In addition to organizing the International History Bee and Bowl, International Academic Competitions organizes the International Geography Bee and the International Geography Championships! See below for a summary of our geography event calendar. Practice questions (both Qualifying Exams and buzzer-based questions) can be found here. The Google Meet link for the online tournaments can be found here. For further information on our geography competitions, please contact nolwenn@iacompetitions.com
1. International Geography Bee – Championships Qualifying Exam
The International Geography Bee Championships Qualifying Exam (CQE) is offered at all International History Bee and Bowl regional tournaments. Students take the Qualifying Exam during the lunch break. For the 2024-25 school year, the cost is 20 Euros, British Pounds, US Dollars, Swiss Francs, or 25 Azerbaijani Manat, and may be paid in cash on the day of the tournament. The Qualifying Exam consists of 50 multiple-choice questions on all aspects of World Geography; students have 20 minutes to take the Exam.
Students can also take the exam for free at their school if a teacher agrees to proctor it for them if they are unable to attend an International History Bee and Bowl tournament where the Qualifying Exam is offered. Three separate Qualifying Exam versions are offered each year: Gamma, Beta, and Alpha. The Beta Set CQE is given at in-person International History Bee and Bowl tournaments that run on the Beta Question Set and the Alpha Set CQE is given at in-person International History Bee and Bowl tournaments that run on the Alpha Question Set. All three Qualifying Exam versions are available for students to take with a school-based or homeschool association-based proctor as well free of charge.
Students qualify for the IGB European Championships and the International Geography Championships by accomplishing one of the following things:
1. Finishing in the top half of students in their age division who take their respective version of the CQE at any given tournament site. If there is an odd number of students, or if two students tie for the last spot, we “round up” so that 4 students out of 7 would qualify, for example, unless there was a tie for 4th place, in which case 5 (or more, if more than two students tied for 4th) would qualify.
2. Students can also qualify by finishing in the top half throughout Europe among all students who take the CQE within their age division for any given exam. These median scores are calculated for Gamma and Beta Sets for all students who have taken an Exam by March 20, and for Alpha Set for all students who have taken an Exam by May 1.
3. Students who score at the automatic qualifying level for the International Geography Championships: a score of at least 75 (if they are Varsity), 65 (if they are Junior Varsity), 55 (if they are Middle School) and 45 (if they are Elementary) – also qualify for the IGB European Championships.
Students only need to qualify once (either on either version of the Championships Qualifying Exam or at any Regional Tournament, whether online or in-person) each year for the European Championships, and once in every two year cycle (i.e. either in the 2022-23 or 2023-24 school years) for the International Geography Championships.
2024-2025 International Geography Bee – Championships Qualifying Exam Results
2. International Geography Bee – Regional Tournaments
For the 2024-25 academic year, there will be two Regional Tournaments for the International Geography Bee for students in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, both of which will be held online. These use buzzer-based questions and our online buzzer platform:
The 2024 Fall Online Geography Bee of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East
Friday, 13 December – Geography Fall Regional Question Set
Register Here (Deadline is Tuesday, 10 December)
The 2025 Spring Online Geography Bee of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East
Friday, 4 April – Geography Spring Regional Question Set
Register Here (Deadline is Tuesday, 1 April)
3. International Geography Bee – 2025 European Championships
More information coming soon.
4. International Geography Championships
Summer 2026
The International Geography Championships is a multi-faceted, week-long competition for the best geography students from around the world. Held every two years (the next IGC will take place in July 2026), the International Geography Championships features numerous separate buzzer-based quiz competitions, other geography competitions, field trips, cultural activities, and a chance to meet other students who excel at and enjoy studying geography. Further details can be found on the website at www.geochampionships.com
5. Past Results
2023-2024 Academic Year IGB Europe Results
Congratulations to the 2024 International Geography Bee European Champions!
