IB fast facts

One page of key information about the IB.

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Mission:

The International Baccalaureate 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. 

More - Mission and strategy

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Main activities: 

The IB works in four areas:

• the development of curriculum
• the assessment of students
• the training and professional development of teachers
• the authorization and evaluation of schools.

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Size:

The IB works with 2,703 schools in 138 countries to offer the three IB programmes to approximately 738,000 students.

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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 3-12 started in 1997 and is now offered by 553 IB World Schools. 
  Primary Years Programme at a glance
• The Middle Years Programme (MYP) for students aged 11-16 started in 1994 and is now offered by 727 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 1,998 IB World Schools. 
  Diploma Programme at a glance

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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.

More - What makes the IB unique?

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IB World Schools statistics:

Schools by IB region

	Africa/ Europe/ Middle East	Asia-Pacific	Latin America	North America & the Caribbean	Total schools
PYP only	29	53	15	188	285
MYP only	10	37	5	308	360
DP only	553	188	190	684	1,615
All three	52	48	20	13	133
PYP+MYP	19	11	11	16	57
PYP+DP	25	30	14	8	77
MYP+DP	37	13	13	113	176
Total schools	725	380	268	1330	2,703
Number of programmes by region
Total PYP	125	142	60	225	552
Total MYP	118	109	49	450	726
Total DP	667	279	237	818	2,001
Total programmes	910	530	346	1,493	3,279

Top ten largest IB countries:       (List all countries >)

Country	Region	IB World Schools	Programmes
			PYP	MYP	DP
UNITED STATES	NA	1,028	173	316	670
CANADA	NA	283	47	130	132
UNITED KINGDOM	AEM	196	9	7	190
AUSTRALIA	AP	121	44	48	59
MEXICO	LA	75	30	21	53
INDIA	AP	62	16	7	59
ARGENTINA	LA	47	7	3	46
SPAIN	AEM	46	2	7	46
CHINA	AP	44	13	16	38
GERMANY	AEM	38	14	7	35

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Staffing: 

The IB employs over 403 staff/representatives who are based in Bath, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Cardiff, Geneva, Mumbai, New York, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Vancouver.

More - IB offices

The IB works with 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.

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Budget:

The main sources of IB income (USD 65.1m in 2006) are:

• Authorization and evaluation fees (5%)
• Workshops and conferences (15%)
• Publications (3%)
• Annual school fee (22%)   ( Information for donors > )
• Examination fees (51%)
• Other (4%)

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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 examinations and other student assessment. Board membership represents cultural and geographical diversity.

More on IB Governance

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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.  

More on the Strategic plan

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Growth:

1 year growth by programme

Programme	Jul 2008	Jul 2009	Increase
PYP	463	553	19.44%
MYP	642	727	13.24%
DIPLOMA	1,775	1,998	12.56%
Total schools	2,880	3,278	13.82%

5 year growth by programme

Programme	Jul 2004	Jul 2009	Increase	CAGR
PYP	167	553	231.14%	27.06%
MYP	392	727	85.46%	13.15%
DIPLOMA	1,213	1,998	64.72%	10.50%
Total schools	1,772	3,278	84.99%	13.09%

CAGR is Compound Annual Growth Rate

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Legal status:

A foundation registered in Switzerland. The IB is not-for-profit.

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July 2009