International Chemistry Olympiad

Template:Short description The International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) is an annual academic competition for high school students. It is one of the International Science Olympiads. The first IChO was held in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1968. The event has been held every year since then, with the exception of 1971. The delegations that attended the first events were mostly countries of the former Eastern bloc and it was not until 1980, the 12th annual International Chemistry Olympiad, that the event was held outside of the bloc in Austria. Up to 4 students for each national team compete around July in both a theoretical and an experimental sections, with about half of the participants being awarded medals.<ref name=jchemed>Template:Cite journal</ref>

About

The International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) is an annual competition for the world’s most talented chemistry students at the secondary school level. Nations around the world send a team of four students who are tested on their chemistry knowledge and skills in a five-hour laboratory practical exam and a five-hour written theoretical examination that are held on separate days with the practical examination usually being before the theoretical examination. Countries who wish to participate in the IChO must send observers to two consecutive Olympiads before their students can participate in the event. Presently, around 80 countries participate in the International Chemistry Olympiad.

All participants are ranked based on their individual scores and no official team scores are given. Gold medals are awarded to the top 12% of students, silver medals are awarded to the next 22% of students, and bronze medals are awarded to the next 32% of students. Honorable mentions are awarded to the top 10% of non medalist participants. One special award is given to the student that achieves the highest score overall. Two separate special awards are given to the students who get the best score in the theoretical and practical examinations. Preparation for the International Chemistry Olympiad demands a high level of understanding and interest in chemistry and an outstanding ability to relate chemical subjects with one another as well as with the practical world.

Structure and rules

An International Chemistry Olympiad medal for 29th IChO, held at Montreal, Canada

Each delegation consists of up to four students and two mentors (one of them is designated as the head of the delegation or "head mentor"). A delegation may also include a handful of guests and scientific observers. Students must be under the age of 20 and must not be enrolled as regular students in any post-secondary education institution. The International Information Center of the International Chemistry Olympiad is based in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Countries who wish to participate in the IChO must send observers to two consecutive olympiads before their students can participate in the event. A total of 68 countries took part in the 38th IChO in 2006: 67 as participants and 1 as an observer. In 2017 more than 90 countries are expected to send students.

The competition consists of two examinations, a theoretical examination and a practical examination. Both have durations of up to 5 hours, and are held on separate days with the practical examination usually being before the theoretical examination. The theoretical examination has a value of 60 points and the practical examination has a value of 40 points. Each examination is evaluated independently from the other and the sum of the results of the examinations determines a participant's overall result. A scientific jury, which is installed by the host country, suggests the tasks. The international jury, which consists of the 2 mentors from each of the participating countries, discusses the competition tasks and translates them into the language of their students' preference.

Students receive the examinations translated into their languages of preference. It is the duty of the mentors to translate the examinations from English before they are given to the participants. After the examinations are held and evaluated by a committee appointed by the host country and before awards are presented, mentors discuss the evaluation of the exams with judges of the committee to assure fairness in their evaluation. Because the mentors review the examinations before they are given to participants, any communication between the mentors and the students is strictly forbidden prior to the completion of both exams, and the students are required to surrender any mobile phones and laptop computers to the organizer.

The syllabus of the competition contains subjects from several areas of chemistry, including organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, physical chemistry, analytical chemistry, biochemistry, and spectroscopy. Though some of these subjects are included in most secondary school chemistry programs, for the most part, they are evaluated at a much deeper level and many may require a level of knowledge and understanding comparable to that of post-secondary education. In addition, the host country of each IChO issues a set of preparatory problems well in advance of the competition every year. These preparatory problems cover specific topics in considerable more depth than typical post-secondary education. Preparation for the International Chemistry Olympiad demands a high level of understanding and interest in chemistry and an outstanding ability to relate chemical subjects with one another as well as with the practical world.

A gold medal from the 40th IChO

These events are also outstanding opportunities for the students to meet people from all around the world who share similar interests, to visit different places, and to get in touch with different cultures. As the aims of the competition establish, the IChO competitions help to enhance friendly relations among young people from different countries; they encourage cooperation and international understanding.

