The May 2026 International Baccalaureate session included 209,607 students across the Diploma Programme (DP), Career-related Programme (CP) and course categories. Among the 104,369 DP second-year candidates used for the Diploma outcome calculation, 82.6% received the Diploma.
This report turns the IB's 43-page provisional statistical bulletin into searchable tables and interactive charts. It covers the size of the session, five-year growth, Diploma outcomes, total points, core points, Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge grades, subject groups, schools and CP results. Every chart has a data table directly below it so the figures remain available to search engines, screen readers and readers with JavaScript disabled.
The overall session grew again. Total student registrations rose from 173,880 in May 2022 to 209,607 in May 2026, an increase of 35,727 registrations or 20.5%. The number of represented schools rose from 3,090 to 3,442 over the same period. Average registrations per school increased from 56.3 to 60.9.
All DP, CP and course-category students in each May session. Hover or focus a bar for the exact value.
| May session | Schools | All students | Students per school | DP qualification | CP qualification | Course |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3,090 | 173,880 | 56.3 | 107,804 | 5,668 | 60,408 |
| 2023 | 3,189 | 179,922 | 56.4 | 110,663 | 5,943 | 63,316 |
| 2024 | 3,323 | 192,866 | 58.0 | 116,449 | 7,722 | 68,695 |
| 2025 | 3,400 | 202,102 | 59.4 | 122,736 | 8,327 | 71,039 |
| 2026 provisional | 3,442 | 209,607 | 60.9 | 131,467 | 10,197 | 67,943 |
“All students” is broader than the group used to calculate the Diploma pass rate. It includes course students, anticipated candidates and retake categories as well as Diploma and CP candidates. In May 2026, 62.7% of overall registrations were in the DP qualification category, 32.4% were course students and roughly 4.9% were in the CP qualification category.
The Diploma result series uses DP second-year candidates, not all 209,607 students. In 2026 that denominator was 104,369. The bulletin records 86,217 Diplomas awarded and 18,152 not awarded, which produces the published 82.6% pass rate.
The published percentage of second-year DP candidates awarded the Diploma.
| May session | Second-year candidates | Pass rate | Mean subject grade | Mean total points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 88,766 | 86.1% | 5.1 | 32.0 |
| 2023 | 91,442 | 80.0% | 4.8 | 30.2 |
| 2024 | 96,726 | 80.5% | 4.9 | 30.3 |
| 2025 | 102,242 | 81.9% | 4.9 | 30.6 |
| 2026 provisional | 104,369 | 82.6% | 4.9 | 30.9* |
Nearly half of the not-awarded group scored 20-23 points. Another 21.2% reached 24-29 points but did not satisfy every Diploma condition. That distinction matters: reaching 24 total points does not by itself guarantee the Diploma because the IB also applies subject-level, HL/SL, core and other award conditions.
| Points band | Diploma not awarded | Share of not awarded | Diploma awarded | Share of awarded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-10 | 629 | 3.5% | 0 | 0% |
| 11-19 | 4,655 | 25.6% | 0 | 0% |
| 20-23 | 8,852 | 48.8% | 0 | 0% |
| 24-29 | 3,846 | 21.2% | 24,635 | 28.6% |
| 30-34 | 140 | 0.8% | 28,948 | 33.6% |
| 35-39 | 25 | 0.1% | 22,113 | 25.6% |
| 40-45 | Fewer than 10 | Below 0.1% | 10,521 | 12.2% |
| Total | 18,152 | 100% | 86,217 | 100% |
The mean Diploma score fell sharply between the unusually high May 2022 result and May 2023, then recovered gradually: 30.2 in 2023, 30.3 in 2024, 30.6 in 2025 and 30.9 on the detailed 2026 chart. The share of candidates in the 40-45 band also rose from 8.9% in 2023 to 10.1% in 2026, while the 0-23 group fell from 16.1% to 13.5%.
Detailed total-points series in the May 2026 bulletin.
| Points band | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 provisional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-23 | 10.9% | 16.1% | 15.5% | 14.5% | 13.5% |
| 24-29 | 23.1% | 28.3% | 28.8% | 27.7% | 27.3% |
| 30-34 | 27.8% | 26.9% | 26.9% | 27.6% | 27.9% |
| 35-39 | 23.5% | 19.8% | 19.5% | 20.4% | 21.2% |
| 40-45 | 14.7% | 8.9% | 9.3% | 9.8% | 10.1% |
The IB stopped publishing a count of candidates receiving exactly 45 points from May 2023, explaining that isolated perfect-score comparisons could be harmful. The 40-45 band is therefore the most detailed top-score series that remains comparable across these bulletins.
