Demographic data 2019

Frequency distributions by percentage

The following tables show the distribution of scores achieved by various groups of test takers, which may be of interest as an indication of how an individual test taker has performed relative to other members of a grouping to which he or she belongs, though the categories reported here are necessarily very broad.

Academic test takers: reasons for taking IELTS
Overall band score by %

Reason Below 4  4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7  7.5  8  8.5 9
 For employment
 
 1%  1% 2% 5% 11% 18% 22% 21% 12% 5% 1%  0%
 For higher education extended course (three months or more)
 
 1%  1% 4% 11% 21% 24% 17%  11%  6%  3%   1%  0%
 For higher education short course (three months or less)  1%  2% 5% 13% 26% 26%  15%  7 % 4%   2%  0%  0%
 For immigration  1%  1% 2% 7% 15% 21%  18%  15% 11 %  7%  2%  0%
 For other education purpose  1%  2% 5% 11% 19% 22%  17%   12%  8%  3%   0%  0%
 For personal reasons  1%  2% 6% 13% 21% 22%  17%  11%  6%  2%  0%  0%
 For professional registration (NOT medical)  0%  1% 2% 4% 7% 12%  17%  21%  20%  13%  3%  0%
 For registration as a dentist  0%  1% 4% 9% 14% 13%  15%  18%  14% 8%  2%  0%
 For registration as a doctor  0%  0% 1% 2% 4% 7%  12%  21%  27% 21%   5% 0%
 For registration as a nurse (including CGFNS)  0% 0 % 1% 2% 6% 17%  28%  27%  15%  4%  1%   0%
 (Other)
 
 1%  2% 6% 12% 20%  20%  16%  11%  7%  3%  1%  0% 

General Training test takers: reasons for taking IELTS

Overall band score by %

Reason Below 4 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9
For employment
 
2% 2% 5% 11% 16% 18% 16% 14% 10% 5% 1% 0%
For higher education extended course (three months or more)
 
2% 3% 7% 13% 17% 17% 14% 12% 9% 4% 1% 0%
For higher education short course (three months or less) 3% 4% 7% 13% 16% 16% 14% 12% 9% 4% 0% 0%
For immigration 0% 1% 2% 4% 8% 15% 19% 20% 17% 10% 3% 0%
For other education purpose 2% 2% 6% 12% 17% 17% 15% 13% 9% 4% 1% 0%
For personal reasons 1% 2% 4% 8% 12% 15% 16% 18% 15% 7% 1% 0%
For professional registration (NOT medical) 1% 1% 3% 7% 12% 18% 18% 18% 14% 8% 1% 0%
For registration as a dentist 2% 1% 2% 2% 7% 14% 19% 20% 22% 10% 1% 0%
For registration as a doctor 1% 2% 3% 5% 10% 15% 16% 19% 14% 11% 3% 0%
For registration as a nurse (including CGFNS) 1% 2% 4% 9% 19% 22% 18% 13% 8% 3% 1% 0%
(Other)
 
