In the November 2025 IB Diploma session, Singapore schools averaged 38.4 points out of 45 against a global average of 29.3— a gap confirmed by the IB Organization's own statistical bulletins and individual school announcements. One number the IBO no longer publishes: the exact worldwide count of perfect 45-point scorers. We explain why, and what we can (and can't) verify below.
Singapore vs the World: November 2025
The IB runs two assessment sessions a year— May and November. Singapore's 26 schools offering the Diploma Programme are majority May-session (around 17, mostly international schools); a smaller group of around 9 — including the best-known national schools ACS (Independent), St Joseph's Institution and SJI International — sit the November session. This article focuses on November because those national-school results, and the IBO's own November Assessment Session bulletin cited throughout, are both November-session data. The table below compares November 2025 figures on a like-for-like basis — global data from the IBO's own Provisional Statistical Bulletin, Singapore data from official school announcements.
| Metric (Nov 2025) | Global (IBO) |  Singapore |
|---|---|---|
| Registered DP students (all categories) | 23,006 | 2,441 (IBO) · ~2,455 incl. CP (press) |
| Diploma-seeking candidates | 18,147 | not published by IBO |
| Pass rate | 73.8% | not published by IBO |
| Mean total points | 29.3 | 38.4 (press aggregation of school results) |
| Schools offering the DP | 1,501 | 26 (see school list below) |
| Countries | 134 | — |
Sources: IB Diploma Programme Provisional Statistical Bulletin, November 2025 Assessment Session (ibo.org) [1]; WhichSchoolAdvisor Singapore IB results aggregation, November 2025 [2]. The IBO does not publish country-level pass rates or average scores — Singapore's 38.4 figure is a press aggregation of individual school announcements, not an IBO statistic.
Why Nov-to-Nov, not Nov-to-May: Global headline figures you may see elsewhere (e.g. a ~30-point May average) come from the much larger May session. While most of Singapore's 26 IB Diploma schools do sit that May session, the national schools this article focuses on — ACS (Independent), St Joseph's Institution, SJI International — sit November, as does the IBO bulletin we cite. Comparing Singapore to the November global figures — as above — is the accurate, apples-to-apples comparison.
5-Year Global Trend (November Session)
The global November-session mean score fell sharply after the pandemic-era peak of 32.3 points in 2021 and has since settled around 29 points, even as the candidate pool kept growing.
| November Session | Diploma-Seeking Candidates | Pass Rate | Mean Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 13,003 | 87.2% | 32.3 |
| 2022 | 13,824 | 82.0% | 31.0 |
| 2023 | 16,187 | 72.4% | 29.1 |
| 2024 | 17,515 | 73.1% | 29.2 |
| 2025* | 18,147 | 73.8% | 29.3 |
*2025 figures are provisional (final bulletin not yet released at time of writing). Sources: IB Diploma Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, November 2024 Assessment Session [3]; IB Diploma Programme Provisional Statistical Bulletin, November 2025 Assessment Session [1] (both include the 2021-2025 5-year charts used above).
Perfect 45-Point Scores: What We Can (and Can't) Verify
You may have seen claims that Singapore produces a huge share of the world's perfect IB scorers. Here is the honest state of the data: the IBO stopped publishing the exact worldwide count of 45-point scorers from the May 2023 session onward. Its own bulletin explains why: “we are equally proud of all our IB students... by presenting the proportion of points in bands of 5, we believe that there is sufficient information for interested parties to understand our standards.” Because that global number no longer exists in any official release, we are not repeating any figure for it — only what individual schools have chosen to disclose themselves.
| School / Level | Confirmed 45-Point Scorers | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Global (IBO) | Not disclosed | Discontinued from the May 2023 session onward |
| SJI International | Top score of 45 | School-announced; exact headcount not disclosed in our source |
| ACS (Independent) | Not disclosed as an exact count | 300 of 469 students (64%) scored in the 42–45 band |
Sources: IB Diploma Programme Provisional Statistical Bulletin, November 2025 [1]; SJI International Class of 2025 IB Results press release [4]; ACS (Independent) 2025 IB Exam Results announcement [5].
