The International Biology Olympiad (IBO) is a biological olympiad for pre-university students under the age 20, and is one of the most well-known International Science Olympiads. The first IBO was held in Czechoslovakia in 1990, and it has since been held annually. The competition has gradually expanded to include more than 75 participating countries across five continents. All participating countries send the four winners of their National Biology Olympiad to the IBO, usually accompanied by two adults who are members of the international jury, for the duration of the competition. On 2 June 2026 have 80 Full members and 2 Pending members (Nepal,Kuwait) and 1 observer (Nigeria). To select these top four life science contestants for this international competition, all member countries host Biology Olympiad competitions in typically 3-5 consecutively more difficult national competition rounds. As a consequence, this leads to a trickle-down effect, engaging more than 1 million students worldwide in life science each year. In 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the editions hosted by Japan and Portugal were organized virtually with the Japan edition including a unique international group-based scientific project International Group Project 2020.
IBO 2020 and the International Group Project In the face of the threat of the International Science Olympiads' cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic (the International Physics Olympiad was officially canceled), the IBO 2020 was the first in the International Science Olympiads that was claimed by the host (Japan) to be held entirely virtually with a guaranteed supervision to adapt to the pandemic. Notably, in the IBO 2020, the International Group Project was proposed. This is the first international group-based scientific project in the history of International Science Olympiads, aiming to intensify scientific discussion and collaboration among competitors from various countries. In the International Group Project 2020, there are 50 research teams, and every team consists of 4 to 7 competitors, all representing different countries. In each team, these young biologists collaborated with their international fellows in a three-month scientific project. Finally, they had to propose a professional poster or presentation about an outstanding, innovative idea that can determine biology's future and solve a critical global issue. Every performance was evaluated by noble professors of Japan in life science. Altogether, 53 countries and 202 contestants participated in the International Group Project 2020. This project was described as "the first trial of a collaborative research opportunity in IBO's history." Among 50 teams, six outstanding teams had (25 students) received the Award of Excellence for the best performance.
Summary Each year, the IBO is organised by a different country.
Performance of countries As of July 2026, the current list of countries with the best results (spanning the last 11 years) for gold medals are as follows:
All https://www.ibo-info.org/en/list-of-countries-regions.html Since 1990 to 2025: In almost every edition, the top 10% of participants receive gold, the next 20% receive silver, and the next 30% receive bronze.
See also List of biology awards International Mathematical Olympiad International Chemistry Olympiad
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References
External links Official website