1% 2% 4% 8% 13% 16% 17% 18% 13% 6% 1% 0%

Academic frequency by first languages

Overall band score by %

Language Below 4 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5  7 7.5 8 8.5 9
 Arabic 3% 6% 13% 18% 18% 16% 11% 8% 5% 5% 2%  0%
 Azeri 0% 1% 2% 6% 15% 24% 21% 17% 10% 4% 0%  0%
 Bengali 0% 1% 3% 9% 18% 22% 18% 13% 9% 5% 1%  0%
 Chinese 1% 2% 5% 14% 24% 24% 16% 9% 4% 1% 0%  0%
 English 0% 0% 1% 3% 8% 14% 18% 19% 18% 14%  5%  0%
 Farsi 0% 0% 2% 6% 17% 25% 23% 16% 8% 3% 0%  0%
 Filipino 0% 0% 0% 1% 4% 12% 25% 29% 20% 7% 1%  0%
 French 0% 0% 1% 4% 10% 17% 19% 19% 18% 10% 2%  0%
 German 0% 0% 0% 0% 1% 5% 11% 18% 28% 29% 8%  0%
 Greek 0% 0% 0% 2% 6% 12% 19% 22% 22% 14% 2%  0%
 Gujurati 0% 1% 3% 11% 25% 28% 18% 9% 4% 1% 0%  0%
 Hindi 0% 0% 1% 5% 15% 23% 21% 16% 11% 6% 1%  0%
 Ibo/lgbo  0% 0% 1% 2% 8% 16% 23% 25% 18% 6% 1%  0%
 Indonesian 0% 1% 2% 5% 13% 21% 22% 18% 13% 6% 1%  0%
 Italian 0% 0% 1% 3% 8% 15% 20% 22% 20% 10% 1%  0%
 Japanese 0% 2% 6% 17% 25% 23% 15% 8% 3% 1% 0%  0%
 Kannada 0% 0% 0% 1% 7% 19% 25% 23% 15% 7% 1%  0%
 Kazakh 1% 2% 4% 10% 18% 24% 19% 13% 7% 2% 0%  0%
 Khmer 0% 2% 7% 17% 25% 23% 13% 7% 4% 1% 0%  0%
 Korean 0% 1% 3% 11% 22% 26% 18% 11% 6% 2% 0%  0%
 Malayalam  0% 0% 0% 3% 11% 24% 27% 20% 10% 4% 1%  0%
 Marathi 0% 0% 0% 2% 7% 18% 24% 22% 17% 9% 1%  0%
 Nepali  0% 0% 3% 12% 28% 27% 17% 8% 4% 1% 0%  0%
 Other 0% 0% 1% 3% 10% 19% 22% 20% 15% 8% 1%  0%
 Portuguese 0% 0% 1% 4% 9% 15% 19% 19% 9% 11% 2%  0%
 Punjabi 1% 1% 3% 12%  28% 31% 16% 6% 2% 0% 0%  0%
 Romanian 0% 0% 0% 2% 7% 14% 19% 22% 20% 13% 2%  0%
 Russian 0% 0% 1% 5% 12% 19% 20% 18% 15% 8% 1%  0%
 Singhalese 0% 1% 3% 9% 17% 21% 18% 15% 11% 6% 1%  0%
 Spanish 0% 1% 2% 4% 10% 18% 20% 19% 16% 8% 1%  0%
 Tagalog 0% 0% 0% 1% 6% 17% 27% 28% 15% 5% 0%  0%
 Tamil 0% 0% 1% 4% 11% 20% 22% 19% 14% 7% 1%  0%
 Telugu 0% 0% 1% 7% 20% 29% 22% 13% 6% 2% 0%  0%
 Thai 1% 1% 4% 12% 22% 22% 17% 11% 6% 2% 0%  0%
 Turkish 0% 1% 2% 7% 17% 22% 19% 14% 11% 6% 1%  0%
 Ukrainian 0% 0% 2% 4% 14% 22% 20% 18% 12% 6% 1%  0%
 Urdu  0% 1% 2% 8% 17% 21% 18% 15% 11% 6% 1%  0%
 Uzbek 1% 3% 9%  19% 25% 20% 12% 7% 3% 1% 0%  0%
 Vietnamese 1% 2% 4% 11% 20% 22% 17% 12% 8% 3% 0%  0%
 Yoruba 0% 0% 0% 1% 6% 12% 23% 26% 20% 8% 1%  0%

*first language as self-chosen by test takers drawn from a wide range of nationalities

