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 2,425 schools in 131 countries to offer the three IB programmes to approximately 665,000 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 475 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 679 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 1,794 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	23	44	15	154	236
MYP only	13	35	5	290	343
DP only	484	162	166	627	1,439
All three	48	41	18	11	118
PYP+MYP	16	12	11	11	50
PYP+DP	23	25	13	10	71
MYP+DP	34	19	14	100	167
Total schools	641	338	242	1203	2,424
Number of programmes by region
Total PYP	110	122	57	186	475
Total MYP	111	107	48	412	678
Total DP	589	247	211	748	1,795
Total programmes	810	476	316	1,346	2,948

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

Country	Region	IB World Schools	Programmes
			PYP	MYP	DP
UNITED STATES	NA	925	146	280	614
CANADA	NA	265	37	129	122
UNITED KINGDOM	AEM	148	8	7	143
AUSTRALIA	AP	117	43	48	56
MEXICO	LA	67	30	19	46
INDIA	AP	50	13	7	46
ARGENTINA	LA	45	7	5	43
SPAIN	AEM	45	2	7	44
CHINA	AP	39	10	16	33
SWEDEN	AEM	37	5	6	32

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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	Nov 2007	Nov 2008	Increase
PYP	395	475	20.25%
MYP	585	679	16.07%
DIPLOMA	1,609	1,794	11.50%
Total schools	2,589	2,948	13.87%

5 year growth by programme

Programme	Nov 2003	Nov 2008	Increase	CAGR
PYP	132	475	259.85%	29.19%
MYP	341	679	99.12%	14.77%
DIPLOMA	1,109	1,794	61.77%	10.10%
Total schools	1,582	2,948	86.35%	13.26%

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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November 2008