00 / Certification
English exams and certificates
English exams that certify a CEFR level. Each page explains what an exam tests, who runs it, where to take it, and how it is used.
01 / The four exams
Cambridge English
Cambridge English exams test general English at four CEFR levels, from B1 Preliminary up to C2 Proficiency. Each certificate states the level a candidate reached.
IELTS
IELTS measures English for study, work and migration. It gives a band score from 0 to 9, in half-band steps.
TOEFL iBT
TOEFL iBT tests academic English for study abroad. It covers reading, listening, speaking and writing.
TOEIC
TOEIC tests English for work. ETS runs it. Employers in many countries, especially in Asia, use TOEIC scores in hiring and promotion.
02 / On word pages
Word pages show an exam level for words rated B2 or higher. Each exam name in that line links to its page here. The methodology page explains how the levels are set.
03 / Candidates per year
Exam providers report candidate numbers in different ways. Some publish annual figures, while others give cumulative totals or no figures at all. To make comparisons fairer, this page focuses on the number of people taking each exam in a typical year. Annual figures offer a clearer picture of the size of each market, while lifetime totals are harder to verify and may count the same person more than once.
- Cambridge English 5.5M
- IELTS 4M
- TOEIC Listening & Reading 3.02M
- TOEFL iBT 2M+
| Exam | Candidates per year | Lifetime total |
|---|---|---|
| Cambridge English | 5.5 million assessments a year. An average over five years. | 100 million since 1913 |
| IELTS | Over 4 million tests in 2023. Around 4 million a year since. | Tens of millions since 1989. No exact total published. |
| TOEIC Listening & Reading | About 3.02 million test-takers in 2025. Listening and Reading only. | No reliable total published. |
| TOEFL iBT | Over 2 million students a year. | More than 40 million test-takers. |
- Cambridge English. The 100 million total covers several Cambridge English exams and tests. IELTS is part of that wider total, so do not add the two.
- IELTS. More than 4 million tests a year. It is a large market for exam-preparation materials.
- TOEFL iBT. More than 2 million students a year. More than 40 million people have taken it.
- TOEIC. About 3 million Listening and Reading candidates a year. Most of them are workplace English learners. This figure does not cover every TOEIC format.
Sources: Cambridge English, IELTS official statistics, and ETS for TOEFL iBT and TOEIC.