General Training frequency by first languages

Overall band score by %

Language Below 4 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5  7 7.5 8 8.5 9
 Afrikaans 0% 0% 0% 1% 3% 9% 16% 18% 22% 22% 8%  0%
 Albanian 2% 3% 4% 9% 15% 18% 18% 16% 11% 4% 1%  0%
 Arabic 2% 3% 5% 9% 14% 16% 16% 15% 12% 6% 1%  0%
 Bengali 0% 1% 2% 5% 9% 15% 18% 20% 17% 10% 3%  0%
 Chinese 1% 2% 5% 11% 15% 17% 16% 14% 28% 6% 1%  0%
 English 0% 0% 1% 2% 5% 11% 17% 21% 21% 16% 7%  1%
 Farsi 1% 1% 3% 7% 12% 16% 17% 17% 16% 9% 2%  0%
 Filipino 1% 2% 5% 9% 15% 19% 18% 15% 10% 5% 1%  0%
 French 2% 3% 6% 10% 14% 15% 15% 13% 12% 8% 3%  0%
 German 0% 1% 2% 3% 5% 10% 15% 16% 18% 20% 10%  0%
 Gujurati 1% 1% 3% 6% 12% 18% 21% 19% 13% 5% 1%  0%
 Hindi 0% 0% 1% 2% 5% 12% 19% 25% 22% 12% 2%  0%
 Ibo/lgbo  0% 0% 1% 3% 7% 15% 21% 23% 19% 10% 1%  0%
 Indonesian 2% 4% 8% 14% 17% 17% 12% 10% 10% 5% 1%  0%
 Italian 1% 2% 7% 16% 23% 18% 14% 10% 6% 2% 1%  0%
 Japanese 2% 3% 8% 15% 23% 23% 13% 7% 5% 2% 0%  0%
 Kannada 0% 0% 1% 2% 6% 15% 21% 24% 19% 10% 2%  0%
 Korean 2% 2% 7% 15% 25% 21% 12% 8% 5% 2% 1%  0%
 Malayalam 0% 0% 1% 3% 8% 16% 21% 23% 17% 8% 1%  0%
 Marathi 0% 0% 1% 1% 5% 12% 19% 24% 22% 13% 3%  0%
 Nepali 1% 1% 4% 9% 15% 18% 17% 15% 11% 6% 1%  0%
 Other 0% 1% 2% 4% 8% 16% 19% 21% 17%

10%

2%  0%
 Polish 1% 1% 2% 5% 10% 16% 16% 18% 16% 12% 4%  0%
 Portuguese 1% 1% 2% 4% 9% 14% 18% 18% 18% 12% 3%  0%
 Punjabi 1% 1% 4% 7% 12% 18% 21% 19% 12% 4% 0%  0%
 Russian 1% 1% 3% 6%  9% 13% 16% 18% 19% 13% 2%  0%
 Shona 0% 0% 0% 0% 3% 8% 16% 24% 26% 18% 5%  0%
 Sindhi 0% 0% 1% 3% 7% 13% 18% 22% 21% 13% 2%  0%
 Singhalese 0% 1% 2% 5% 11% 17% 19% 19% 15% 9% 2%  0%
 Spanish 1% 1% 3% 7% 14% 18% 18% 16% 13% 8% 2%  0%
 Swahili 0% 0% 1% 3% 8% 14% 21% 21% 18% 12% 3%  0%
 Tagalog 1% 3% 9% 15% 18% 18% 15% 11% 7% 3% 1%  0%
 Tamil 0% 1% 2% 4% 10% 16% 20% 21% 16% 9% 2%  0%
 Telugu 0% 0% 1% 3% 8% 17% 23% 23% 16% 7% 1%  0%
 Thai 7% 7% 13% 20% 24% 16% 6% 3% 2% 1% 0%  0%
 Turkish 1% 1% 4% 11% 20% 21% 15% 12% 9% 6% 1%  0%
 Ukrainian 4% 4% 6% 10% 11% 14% 15% 15% 12% 8% 1%  0%
 Urdu 0% 0% 1%  4% 9% 15% 19% 21% 17% 10% 2%  0%
 Vietnamese 2% 3% 7% 11% 15% 16% 13% 13% 11% 6% 1%  0%
 Yoruba 0% 0% 1% 3% 7% 16% 21% 24% 18% 9% 1%  0%