Varsity Division: Evan Cai, Eton College, UK
Junior Varsity Division: Niko de Leon, International School of Seville, Spain & Angus Piper, École Jeannine Manuel, France
Middle School Division: Huzair Khan, Collège Les Hauts Grillets, France
Elementary Division: Max Xia, City of London School, UK
Official Beta Set IGB Median Scores:
Varsity 78 Junior Varsity 77 Middle School 68 Elementary 34
Combined IGB Beta Set Exam Results and Median Calculations are found here. Note that the official medians reflect all Exam scores received by March 20. These Official Medians do not change further even with other students taking the Beta Set Exam after March 20.
Beta Set Exam Results
2024 Cyprus Tournament Site – International Geography Bee Exam Results – Apr. 6, 2024
2024 Berlin Tournament Site – International Geography Bee Exam Results – Mar. 16, 2024
2024 Geneva Tournament Site – International Geography Bee Exam Results – Mar. 16, 2024
2024 London Tournament Site – International Geography Bee Exam Results – Feb. 24, 2024
2024 Dubai Tournament Site – International Geography Bee Exam Results – Feb. 3, 2024
2024 Paris Tournament Site – International Geography Bee Exam Results – Jan. 27, 2024
Independent International Geography Bee Exam Results from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Beta Set – Ongoing
Official Gamma Set IGB Median Scores:
All Official Gamma Set Median Scores were higher than the minimum qualifying scores; therefore, no additional students qualify through their scores being above the official median scores for Gamma Set. Note that the official medians reflect all Exam scores received by March 20. These Official Medians do not change further even with other students taking the Gamma Set Exam after March 20.
Gamma Set Exam Results
2024 British Championships Tournament Site – International Geography Bee Exam Results – Apr. 21, 2024
Independent International Geography Bee Exam Results from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Gamma Set – Ongoing
2022-2023 Academic Year IGB Europe Results
Congratulations to the 2023 International Geography Bee European Champions!
Varsity Division: Eloic Malekzadeh, Ecole Jeannine Manuel, France
Junior Varsity Division: Noah Gilbert-Heitler, City of London School, United Kingdom
Middle School Division: Mayeul Vely, Ecole Jeannine Manuel, France
Elementary Division: Andreas Christodoulides, The Junior School, Cyprus
2023 International Geography Bee European Championships – Full Results
Online Geography Bee of Europe and the Middle East Results – April 26, 2023
2022-2023 International Geography Bee – Championships Qualifying Exam Results
Official Beta Set IGB Median Scores:
Varsity 57.5 Junior Varsity 55.5 Middle School 59 Elementary 46
Combined IGB Beta Set Exam Results and Median Calculations are found here. Note that the official medians reflect all Exam scores received by May 14. These Official Medians do not change further even with other students taking the Beta Set Exam after May 14.
Beta Set Exam Results
2023 British Championships Tournament Site – International Geography Bee Exam Results – May 14, 2023
2023 Swiss Championships Tournament Site – International Geography Bee Exam Results – May 6, 2023
Official Gamma Set IGB Median Scores:
Varsity 90 Junior Varsity 83.5 Middle School 71.5 Elementary 41
Combined IGB Gamma Set Exam Results through March 19 and Median Calculations are found here. Note that the Official Medians reflect all Exam scores received by March 19. These Official Medians do not change further even with other students taking the Gamma Set Exam after March 19.
Gamma Set Exam Results
Independent International Geography Bee Exam Results from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa – Ongoing
2023 Cyprus Tournament Site – International Geography Bee Exam Results – Mar. 18, 2023
2023 Geneva Tournament Site – International Geography Bee Exam Results – Mar. 11, 2023
2023 Azerbaijan Tournament Site – International Geography Bee Exam Results – Mar. 4, 2023
2023 London Tournament Site – International Geography Bee Exam Results – Mar. 4, 2023
2023 Paris Tournament Site – International Geography Bee Exam Results – Feb. 4, 2023