554 | 698 | 25.99% |
| MYP | 731 | 791 | 8.21% |
| DIPLOMA | 2,005 | 2,184 | 8.93% |
| Total schools | 3,290 | 3,673 | 11.64% |
Five-year growth by programme
| Programme | Jul 2005 | Jul 2010 | Increase | CAGR |
| PYP | 233 | 698 | 199.57% | 24.54% |
| MYP | 465 | 791 | 70.11% | 11.21% |
| DIPLOMA | 1,323 | 2,184 | 65.08% | 10.54% |
| Total schools | 2,021 | 3,673 | 81.74% | 12.69% |
CAGR is Compound Annual Growth Rate
Legal status
A foundation registered in Switzerland. The IB is non-profit.
July 2010