Academic frequency by top 40 nationalities

Overall band score by %

Nationality Below 4 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5  7 7.5 8 8.5 9
 Bangladesh 0% 1% 3% 10% 20% 23% 18% 12% 8% 4% 1% 0%
 Brazil 0% 0% 1% 4% 10% 17% 20% 19% 18% 10% 2% 0%
 Cambodia  0%  2%  7%  18%  25%  23%  13%  7%  4%  1%  0%  0%
 Canada  0%  0%  1%  2%  7%  14%  18%  20%  19%  13%  6%  0%
 China   1%  2%  6%  15%  25%  25%  16%  8%  3%  1%  0%  0%
 Colombia  0%  1%  2%  5%  13%  20%  21%  18%  13%  6%  1%  0%
 Egypt  1%  1%  3%  7%  12%  18%  19%  17%  14%  7%  1%  0%
 France  0%  0%  1%  4%  10%  16%  19%  20%  18%  10%  2%  0%
 Germany  0%  0%  0%  0%  2%  6%  11%  18%  27%  28%  7%  0%
 Greece  0%  0%  0%  1%  5%  11%  18%  22%  24%  16%  2%  0%
 Hong Kong, SAR of China  0%  0%  1%  5%  13%  18%  18%  18%  17%  9%  2%  0%
 India  0%  1%  2%  8%  21%  27%  19%  11%  6%  3%  0%  0%
 Indonesia  0%  1%  2%  5%  12%  20%  22%  18%  13%  6%  1%  0%
 Iran  0%  1%  2%  7%  17%  25%  23%  15%  7%  2%  0%  0%
 Iraq  3%  6%  14%  19%  20%  15%  10%  7%  5%  2%  0%  0%
 Italy  0%  0%  1%  3%  8%  15%  20%  22%  20%  10%  1%  0%
 Japan  0%  2%  6%  17%  25%  23%  15%  8%  3%  1%  0%  0%
 Jordan  1%  2%  5%  10%  16%  19%  17%  14%  10%  5%  1%  0%
 Kazakhstan  1%  1%  3%  9%  18%  23%  19%  14%  8%  3%  0%  0%
 Korea, Republic of  0%  1%  3%  11%  22%  26%  18%  11%  6%  2%  0%  0%
 Kuwait  2%  6%  14%  20%  20%  16%  10%  7%  4%  2%  0%  0%
 Malaysia  0%  0%  0%  3%  8%  14%  16%  18%  21%  15%  4%  0%
 Mexico  1%  1%  2%  5%  11%  18%  20%  19%  14%  7%  1%  0%
 Nepal  0%  0%  3%  12%  29%  27%  16%  8%  4%  1%  0%  0%
 Nigeria  0%  0%  1%  2%  7%  15%  22%  25%  20%  9%  1%  0%
 Oman  3%  8%  19%  24%  22%  12%  6%  3%  1%  1%  0%  0%
 Pakistan  0%  1%  3%  8%  17%  21%  18%  15%  11%  6%  1%  0%
 Philippines  0%  0%  0%  1%  5%  14%  25%  29%  18%  7%  1%  0%
 Qatar  3%  6%  14%  22%  21%  14%  10%  6%  3%  1%  0%  0%
 Russian Federation  0%  0%  1%  3%  9%  17%  20%  19%  17%  10%  2%  0%
 Saudi Arabia  3%  6%  14%  21%  22%  16%  9%  5%  3%  1%  0%  0%
 Spain  0%  0%  0%  2%  7%  14%  19%  23%  22%  12%  2%  0%
 Sri Lanka  0%  1%  3%  9%  17%  21%  18%  14%  11%  6%  1%  0%
 Taiwan, China   0%  1%  3%  9%  20%  26%%  20%  13%  7%  2%  0%  0%
 Thailand  1%  1%  4%  12%  22%  22%  17%  12%  7%  3%  0%  0%
 Turkey  0%  1%  2%  7%  17%  22%  19%  14%  11%  5%  1%  0%
 Ukraine  0%  0%  1%  5%  14%  21%  20%  18%  13%  7%  1%  0%
 United Arab Emirates  6%  12%  24%  23%  14%  9%  6%  4%  2%  1%  0%  0%
 Uzbekistan  1%  3%  8%  18%  25%  21%  13%  8%  3%  1%  0%  0%
 Vietnam  1%  2%  4%  11%  20%  22%  17%  12%  8%  3%  0%  0%

