Global Statistics - May 2026
IBDP Music in a Global Context
Twice annually, the IB publishes a series of statistical bulletins for each of the DP assessment sessions. These documents contain assessment information both at a general level and for individual subjects. The pages that follow provide a summary of the statistics relating specifically to Music, namely the number of students entering the subject at both Standard Level and Higher Level, together with the percentage of candidates awarded each grade.
“The Globe” Photo by Gaël Gaborel - OrbisTerrae on Unsplash
General Global Statistics in Music for May 2026
Some of the statistics for music are as follows:
These figures have been extracted from the IB Statistical Bulletin for May 2026, both sessions in 2025 and 2024, as well as the totals for 2023 and 2022.
If you wish to progress even further back, earlier statistical summaries are available to you as well. However, data produced before 2022 may be misleading, as it relates to the previous syllabus rather than the latest iteration, which was first assessed (in a limited capacity) in May 2022.
Number of Students Taking IBDP Music
Sessions | SL | HL | Totals |
May 2026 | 1455 | 1503 | 2958 |
May 2025 | 1543 | 1470 | 3013 |
Nov 2025 | 149 | 261 | 410 |
Total for 2025 | 1692 | 1731 | 3423 |
May 2024 | 1696 | 1373 | 3069 |
Nov 2024 | 141 | 260 | 401 |
Total for 2024 | 1837 | 1633 | 3470 |
Total for 2023 | 1797 | 1633 | 3430 |
Total for 2022 | 1722 | 1800 | 3522 |
In May 2026, 2958 students took the course, compared with 3013 in May 2025 - a slight decrease of 55 students, or 1.8%.
Standard-level enrolment fell from 1543 to 1455, a reasonably significant decrease of 88 students (5.7%). Higher-level enrolment rose from 1470 to 1503, an increase of just 33 students (2.2%).
As a result, higher-level students (1503) outnumbered standard-level students (1455) for the first time for a May assessment period (normally this is the case in November).
Students are awarded a Grade on a scale of 1 to 7 for each of their subjects, based on their total percentages for their internal and external assessment (no examinations are required for Group 6 subjects). You may view these pages for more details (click HERE).
There are changes to how the percentages are converted for each subject in each assessment period. In other words, for one cohort 79% in music, for example, may be enough to be awarded grade "7", but in other years, it may only be enough for a grade "6".
There is an overview of the grade boundaries since May 2022 in IBDP Music to be found HERE.
In May 2026, the percentages of students receiving 0-3 points for the CORE (EE and TOK combined) are as follows:
May 2026 in Comparison to Other May Assessment Periods
| Session | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
M26 | 14.8% | 24.7% | 48.4% | 12.1% |
M25 | 17.9% | 24.8% | 45.5% | 11.7% |
| M24 | 19.6% | 25.2% | 43.8% | 11.4% |
| M23 | 22.1% | 26.7% | 41.4% | 9.7% |
| M22 | 17.6% | 24.7% | 44.6% | 13.1% |
The proportion of candidates awarded 2 or 3 points has risen each session from M23 to M26, from 51.1% to 55.2% to 57.2% and finally 60.5%. Over the same period, the proportion awarded 0 points has fallen steadily, from 22.1% to 19.6% to 17.9% and then 14.8%. The proportion awarded 1 point has remained relatively stable throughout, ranging between 24.7% and 26.7%.
Nov 2025 in Comparison to Other Nov Assessment Periods
| Session | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| N25 | 14.5% | 26.0% | 47.8% | 11.7% |
| N24 | 16.7% | 27.4% | 44.4% | 11.5% |
| N23 | 19.5% | 27.1% | 42.8% | 10.6% |
| N22 | 17.1% | 25.6% | 43.8% | 13.5% |
The percentage of the number of students receiving zero points has dropped further to the lowest level ever (14.5%). At the other end of the spectrum, the number of students receiving either 2 or 3 points is the highest ever as well (59.5%), surpassing the previous high of 57.3% achieved in November of 2022.
