IMO

IMO

International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO)

  • The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is the World Championship Mathematics Competition for High School students. It is held annually in a different country.
  • The IMO Foundation is a charity which supports the IMO. Its vision is as follows.

    It is the aim of the IMO to bring young people together from all over the world to enjoy the challenges of mathematics in a spirit of friendly competition. This provides a stimulus for Mathematics in each of the participating countries as young people strive for selection. Whist clearly it is a competitive event, for most participants, it is the people that they meet and the shared joy of discovery that is what they regard as most worthwhile. It is common that lifelong friendships are forged at IMO events.

  • The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959, with seven countries participating.
  • It has since been held annually, except in 1980.
  • Currently, it has expanded to over 100 countries across the globe.
  • Each country sends a team of up to six students.
  • In the recent past,
    • IMO2024 was held in UK during July, 2024.
    • Japan was the host for IMO2023,
    • Norway was the host for IMO2022,
    • Russian Federation was the host for IMO2020, IMO2021.
  • The forthcoming IMOs have been scheduled.
    • IMO2025 will be held in Australia.
    • IMO2026 will be held in People’s Republic of China.
    • IMO2027 will be held in Hungary.
  • IMO is held over two consecutive days with 3 problems each. Each day, the contestants have four-and-a-half hours to solve three problems. Each problem is worth 7 points for a maximum total score of 42 points.
  • The problems are arranged so that the order in increasing difficulty is Q1, Q4, Q2, Q5, Q3 and Q6, where the Day 1 problems Q1, Q2, and Q3 are in increasing difficulty, and the Day 2 problems Q4, Q5, and Q6 are in increasing difficulty.

Participation of India in IMO

  • India has been participating in IMO since 1989, and has been a host in the year 1996.
  • India has received 20 Gold medals (G), 74 Silver medals (S), 79 Bronze medals (B), and 29 Honourable mentions (HM).
  • The unofficial rank of India had been
    • 7th in 1998 (G, G, G, S, S, S),
    • 7th in 2001 (G, G, S, S, B, B),
    • 9th in 2002 (G, S, S, S, B, B),
    • 11th in 2012 (G, G, S, S, S, HM),
    • 9th in 2023 (G, G, S, S, B, B),
    • 4th in 2024 (G, G, G, G, S, HM).
  • In each IMO held during 2019 - 2024, at least one participant from India received a Gold medal.

For ease of reference, one may have a brief overview of participation of India in IMO in recent times below, which relies on the information available at this webpage, which is significantly more detailed.