What is the average IELTS score worldwide?

The global average IELTS score is around 6.0-6.5. But the average varies dramatically by country. Test takers from countries with English as a primary or official language (Philippines, Nigeria, India urban centers) tend to score 6.5+. Test takers from countries with limited English exposure (Mongolia, parts of the Middle East) tend to score 4.5-5.5.

Which country has the highest average IELTS score?

Based on our data of 1,500+ test takers, the Philippines and Kenya score highest in specific skills (Listening 6.6-6.9, Reading 6.1). Test takers from English-medium education systems in Nigeria, India, and the Philippines tend to score above the global average.

Which country has the lowest average IELTS score?

In our dataset, Mongolia had the lowest average Writing score (3.86). Several Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries (Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kazakhstan) had averages in the 4.4-5.3 range. These are often countries with limited daily English exposure.

Why do some countries score higher in Listening than others?

Daily English exposure, media consumption habits, and accent familiarity drive Listening scores. Countries with high English media consumption (Philippines, Kenya) score 6.5+ in Listening. Countries with limited English media exposure (Nepal, Saudi Arabia) score 4.0-5.0.

How can I use country average data for my own preparation?

If your country is strong in one skill but weak in another (the common pattern), focus your study time on the weak skill. Country data shows you the typical gap you are facing, which is usually a structural pattern, not just personal weakness.

Is the average IELTS score by country a useful benchmark?

Yes, but with caveats. Averages include test takers at all levels. If you are at Band 6.0, your target is not the country average (which includes many Band 4-5 test takers). Use the country data to identify the typical skill gap pattern in your country, then target that gap.

Average IELTS Score by Country 2026: 1,500+ Test Takers Compared

IELTS scores vary by country, and the pattern is consistent. English exposure, education system, and media access drive most of the difference. The country you prepare in shapes which skill you find hardest.

This page is a data hub. It shows the actual average IELTS scores by country, broken down by skill, based on 1,500+ test takers across 25 countries who used Band9Prep to prepare. For deeper country-specific preparation guides, see the individual country pages linked at the bottom.

Methodology

Data source: 1,524 test takers who completed at least one full module practice test on Band9Prep between 2024-2026. Country identified by user profile. Skill scores are AI-evaluated based on the official IELTS band descriptors.

This is not the official IELTS test center data (which IDP, British Council, and Cambridge do not publish by country). It is preparation-stage data from people actively studying for the exam. The averages run slightly higher than real test-day scores because test takers in our dataset are mid-preparation, not at their final band.

Average Overall Band by Country

Country	Code	Users	Highest Skill	Lowest Skill	Score Gap
Nepal	NP	705	Writing (6.0)	Listening (4.1)	1.9 band
Indonesia	ID	189	Reading (5.5)	Speaking (4.9)	0.6 band
Pakistan	PK	188	Speaking (5.6)	Writing (4.7)	0.9 band
Nigeria	NG	101	Reading (5.7)	Writing (4.8)	0.9 band
India	IN	97	Speaking (5.0+)	Writing (5.2)	0.4 band
Vietnam	VN	83	Reading (5.7)	Listening (4.4)	1.3 band
Philippines	PH	81	Listening (6.6)	Speaking (5.6)	1.0 band
UAE	AE	69	Listening (5.6)	Writing (5.0)	0.6 band
Bangladesh	BD	64	Listening (5.3)	Writing (-)	-
Kazakhstan	KZ	60	Listening (6.6)	Writing (5.1)	1.5 band
Saudi Arabia	SA	55	Speaking (5.8)	Listening (4.3)	1.5 band
Australia	AU	51	Speaking (5.8)	Writing (5.3)	0.5 band
Algeria	DZ	48	Speaking (5.7)	Writing (4.4)	1.3 band
Canada	CA	43	Listening (6.1)	Reading (5.4)	0.7 band
Cambodia	KH	41	Reading (5.7)	-	-
Mongolia	MN	41	Writing (3.9)	Writing (3.9)	n/a
Thailand	TH	35	Reading (6.1)	Writing (5.9)	0.2 band
Turkey	TR	24	Speaking (5.7)	Writing (4.9)	0.8 band
USA	US	22	Listening (6.7)	Writing (5.7)	1.0 band
Egypt	EG	21	Speaking (5.9)	Reading (4.7)	1.2 band
Italy	IT	21	Listening (6.9)	Writing (-)	-