For an understanding of the CORE point matrix, see below, which indicates the bonus points awarded for the grades awarded in both TOK and the EE.
TOK/EE | A | B | C | D | E |
A | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Fail |
B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | Fail |
C | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Fail |
D | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Fail |
E | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail | Fail |
For more on this, you may visit Music & Theory of Knowledge (TOK).
Here is a summary of the number of students who selected the Arts for their Extended Essay in May 2026 (in BLUE) compared with the May 2022-25 results, as well as totals globally for all subjects:
| Sessions | A | B | C | D | E | N | Total |
M26: Arts | 905 | 1644 | 2455 | 976 | 69 | 61 | 6110 |
M25: Arts | 899 | 1357 | 2367 | 1502 | 104 | 55 | 6229 |
| M24: Arts | 852 | 1282 | 2360 | 1567 | 157 | 80 | 6298 |
| M23: Arts | 884 | 1322 | 2212 | 1565 | 164 | 58 | 6205 |
| M22: Arts | 1157 | 1385 | 2107 | 1076 | 93 | 100 | 5918 |
M26: Arts % | 14.8% | 26.9% | 40.2% | 16.0% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 100% |
| M25: Arts % | 14.3 | 21.6 | 37.7 | 23.9 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 100% |
| M24: Arts % | 13.5 | 20.4 | 37.5 | 24.9 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 100% |
| M23: Arts % | 14.2 | 21.3 | 35.6 | 25.2 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 100% |
| M22: Arts % | 19.6 | 23.4 | 35.6 | 18.2 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 100% |
M26 Global Totals | 11862 | 31058 | 42968 | 16753 | 650 | 627 | 103918 |
| M25 Global Totals | 11038 | 28389 | 41879 | 18281 | 717 | 559 | 100,304 |
| M24 Global Totals | 10254 | 25107 | 39390 | 18946 | 1042 | 738 | 95477 |
| M23: Global Totals | 9305 | 22345 | 37256 | 20348 | 1208 | 685 | 91147 |
| M22: Global Totals | 12330 | 25219 | 34586 | 14867 | 571 | 978 | 88551 |
M26 Global Totals % | 11.4 | 29.9 | 41.3 | 16.1 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 100% |
| M25 Global Totals % | 10.9 | 28.1 | 41.5 | 18.1 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 100% |
| M24 Global Totals % | 10.7 | 26.3 | 41.3 | 19.8 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 100% |
| M23: Global Totals % | 10.2 | 24.5 | 40.9 | 22.3 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 100% |
| M22: Global Totals % | 13.9 | 28.5 | 39.1 | 16.8 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 100% |
The proportion of A grades in the Arts rose to 14.8% in M26, continuing the recovery from the M24 low of 13.5% (14.2% in M23, 14.3% in M25). This exceeds the global figure of 11.4%, as it has in every session from M23 to M26.
The proportion of B grades in the Arts rose to 26.9% in M26, a significant increase from 21.6% in M25 and the highest in the five sessions. This remains below the global figure of 29.9%, as it has in every session from M23 to M26.
The proportion of C grades in the Arts rose to 40.2% in M26, the highest in the five sessions, though slightly below the global figure of 41.3%.
Thus, whilst the percentages in the Arts for the top grades are rising, only those receiving As are outpacing global averages.
The top three most chosen subjects for the Extended Essay in May 2026 remain as they were for May 2025:
- English A
- History
- Business Management*
*Psychology, which was in 3rd position in May 2023 and May 2022, but relegated to 4th in May 2024 remains outside the top three subject choices for the Extended Essay in this session.
