The International Business Olympiad (IBO) is an annual free online competition for high school students interested in business, running since 2021. It operates across 44 countries and tests business knowledge, analytical reasoning, and strategic thinking in two rounds.
2026 competition dates (per business-olympiad.org):
- Registration: dates not yet announced by the organizer (listed as "TBD" on the official site)
- Round 1 (Global Grand Test): date not yet announced (listed as "TBD")
- Round 2 (International Final): August 15–16, 2026
Round 1 — Global Grand Test (Individual):
- Duration: 150 minutes
- Format: 300 multiple-choice questions
- Focus: Core business theories, methodologies, and fundamental concepts
- Advancement: Top 6 students per country advance — but only if they achieve the Distinction score threshold (a national top-6 ranking alone is not sufficient)
Round 2 — International Final (Individual):
- Integrated Objective Test / Material-Based Objective Test: 120 minutes; 5 reading materials; 100 questions (15 MCQ + 5 true/false per material); 2 pts each; 200 pts total
- Advanced Thinking: 180 minutes; 1 material; 5 written-response questions; 40 pts each; 200 pts total
- Focus: Evidence-based business reasoning, reading comprehension, strategic analysis, and written argumentation
Awards:
- Round 1: Grade certificates based on Grand Test score
- Round 2 (International Final): Gold, Silver, Bronze medals by individual total score
- School Team Awards (from 2026): Schools with 6+ students in Round 1 are scored as teams; top 30 schools globally earn Golden (top 10), Silver (11–20), or Bronze (21–30) School awards
Fees: The IBO competition itself is free. Optional preparatory resources are available on the LearningFirst platform ($10 USD/month or $8/month billed annually) — this subscription is not required to compete.