Skill-by-Skill Breakdown

Average Listening Band by Country

Listening is the most variable skill across countries. The gap between top and bottom performers in our dataset is 2.8 bands.

Country	Listening Avg	Sample Size
Italy	6.9	14
Kenya	7.0	22
USA	6.7	37
Philippines	6.6	31
Kazakhstan	6.6	36
Malaysia	6.4	8
Canada	6.1	14
Turkey	5.9	11
Australia	5.9	39
India	5.7	21
UAE	5.6	30
Bangladesh	5.3	8
Indonesia	5.3	39
Nigeria	5.1	32
Pakistan	5.1	34
Algeria	4.9	7
Vietnam	4.4	14
Saudi Arabia	4.3	8
Nepal	4.1	335

The pattern: countries with high English media exposure (Philippines, Kenya, US, Italy) score 6.5+ in Listening. Countries with limited daily English audio (Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam) score 4.0-4.5.

Average Reading Band by Country

Reading shows the smallest country-to-country variation. This makes sense — Reading is a skill you can drill with daily practice, and the test format rewards technique as much as English ability.

Country	Reading Avg	Sample Size
Italy	6.3	6
Thailand	6.1	14
Kenya	6.0	10
USA	5.9	20
Cambodia	5.7	13
Vietnam	5.7	13
Nigeria	5.7	18
Philippines	5.6	35
UK	5.6	7
Malaysia	5.6	11
Kazakhstan	5.6	41
UAE	5.5	27
Indonesia	5.5	42
Canada	5.4	33
India	5.2	32
Australia	5.2	41
Pakistan	4.9	46
Saudi Arabia	4.9	8
Egypt	4.7	7
Nepal	4.7	242

The pattern: the gap between top and bottom is 1.6 bands — much smaller than Listening (2.8). Reading is the most universally improvable skill across all countries.

Average Writing Band by Country

Writing has the most complex country pattern. The criterion-level scores (Task Achievement, Coherence, Vocabulary, Grammar) vary independently across countries.

Country	Writing Avg	Task 1	Task 2	Sample Size
Thailand	5.9	6.0	7.0	29
Malaysia	6.3	6.3	6.2	60
Egypt	6.1	6.2	6.0	31
Nepal	6.0	6.0	7.4	468
Philippines	5.7	5.7	5.3	92
USA	5.7	5.8	5.7	20
Canada	5.8	6.1	5.5	21
Kenya	5.8	5.8	5.8	25
India	5.2	5.1	6.4	58
Australia	5.3	5.4	5.0	45
Indonesia	5.2	5.2	5.1	102
Kazakhstan	5.1	5.0	5.5	52
UAE	5.0	5.2	5.6	35
Turkey	4.9	5.0	4.8	32
Vietnam	4.9	5.0	6.0	19
Saudi Arabia	4.9	4.9	5.1	40
Nigeria	4.8	4.9	5.1	85
Pakistan	4.7	4.7	5.7	96
Algeria	4.4	4.4	5.0	22
Mongolia	3.9	4.1	4.0	25

The pattern: Task 2 scores are consistently higher than Task 1 across most countries. Task 1 (report writing) is more format-specific and harder to self-teach.

The Nepal outlier (Task 2 = 7.4) reflects heavy Task 2 essay practice in our user base — they are practicing for the test. Real test day scores are typically 0.5-1.0 band lower.

Average Speaking Band by Country

Speaking is the most personal skill. It depends on individual speaking practice habits, not just country.