General Training frequency by top 40 nationalities

Overall band score by %

Nationality Below 4 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9
Argentina 0% 1% 3% 7% 13% 18% 18% 16% 14% 8% 1% 0%
Bangladesh 0% 1% 3% 6% 11% 16% 18% 19% 16% 8% 2% 0%
Brazil 0% 1% 2% 4% 9% 14% 18% 18% 18% 12% 2% 0%
Cameroon 2% 4% 6% 11% 17% 20% 20% 11% 6% 2% 0% 0%
Canada 0% 1% 2% 3% 7% 16% 23% 20% 13% 9% 6% 1%
China 1% 2% 6% 12% 16% 17% 15% 14% 12% 5% 1% 0%
Colombia
1% 1% 3% 9% 16% 21% 18% 14% 10% 5% 1% 0%
Egypt 0% 1% 2% 5% 11% 17% 18% 19% 17% 8% 2% 0%
France 0% 0% 1% 4% 9% 13% 17% 18% 19% 14% 5% 0%
Ghana 0% 0% 1% 4% 8% 15% 20% 21% 19% 10% 2% 0%
Hong Kong, SAR of China 0% 0% 1% 4% 11% 18% 18% 18% 18% 9% 1% 0%
India
0% 1% 2% 4% 8% 15% 20% 22% 18% 9% 2% 0%
Indonesia
2% 4% 8% 14% 17% 17% 12% 9% 10% 5% 1% 0%
Iran
1% 1% 3% 7% 11% 16% 17% 17% 16% 9% 2% 0%
Italy
1% 2% 3% 8% 15% 21% 17% 13% 10% 7% 2% 0%
Jamaica
0% 0% 1% 2% 3% 8% 14% 19% 24% 21% 8% 0%
Japan 1% 3% 7% 15% 23% 22% 13% 7% 5% 2% 0% 0%
Jordan 1% 1% 4% 8% 14% 18% 18% 15% 12% 7% 1% 0%
Kenya 0% 0% 1% 2% 5% 12% 19% 21% 21% 14% 4% 0%
Korea, Republic of 2% 2% 7% 15% 25% 21% 12% 7% 5% 3% 1% 0%
Lebanon 1% 0% 2% 4% 8% 14% 18% 21% 19% 12% 2% 0%
Malaysia 0% 1% 2% 4% 10% 12% 13% 16% 17% 18% 7% 0%
Mexico 1% 1% 3% 7% 13% 17% 17% 16% 15% 9% 2% 0%
Morocco 1% 2% 5% 10% 18% 19% 17% 14% 8% 5% 1% 0%
Nepal 1% 1% 4% 10% 15% 18% 17% 15% 11% 6% 1% 0%
Nigeria 0% 0% 1% 2% 6% 13% 20% 24% 21% 11% 2% 0%
Pakistan 0% 1% 1% 4% 9% 15% 19% 20% 17% 10% 2% 0%
Philippines 1% 2% 6% 12% 17% 19% 17% 13% 9% 4% 1% 0%
Russian Federation 1% 1% 2% 4% 8% 12% 15% 18% 21% 15% 3% 0%
Saudi Arabia
12% 13% 18% 19% 15% 10% 6% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0%
South Africa 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 6% 12% 16% 22% 26% 15% 1%
Spain 0% 0% 0% 0% 2% 6% 12% 16% 22% 26% 15% 1%
Sri Lanka 0% 1% 2% 5% 11% 17% 18% 19% 16% 9% 2% 0%
Taiwan, China 1% 2% 5% 12% 22% 23% 14% 10% 7% 4% 1% 0%
Thailand 7% 7% 13% 20% 24% 16% 6% 3% 2% 1% 0% 0%
Turkey 1% 1% 4% 11% 20% 21% 15% 11% 9% 6% 1% 0%
Ukraine 3% 3% 6% 9% 11% 14% 15% 15% 13% 8% 1% 0%
United States of America 0% 0% 0% 1% 2% 5% 10% 17% 19% 20% 19% 6%
Vietnam 2% 3% 7% 11% 15% 16% 13% 13% 11% 6% 1% 0%
Zimbabwe 0% 0% 0% 0% 3% 7% 16% 22% 25% 20% 6% 0%