Core performance strengthened in the published five-year series. In May 2026, 48.4% of candidates received two core points and 12.1% received all three. The zero-point share fell to 14.8%, compared with 22.1% in May 2023. Mean core points reached 1.6.
| Core points | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 provisional |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 points | 17.6% | 22.1% | 19.6% | 17.8% | 14.8% |
| 1 point | 24.7% | 26.7% | 25.2% | 24.6% | 24.7% |
| 2 points | 44.6% | 41.4% | 43.8% | 45.3% | 48.4% |
| 3 points | 13.1% | 9.7% | 11.4% | 12.2% | 12.1% |
| Mean | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Core component | Total results | A | B | C | D | E | N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extended Essay | 103,918 | 11,862 | 31,058 | 42,968 | 16,753 | 650 | 627 |
| Theory of Knowledge | 104,720 | 9,773 | 42,754 | 44,447 | 6,982 | 98 | 666 |
For the Extended Essay, C was the most common grade at 41.3%, followed by B at 29.9%. For TOK, C accounted for 42.4% and B for 40.8%. “N” is the bulletin's result code for no grade.
The largest subject group by registrations was Individuals and Societies at 184,461, followed by Language and Literature at 155,380 and Sciences at 150,081. Language Acquisition had the highest group mean at 5.2; Mathematics had a mean of 4.4.
| Subject group | Student-subjects | Mean grade |
|---|---|---|
| Studies in language and literature | 155,380 | 4.9 |
| Language acquisition | 117,213 | 5.2 |
| Individuals and societies | 184,461 | 4.8 |
| Sciences | 150,081 | 4.5 |
| Mathematics | 122,282 | 4.4 |
| The arts | 28,117 | 4.3 |
| Interdisciplinary | 25,695 | 4.4 |
| Published table total | 783,229 | 4.7 |
The Americas accounted for 62.8% of all students while representing 43.6% of schools. Africa, Europe and the Middle East accounted for 24.5% of students and 37.9% of schools; Asia-Pacific accounted for 12.7% of students and 18.6% of schools. Among DP qualification students specifically, the shares were 49.3% Americas, 32.8% Africa/Europe/Middle East and 17.9% Asia-Pacific.
School cohort sizes varied widely. Of the 3,442 schools in the overall session, 508 had 10 or fewer students, while 158 had more than 200. The most common published band was 21-40 students, covering 834 schools.
| May session | Africa, Europe and Middle East | Americas | Asia-Pacific |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 29,537 | 29,499 | 17,424 |
| 2023 | 29,346 | 26,464 | 17,356 |
| 2024 | 32,746 | 26,741 | 18,402 |
| 2025 | 35,526 | 28,002 | 20,190 |
| 2026 provisional | 36,764 | 28,834 | 20,619 |
The May CP qualification cohort reached 10,197 students, up 79.9% from 5,668 in 2022. The number of CP second-year candidates was 7,869 and the published pass rate was 79.0%. The CP qualification overview covered 334 schools in 43 countries, 22,818 student-subject registrations and 74 subjects.
All students in the CP qualification category, including anticipated and retake records.
| May session | CP qualification students | Second-year candidates | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5,668 | 4,894 | Not used in this article |
| 2023 | 5,943 | 4,786 | Not used in this article |
| 2024 | 7,722 | 6,429 | Not used in this article |
| 2025 | 8,327 | 6,936 | Not used in this article |
| 2026 provisional | 10,197 | 7,869 | 79.0% |
The May 2026 Reflective Project table contains 7,899 results: 676 A grades, 2,063 B grades, 3,344 C grades, 1,462 D grades, 169 E grades and 185 N results. As with DP, the qualification-category total is not the same as the second-year outcome denominator.
Overall May registrations are 20.5% above 2022, while DP qualification registrations are 22.0% higher and CP registrations are 79.9% higher.
The DP pass rate has risen in each May session since 2023, from 80.0% to 82.6%, but remains below the 86.1% shown for May 2022.
70.0% of candidates not awarded the Diploma were in the 20-29 point bands. A total alone cannot identify which Diploma condition was missed.
The 40-45 share increased from 8.9% in 2023 to 10.1% in 2026, while the 0-23 share fell by 2.6 percentage points.
These are cohort-level statistics. They cannot predict an individual student's grade, prove that papers were easier or harder, or show the cause of a change. Curriculum transitions, subject mix, school participation, retake composition and candidate characteristics may all affect a session.
For a student looking at a result, the useful order is still individual: verify the component and subject grades, check university conditions, obtain the relevant grade boundaries through the school, and compare an Enquiry Upon Results with a future retake. A global pass rate is context, not a decision rule.
Every reported figure is transcribed from the IB's provisional May 2026 DP/CP statistical bulletin. Historical May values shown inside that bulletin are used for the five-year tables.
“Fewer than 10” is preserved where the IB suppresses a small count. It is never replaced with an invented value.
Published percentages are usually rounded to one decimal. Totals calculated from them may not reproduce exact person counts.
IBretake is not the International Baccalaureate. Interpretations and calculations are ours; the linked bulletin is authoritative.
Want to compare May with November and see how IB results changed over time?
Explore IB in Numbers for 2022-2025