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 2,378 schools in 128 countries to offer the three IB programmes to approximately 644,000 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 462 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 645 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 1,775 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	25	42	17	146	230
MYP only	12	37	5	273	327
DP only	470	161	166	637	1,434
All three	48	40	18	11	117
PYP+MYP	14	12	10	10	46
PYP+DP	23	24	12	10	69
MYP+DP	34	17	13	91	155
Total schools	626	333	241	1178	2,378
Number of programmes by region
Total PYP	110	118	57	177	462
Total MYP	108	106	46	385	645
Total DP	575	242	209	749	1,775
Total programmes	793	466	312	1,311	2,882

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

Country	Region	IB World Schools	Programmes
			PYP	MYP	DP
UNITED STATES	NA	903	139	255	616
CANADA	NA	263	36	128	122
UNITED KINGDOM	AEM	136	8	6	131
AUSTRALIA	AP	115	43	47	53
MEXICO	LA	67	30	19	46
INDIA	AP	48	10	6	46
ARGENTINA	LA	45	7	5	43
SPAIN	AEM	45	2	7	44
CHINA	AP	40	10	17	33
SWEDEN	AEM	35	5	6	31

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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 2007	Jul 2008	Increase
PYP	369	462	25.20%
MYP	549	645	17.49%
DIPLOMA	1,592	1,775	11.49%
Total schools	2,510	2,882	14.82%

5 year growth by programme

Programme	Jul 2003	Jul 2008	Increase	CAGR
PYP	129	462	258.14%	29.07%
MYP	342	645	88.60%	13.53%
DIPLOMA	1,098	1,775	61.66%	10.08%
Total schools	1,569	2,882	83.68%	12.93%

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 2008