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IB results: Diploma Programme scores rise once again
An average score of 30.88 was achieved worldwide in the IB Diploma Programme this year, with students in the Middle East having to receive results via coursework and teacher assessment
The International Baccalaureate has released results to almost 210,000 students worldwide for its Diploma Programme and Career-related Programme May 2026 exams.
The global average Diploma Programme (DP) score was 30.88 points (from a maximum of 45), slightly up on the 2025 figure of 30.58, which itself was an increase on the 2024 score.
Some 3,442 schools submitted candidates for the DP and, of these nearly 210,000 students, 10,526 scored over 40 points.
The average grade globally was 4.93 and the pass rate was 82.61 per cent.
These scores include those from students in the Middle East who were assessed via teacher grades due to the war in the region forcing exams to be cancelled.
In the UK, 5,108 students sat the DP, scoring an average of 35.11, up from 35 in 2025. Of these students, 926 scored over 40 points. The UK average grade was 5.57 and the pass rate was 94.8 per cent.
IB results for students affected by war
Olli-Pekka Heinonen, director general of the International Baccalaureate, congratulated students worldwide on their results.
“We are immensely proud of what IB students have achieved, and I know they will soon begin to bring about positive change in their communities, both locally and globally,” he said.
Elizabeth Lamb, regional managing director for the Middle East at international schools group Nord Anglia, commended its students in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan, who received results via teacher assessment, for their resilience over the past six months.
“Our students have shown remarkable strength of character, supporting one another and remaining focused on their ambitions despite the challenges around them,” she said.
The total number of students receiving grades worldwide - 209,607 - represented a 3.7 per cent increase on last year, underlining the growing trend of more schools moving to IB courses.
The IB confirmed earlier this year that a new addition to the DP, called Systems Transformation Pathway, would be live by 2030.