Country	Speaking Avg	Sample Size
Italy	6.3	26
Germany	6.1	15
Malaysia	6.0	18
Egypt	5.9	76
Australia	5.8	79
Saudi Arabia	5.8	10
Qatar	5.9	14
Azerbaijan	5.7	11
Turkey	5.7	15
Algeria	5.7	10
Philippines	5.6	129
Pakistan	5.6	79
UAE	5.4	36
Kazakhstan	5.4	13
Nigeria	5.3	17
Bangladesh	5.3	15
Nepal	5.2	325
India	5.0	31
Kenya	5.0	11
Indonesia	4.9	30

The pattern: Speaking averages are clustered between 5.0-6.0 across all countries. Unlike Listening, country of origin does not predict Speaking score as strongly. Personal practice matters more.

What This Data Tells You About Your Own Preparation

The Skill Gap Is Usually Structural, Not Personal

If 70% of test takers from your country score lowest in the same skill, that is not a personal weakness. It is a structural pattern of your education system and English exposure profile.

Examples from our data:

Nepal: 705 users, 78% score lowest in Listening. Reason: limited English audio exposure in daily life.
Indonesia: 189 users, 64% score lowest in Speaking. Reason: limited daily conversation practice in English.
Pakistan: 188 users, 71% score lowest in Writing. Reason: writing instruction in schools focuses on grammar accuracy, not task response.
Vietnam: 83 users, 67% score lowest in Listening. Reason: accent exposure limited to American media.

If you are from one of these countries, your weakest skill is probably the same. The fastest path to a higher band is targeting that skill specifically.

The Country Average Is Not Your Target

If the average Writing score in your country is 5.0, you should not aim for 5.0. You should aim for 7.0+, which puts you in the top 20% of test takers from your country.

Country averages are pulled down by the large number of test takers at Band 4-5. The top quartile of any country scores 7.0+ in their best skill.

Country Differences Shrink With Practice

Across 1,500+ test takers, the gap between the highest and lowest country average in any skill is 1.5-2.8 bands. But for test takers who practiced 100+ hours on Band9Prep, the gap shrinks to 0.5-1.0 band. Practice compresses the country effect.

If you are from a low-average country, this is good news. You do not need to overcome your country. You need to put in the practice hours.

Country-Specific Preparation Guides

For deep-dive preparation strategies for your specific country:

How to Use This Data

Identify your country's typical pattern. Find the skill that 60%+ of your country's test takers score lowest in. That is your country-wide gap.
Target the gap, not your personal weakness. If your country's pattern matches your personal pattern, you are facing the country-wide challenge, not a personal one. Practice strategies that have worked for your country.
Do not aim for the country average. Aim for the top 20% from your country. That is a 1.0-1.5 band target above average.
Use the comparison data to set realistic targets. If your country averages 4.5 in Writing, a Band 7 target is achievable but requires more time than a country averaging 6.0 in Writing.

The 3 Patterns That Show Up in Every Country

Across all 25 countries, three patterns are universal:

Listening is the most variable skill. Country of origin matters most for Listening. The 2.8-band gap between top and bottom countries is the largest of any skill.
Reading is the most universal skill. The 1.6-band gap between top and bottom is the smallest. Reading is teachable through practice regardless of country.
Speaking and Writing depend more on individual practice than country. Both skills show smaller country-to-country variation than Listening. Personal practice habits (recording yourself, getting feedback on essays) matter more than country of origin.

Limitations of This Data

Sample sizes vary. Nepal (705) and Indonesia (189) are large. Italy (21) and Qatar (8) are small. Smaller samples have wider error bars.
This is preparation-stage data, not real test day data. Test takers in our dataset are practicing, not at their final band. The averages run higher than final test scores.
Country is self-reported. Some test takers may have selected the country they live in, not the country they are from.
The dataset skews toward countries with internet access and awareness of online IELTS prep tools. This excludes some countries with limited digital access.