With close to 200 students completing the full IB Diploma, each has achieved something truly remarkable. Their results tell only part of the story — these young people have shown resilience, integrity, and service…
Singapore IB Diploma Schools — November 2025 Results
Two of Singapore's Integrated Programme schools — ACS (Independent) and St Joseph's Institution — offer the IB Diploma as an alternative to A-Levels at Years 5–6. See our full guide to Singapore's Integrated Programme schools for how the IB pathway compares to the A-Level route. Below are the school-reported November 2025 results we could directly verify from official announcements:
| School | Students | Average Score | Pass Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) | 469 | 41.6 | not stated |
| St Joseph's Institution | not stated | 40.2 | 100% |
| SJI International | 195 | 38.0 | not stated |
Sources: ACS (Independent) official 2025 IB Exam Results [5]; St Joseph's Institution 2025 IB Diploma results announcement [6]; SJI International Class of 2025 IB Results press release [4]. Other Singapore IB schools (Hwa Chong International, NPS International, Dulwich College, Tanglin Trust, GIIS, and others) publish their own results separately; we have not included figures we could not directly verify.
What Is the IB Diploma, in Brief
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (DP) is scored out of 45 points: up to 7 points across each of 6 subjects (42 points maximum), plus up to 3 additional “core” points from the Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge combined. Subjects are studied at Higher Level (HL) or Standard Level (SL). Candidates must also complete Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS), which does not add points but is required for the diploma to be awarded. The minimum score to be awarded the diploma is 24 points, subject to additional conditions (e.g. no failing grade on the Extended Essay).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good IB Diploma score?
A score of 24 out of 45 is the minimum needed to be awarded the IB Diploma (subject to core requirements). In the November 2025 session, the global mean total points score was 29.3, and only 10.3% of diploma-seeking candidates worldwide scored in the 40-45 band. Singapore school averages in November 2025 ranged from 38 to 41.6, meaning a typical Singapore IB graduate sits well inside the global top decile.
Does Singapore have the world's highest IB average score?
The IBO does not publish an official ranking of average scores by country, so this specific superlative cannot be verified either way. What is confirmed is a large, well-documented gap: Singapore school averages in November 2025 (38.0-41.6) sat roughly 9-12 points above the global mean total points score of 29.3 for that session.
How many students worldwide get a perfect 45 in the IB Diploma?
The IBO stopped publishing the exact number of students achieving 45 points from the May 2023 session onward, choosing instead to report score bands in groups of 5. SJI International confirmed a top score of 45 was achieved in November 2025, without stating how many students reached it, while ACS (Independent) reported that 64% of its 469 candidates scored between 42 and 45 points, without breaking out the exact-45 figure.
Why does Singapore report November IB results while global figures often cite May?
The IB runs two assessment sessions a year: May and November. Most of Singapore's 26 IB Diploma schools actually sit May — but the best-known national schools, ACS (Independent), SJI International and St Joseph's Institution, sit the November session, and the IBO's own November bulletin is what this article cites for global figures. So comparing Singapore figures against November-session global data is the correct like-for-like comparison, not because most schools sit November.
Related Resources
Integrated Programme Schools Singapore
Every IP school, their COP, and the A-Level vs IB Diploma choice at Years 5–6.
Best Secondary Schools Singapore 2026
Where ACS (Independent) and SJI rank among Singapore's top secondary schools.
JC Subject Combination Guide 2026
Choosing A-Level subject combinations — the mainstream alternative to the IB Diploma.
2028 JC Admission Changes
MOE's revised L1R4 criteria for O-Level students heading into A-Levels.
University IGP 2026/2027 Guide
How IB Diploma points convert for NUS, NTU, SMU and other Singapore university admissions.
QS World University Rankings 2027
Where IB and A-Level graduates end up: NUS and NTU's latest global rankings.
The bottom line
Singapore's November 2025 IB school averages (38.0–41.6) sit well above the global mean of 29.3 — a gap that is real and officially documented. But the once-famous “half the world's perfect scorers” claim can no longer be checked against any published IBO data, because the IBO itself stopped counting it in 2023. Verify before you repeat it — and cite the school, not the internet rumour.
Sources
- 1.IB Diploma Programme Provisional Statistical Bulletin, November 2025 Assessment Session. ibo.org
- 2.WhichSchoolAdvisor — “Singapore IB Results 2025 (November Session): School Averages & Top Scorers”. whichschooladvisor.com
- 3.IB Diploma Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, November 2024 Assessment Session. ibo.org
- 4.SJI International — “Class of 2025 IB Results” press release. sji-international.com.sg
- 5.ACS (Independent) — “ACS (Independent)'s 2025 IB Exam Results”. acsindep.moe.edu.sg
- 6.St Joseph's Institution — 2025 IB Diploma results announcement. sji.edu.sg
- 7.International Baccalaureate — “DP passing criteria” (minimum 24 points, core requirements). ibo.org
Cite this page:SGSchoolKaki Education Team, “IB Diploma Results 2025: Singapore vs the World,” SGSchoolKaki, 11 Aug 2026, https://sgschoolkaki.com/blog/ib-results-singapore-vs-world-2026.