IDP’s India IELTS volumes fell 50 per cent in the 12 months to June 2025, then another 27 per cent in the six months to December 2025. Outside India, IDP’s IELTS volumes grew in both periods. This post collects IELTS test taker statistics from the partners’ own filings: volumes, country splits, band score benchmarks, and delivery figures for 2024-2025 and 2025-2026.
IELTS Test Taker Statistics
How Many IELTS Tests Are Taken Each Year?
No single audited worldwide IELTS total is published. IELTS is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP IELTS and Cambridge University Press & Assessment, and the partners report on different financial years.
The British Council delivered 2.3 million IELTS tests in its 2024-25 year, the 12 months to March 2025.
Source: British Council Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25, 12 months to 31 March 2025
IDP recorded English Language Testing volumes of 1,293,800 for the 12 months to June 2025, down 18 per cent from 1,584,100. IDP defines that volume as the number of tests conducted across all test types, so it is broader than IELTS alone.
Source: IDP Education FY25 Results Presentation, 28 August 2025, 12 months to 30 June 2025
The two reporting windows overlap without matching, and the two measures are not the same thing, so the figures cannot be added into one global count.
IELTS Test Taker Statistics by Country
India is the dividing line in IDP’s country data. Strip India out and IDP’s IELTS volumes grew in both of the last two reporting periods.
| Measure | FY25, 12 months to 30 Jun 2025 | H1 FY26, 6 months to 31 Dec 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| India IELTS volumes | −50% | −27% |
| IELTS volumes excluding India | +2% | +1% |
| English Language Testing volumes, all test types | −18% | −7% |
Source: IDP Education FY25 Results Presentation (28 August 2025) and H1 FY26 Results Presentation (26 February 2026)
IDP names Australia, Canada, Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as the drivers of its ex-India growth in FY25, and Canada, Australia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and Thailand in the six months to December 2025.
IDP delivered 638,300 English Language Testing volumes in that half, against 683,700 a year earlier. The company attributes the India decline to student flows, noting Indian study visa applications for Australia, the UK and Canada fell 29 per cent over the trailing 12 months.
Source: IDP Education H1 FY26 Results Presentation, 26 February 2026
What the British Council Reported
The British Council reported lower IELTS demand across Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, which it attributes to changes in international student mobility policies, partly offset by continued growth in China IELTS.
Its digital reach fell by 33 million year on year, to 246 million, which the report puts down to fewer people visiting IELTS country sites. Anyone tracking demand alongside which languages people choose to study will see the same policy pressure show up in enrolment data.
Source: British Council Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25
IELTS Test Taker Statistics by Test Type
Academic accounts for close to four in five test takers. The 2024-2025 partnership data splits the candidature into two exclusive groups.
| Segment | Share of test takers, 2024-2025 |
|---|---|
| IELTS Academic | 78.93% |
| IELTS General Training | 21.07% |
Source: IELTS test taker performance data 2024-2025, test split across Academic and General Training test takers
What Is the Average IELTS Band Score Worldwide?
IELTS publishes means, dispersion and measurement error for the three objectively marked sections. General Training Reading has the lowest mean of the three and the widest spread.
| Test section | Mean band | Standard deviation | SEM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listening | 6.45 | 1.36 | 0.43 |
| Academic Reading | 6.32 | 1.26 | 0.36 |
| General Training Reading | 6.05 | 1.56 | 0.47 |
Source: IELTS test statistics 2024-2025, sections used during 2024-2025
Composite reliability came in at 0.97 for both the Academic and General Training tests, producing a composite standard error of measurement of 0.17 for Academic and 0.19 for General Training. Inter-rater reliability was 0.90 for Speaking and 0.92 for Writing.
Band structures are not portable between exams. The JLPT’s level-based system reports pass or fail against N5 to N1 rather than a nine-band scale.
IELTS Band Scores by Country
The partnership publishes mean Academic Listening and Reading scores by nationality. Reading means run above Listening means for most countries below.
| Country of nationality | Academic Listening mean | Academic Reading mean |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 7.8 | 8.1 |
| Malaysia | 7.2 | 7.6 |
| Spain | 7.4 | 7.5 |
| Italy | 7.5 | 7.4 |
| Philippines | 6.7 | 7.2 |
| Indonesia | 6.9 | 7.1 |
| India | 6.4 | 6.9 |
| Nigeria | 6.4 | 6.9 |
| Pakistan | 6.2 | 6.6 |
| Nepal | 6.0 | 6.6 |
| China | 6.2 | 5.9 |
| Japan | 6.0 | 5.9 |
| United Arab Emirates | 5.1 | 5.6 |
| Oman | 5.0 | 5.2 |
Source: IELTS test taker performance data 2024-2025, Academic mean performance by nationality
Germany records the highest Academic Reading mean in this table at 8.1 and Oman the lowest at 5.2. China, Japan and Italy are the three countries here where the Reading mean sits below the Listening mean.
