In this section

Find an IB World School

The IB in
 Print this page  Print this page
 Email this page Email this page

Share

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.

  1. Development of curriculum
  2. Assessment of students
  3. Training and professional development of teachers
  4. Authorization and evaluation of schools

Size

The IB works with 3,324 schools in 141 countries to offer the three IB programmes to approximately 990,000 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.


What makes the IB unique

  1. We offer a continuum of education, consisting of three programmes for students aged 3 to 19.
  2. We are proud of our reputation for high quality education sustained for over 35 years.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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 43 116 29 296 484
MYP only 19 27 5 394 445
DP only 619 219 221 735 1,794
All three 75 60 32 24 191
 PYP+MYP 22 19 10 36 87
 PYP+DP 35 54 17 6 112
 MYP+DP 38 17 12 142 209
 Total schools 851 512 326 1633 3,322

Number of programmes by region
 Total PYP 175 249 88 362 874
 Total MYP 154 123 59 596 932
 Total DP 767 350 282 907 2,306
 Total programmes 1,096 722 429 1,865 4,112

Top ten largest IB countries      (List all countries >)

Country Region IB World Schools Programmes
PYP MYP DP
UNITED STATES NA 1,307 299 445 751
CANADA NA 310 58 146 141
UNITED KINGDOM AEM 214 12 11 208
AUSTRALIA AP 144 77 45 64
MEXICO LA 88 44 22 57
INDIA AP 86 34 9 77
CHINA AP 59 19 19 51
SPAIN AEM 56 7 8 55
GERMANY AEM 52 18 7 49
ECUADOR LA 51 5 6 50


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(s) Feb 2011 Feb 2012 increase
PYP 744 875 17.61%
MYP 831 932 12.15%
DP 2,172 2,307 6.22%
Total programmes 3,747 4,114 9.79%

Five-year growth by programme

Programme(s) Feb 2007 Feb 2012 increase CAGR
PYP 291 875 200.69% 24.63%
MYP 422 932 120.85% 17.17%
DP 1,415 2,307 63.04% 10.27%
Total programmes 2,128 4,114 93.33% 14.09%

CAGR is Compound Annual Growth Rate


Legal status

A foundation registered in Switzerland. The IB is non-profit.


February 2012