The summary of the number of students who selected the Arts for their Extended Essay in Nov 2025 is as follows:
The results for November 2026 will be added in due course.
| Sessions | A | B | C | D | E | N | Total |
N25 Arts | 181 | 278 | 302 | 80 | 1 | 2 | 844 |
| N24 Arts | 195 | 238 | 350 | 105 | 7 | 4 | 899 |
| N23 Arts | 192 | 270 | 325 | 112 | 4 | 10 | 913 |
| N22 Arts | 215 | 215 | 242 | 80 | 3 | 9 | 764 |
N25 Arts % | 21.4 | 32.9 | 35.8 | 9.5 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 100% |
| N24 Arts % | 21.7 | 26.5 | 38.9 | 11.7 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 100% |
| N23 Arts % | 21.0 | 29.6 | 35.6 | 12.3 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 100% |
| N22 Arts % | 28.1 | 28.1 | 31.7 | 10.5 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 100% |
N25 Global Totals | 1995 | 5209 | 6387 | 1834 | 29 | 72 | 15454 |
| N24 Global Totals | 1959 | 4534 | 6078 | 1792 | 45 | 80 | 14488 |
| N23 Global Totals | 1751 | 4297 | 5629 | 1845 | 63 | 90 | 13675 |
| N22 Global Totals | 1893 | 4141 | 4791 | 1271 | 19 | 95 | 12210 |
N25 Global Totals % | 12.8 | 33.6 | 41.1 | 11.8 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 100% |
| N24 Global Totals % | 13.5 | 31.3 | 42.0 | 12.4 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 100% |
| N23 Global Totals % | 12.8 | 31.4 | 41.2 | 13.5 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 100% |
| N22 Global Totals % | 15.5 | 33.9 | 39.2 | 10.4 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 100% |
The Arts continues to outperform the global trends with the number of As awarded. For the past three sessions (Nov 23, Nov 24 and Nov 25), the percentage of As has been hovering around 21% (21.0%, 21.7% and 21.4% respectively), which is significantly higher than As awarded in other subjects (12.8%, 13.5%, and 12.8%). There was also a significant increase in the percentage of Bs awarded this session (32.9%), which brings it in line with global averages (33.6%).
The top three chosen subjects for the Extended Essay in Nov 2025 remain as they were in all three previous assessment periods (Nov 2022, Nov 2023, Nov 2024):
- History
- Spanish A
- English A
In May 2026, TOK grade distribution and percentage were as follows (in BLUE):
| Sessions | A | B | C | D | E | N | Total |
M26 Number | 9773 | 42754 | 44447 | 6982 | 98 | 666 | 104720 |
M25 Number | 10340 | 37824 | 42518 | 10204 | 182 | 668 | 101,068 |
| M24 Number | 9386 | 34103 | 41770 | 10005 | 238 | 767 | 96269 |
| M23 Number | 7002 | 31447 | 42494 | 10097 | 190 | 631 | 91861 |
| M22 Number | 8116 | 31128 | 40094 | 8776 | 189 | 996 | 89299 |
M26 % | 9.3 | 40.8 | 42.4 | 6.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 100% |
M25 % | 10.2 | 37.2 | 41.8 | 10.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 100% |
| M24 % | 9.7 | 35.4 | 43.4 | 10.4 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 100% |
| M23 % | 7.6 | 34.2 | 46.3 | 11.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 100% |
| M22 % | 9.1 | 34.9 | 44.9 | 9.8 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 100% |
The statistics for Nov 2025 are as follows:
This, too, will be updated in due course.
| Sessions | A | B | C | D | E | N | Total |
N25 Number | 1187 | 5890 | 7027 | 1217 | 13 | 71 | 15334 |
| N24 Number | 883 | 4955 | 7072 | 1342 | 12 | 88 | 14352 |
| N23 Number | 995 | 4475 | 6336 | 1682 | 16 | 70 | 13574 |
| N22 Number | 946 | 4130 | 5338 | 1605 | 33 | 69 | 12121 |
N25 % | 7.7 | 38.2 | 45.6 | 7.9 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 100% |
| N24 % | 6.2 | 34.5 | 49.3 | 9.4 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 100% |
| N23 % | 7.3 | 33.0 | 46.7 | 12.4 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 100% |
| N22 % | 7.8 | 34.1 | 44.0 | 13.2 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 100% |
In May 2026, 50.1% of entries were awarded an A or B, up from 47.4% in May 2025. B grades rose to 40.8% from 37.2%, the highest share since the course was first assessed. A grades fell to 9.3% from 10.2%.