India’s Academic Reading mean of 6.9 sits above the 6.32 overall Academic Reading mean for the same period. Country averages move for reasons that show up in national English proficiency rankings too, and the IELTS file lists top nationalities alphabetically rather than by candidature size.
IELTS Test Taker Statistics by Gender
Women are the larger group in the 2024-2025 candidature.
| Gender | Share of test takers, 2024-2025 |
|---|---|
| Female | 53.11% |
| Male | 46.89% |
Source: IELTS test taker performance data 2024-2025, gender split across Academic and General Training test takers
Listening means are identical for women and men on General Training. The gap opens in the two examiner-rated sections.
| Gender | Listening | Reading | Writing | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 6.6 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 6.5 |
| Male | 6.6 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.3 |
Source: IELTS test taker performance data 2024-2025, General Training mean performance by gender
Women are 53.11 per cent of the candidature, so the 0.2-band lead in Writing and Speaking applies to the larger group. The direction matches wider gender gaps in education data, where girls lead on reading assessments in most systems measured.
IELTS Delivery Channels and Pricing
The British Council extended IELTS Online across Europe to 25 countries, reaching test takers in more than 3,000 cities alongside roughly 200 physical test centre locations. It offered IELTS Online in a further 28 countries where it has no operation on the ground.
About 25 per cent of the British Council’s growth in EU IELTS delivery was attributed to the online product. As part of the IELTS Secure English Language Test Consortium working for the Home Office, the British Council delivered nearly 90 per cent of all SELT tests globally.
Source: British Council Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25
Price moved the other way from volume. IDP’s yield per English Language Testing volume, calculated as category revenue divided by category volumes, reached A$332 in the six months to December 2025 against A$306 a year earlier, an 8 per cent rise alongside a 7 per cent volume decline.
Source: IDP Education H1 FY26 Results Presentation, 26 February 2026
English Language Testing revenue held at A$211.8 million for the half, up 1 per cent. Preparation demand has meanwhile shifted toward mobile learning apps, part of a market documented in broader online education spending.
Recognition has not narrowed while volumes fell. The British Council describes IELTS as trusted by more than 12,000 organisations globally, a reach that tracks English speaker totals worldwide.
FAQ
How many people take IELTS worldwide each year?
There is no single audited global figure. The British Council reported 2.3 million IELTS tests for the 12 months to March 2025. IDP reported 1,293,800 English Language Testing volumes across all test types for the 12 months to June 2025.
Are the IELTS numbers posted on Reddit accurate?
Reddit threads usually quote one worldwide total. The partners publish separately, on different financial years: 2.3 million for the British Council to March 2025, and 1,293,800 for IDP to June 2025. Those windows overlap, so the figures do not add.
Do most people take IELTS Academic or General Training?
Academic. It accounted for 78.93 per cent of test takers in 2024-2025, against 21.07 per cent for General Training, according to the IELTS partnership’s test taker performance data.
What is the average IELTS band score?
For 2024-2025 the mean was 6.45 on Listening, 6.32 on Academic Reading and 6.05 on General Training Reading. General Training Reading also had the widest spread, with a standard deviation of 1.56.
Why do Reddit posts say IELTS demand is collapsing?
The decline is concentrated. IDP’s India IELTS volumes fell 50 per cent in FY25 and 27 per cent in the following half. Its IELTS volumes outside India rose 2 per cent and then 1 per cent over the same periods.
Sources
https://www.britishcouncil.org/sites/default/files/britishcouncil_annualreport_2024-25.pdf
https://investors.idp.com/FormBuilder/_Resource/_module/v1AiEHYL20-_Rje11PzkYA/file/FY25-Results-Presentation.pdf
https://investors.idp.com/DownloadFile.axd?file=/Report/ComNews/20260226/03061491.pdf
https://ielts.org/researchers/our-research/test-statistics
