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A clear guide to what the IBO is, how national teams are selected, and how to prepare — from your national qualifier through to the international round.
First held
1990, in Czechoslovakia
Participating countries
80+ across five continents
Team size
Four students per country
Medals
Top 10% gold · next 20% silver · next 30% bronze
The International Biology Olympiad is the most prestigious biology competition in the world for secondary-school students. First held in Czechoslovakia in 1990, it has grown to more than 80 participating countries across five continents.
Each country is represented by four students — the top performers from its own national biology olympiad. At the IBO, competitors sit both theoretical papers and hands-on practical (laboratory) examinations that test experimental skill as well as knowledge. Medals follow a fixed distribution: the top 10% of participants earn gold, the next 20% silver, and the next 30% bronze.
The route to the IBO runs through each country’s national olympiad. In India that means the NSEB followed by the INBO/INO stages; in the USA it is the USABO; in the UK, the British Biology Olympiad (BBO). The strongest students from those national rounds form the four-member team that represents the country internationally.
Olympiad success is built in two stages — qualifying through your national round, then performing at the international level. We coach both. Explore focused preparation:
Sources: official IBO website and Wikipedia.