A summary of the Music results for May 2026 is as follows, compared with the previous sessions (May 2022-25):
The SL mean grade rose from 4.3 to 4.4 in May 2026, up slightly from the May 2024 and 2025 levels, but still below the May 2023 figure of 4.80. The HL mean remained at 4.8 for the third consecutive session, unchanged since May 2024 and still below the May 2022 figure of 5.04. HL continues to exceed SL, as it has in four of the last five sessions, with May 2023 the sole exception.
The top-grade share rose at both levels. Grade 7 for SL reached 4.2%, up from 3.7%. Grade 7 for HL reached 7.9%, up from 5.9% the previous year, and the highest since the first year of the new syllabus (2022). Combined, grades 6 and 7 account for 16.1% of SL entries (up from 15.9%) and 28.3% of HL entries (up from 26.0%).
Group 6 Statistics for Nov 2025
A summary of the Music results for Nov 2025 is as follows, compared with the previous session (Nov 2024, Nov 2023 and Nov 2022):
These statistics will be updated later in the year.
Whilst the mean grade averages have remained more or less the same for the higher-level students, the trend for standard-level students in Nov 2025 has halted the upward trajectory of previous years (4.33% → 4.4% → 4.6%). Thankfully the percentage of N gradings for the standard-level students has decreased (back to 2% from 4.3%).
The number of students taking music in the 2025 November period (410 in total) has more or less remained consistent from the previous assessment period (Nov 2024: 401 in total). The number of 7s awarded for HL students has also remained rather consistent over the past couple of years since Nov 2023 (16.4% → 15.0% → 14.6%). However, the latest assessment period (Nov 2025) sees a significant fall in the number of 7s awarded for SL students (only 2.7%), after peaking at 9.2% the previous year.
Based on the information that appears above, here is a summary of the number of students who manage to achieve a level 7:
May 2026 - Number of 7s
Higher Level students: 119 (7.9% of 1503)
Standard Level students: 61 (4.2% of 1455)
May 2025 - Number of 7s
Higher Level students: 87 (5.9% of 1470)
Standard Level students: 57 (3.7% of 1543)
May 2024 - Number of 7s
Higher Level students: 81 (5.9% of 1373)
Standard Level students: 58 (3.4% of 1696)
May 2023 - Number of 7s
Higher Level students: 65 (3.9% of 1665)
Standard Level students: 116 (8.3% of 1401)
May 2022 - Number of 7s
Higher Level students: 175 (11.1% of 1580)
Standard Level students: 97 (6% of 1615)
Nov 2025 - Number of 7s
Higher Level students: 38 (14.6% of 261)
Standard Level students: 4 (2.7% of 149)
Nov 2024 - Number of 7s
Higher Level students: 39 (15.0% of 260)
Standard Level students: 13 (9.2% of 141)
Nov 2023 - Number of 7s
Higher Level students: 38 (16.4% of 232)
Standard Level students: 8 (6.1% of 132)
Nov 2022 - Number of 7s
Higher Level students: 49 (24.8% of 220)
Standard Level students: 6 (5.9% of 107)
For a list of the other subject reports for music, click HERE.
The Music Guide (First Assessment 2022) and accompanying materials (Music Teacher Support Materials) can be found on the site MyIB (click HERE; remember that you require a login and password, ordinarily given by your Diploma Level Coordinator)
The IB produces these documents and should form the basis of your decision-making in designing your course.
Statistics in Other Subjects
These summaries have been extracted from the materials on MyIB, for a complete summary of ALL subjects visit HERE.