Preparation

Template:Unreferenced section Each country is free to choose its team by whatever means it seems appropriate, the selection involves holding regional and national olympiad competitions. Many countries hold "training camps" for its top students, where mentors from the country give the students accelerated college-level courses in chemistry with an emphasis on the topics covered in that year's preparatory problems as well as practical training. It is agreed that such training programs must not exceed a total duration of two weeks but there are allegations every year that some countries exceed this limit by months or even years. Another concern is that some countries tend to bring the same students to the competition year after year, which helps them win better medals. Although some believe that this is against the spirit of the olympiad, many nations find it hard to justify leaving their best students at home.

History

The idea of the International Chemistry Olympiad was developed in the former Czechoslovakia in 1968.<ref name=jchemed /> It was designed with the aim to increase the number of international contacts and the exchange of information between nations. Invitations were sent by the Czechoslovak national committee to all Warsaw Pact countries, except Romania (due to political issues between Romania and USSR). However, in May 1968, relations between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union became so delicate that only Poland and Hungary participated in the first international competition.<ref name=history>Template:Cite web</ref>

The first International Chemistry Olympiad took place in Prague between 18 and 21 June 1968. Each of the three participating countries sent a team of six students, and four theoretical tasks were to be solved. Guidelines for the next competitions were already suggested.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The second chemistry Olympiad took place in 1969 in Poland, and Bulgaria also participated, with USSR and GDR only sending observers. Each team consisted of five pupils, and an experimental competition was added. The decision was made to invite more socialist countries to future competitions and to limit the number of pupils to four. The third Olympiad in 1970 was organized in Hungary with the GDR, Romania and the Soviet Union as new countries. In this competition, more than three prizes were distributed for the first time.<ref name=history/>

There was no Olympiad held in 1971, as at the end of the competition in 1970, an organizer and host for the next event could not be agreed on. This was solved for the next three years by diplomatically agreeing on the Soviet Union to host 1972, Bulgaria in 1973, and Romania in 1974, starting the tradition to decide the host years in advance. 1972 was the first time where preparation tasks for the International Chemistry Olympiad were created. Also, at a jury session, it was suggested that invitations should be sent to Vietnam, Mongolia, and Cuba. However, these invitations were not sent, leaving seven to compete in 1973.<ref name=history/>

In 1974, Romania invited Sweden and Yugoslavia to the Olympiad in Bucharest, while Germany and Austria sent observers. The Federal Republic of Germany was the first NATO-country with an observer present and this was only able to occur because the Brandt government had contracts in the East. Thus, in 1975, West Germany, Austria, and Belgium also participated in the International Chemistry Olympiad.<ref name=history/>

The first Olympiad in a non-socialist country took place 1980 in Linz in Austria, although the Soviet Union did not participate. Since then the number of the participating countries has increased steadily. In 1980, only 13 nations took part but this number increased to 21 by the 1984 Olympiad in Frankfurt/Main.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> With the fall of the Iron Curtain and the break-up of the Soviet Union into independent states in the early 1990s, the number of participants increased again. In addition, the increasing interest of Asian and Latin American countries became apparent with the numbers of participants. Altogether 47 delegations participated in 1998. Presently, 88 countries are invited to the International Chemistry Olympiads.<ref name="www.ichosc.org"/>

Summary

No.	Year	City	Country	Date	Website	Teams<ref name=history/>	New teams<ref name=history/>
1	1968	Prague	Template:TCH	June 18–21		3	Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary
2	1969	Katowice	Template:POL	June 16–20		4	Bulgaria
3	1970	Budapest	Template:HUN	July 1–5		7	GDR, Romania, Soviet Union
—	1971	not held
4	1972	Moscow	Template:USSR	July 1–10		7	—
5	1973	Sofia	Template:BUL	July 1–10		7	—
6	1974	Bucharest	Template:ROU	July 1–10		9	Sweden, Yugoslavia
7	1975	Veszprém	Template:HUN	July 1–10		12	Austria, FRG, Belgium
8	1976	Halle	Template:GDR	July 10–19		12	—
9	1977	Bratislava	Template:TCH	July 4–14		12	(observers from UNESCO)
10	1978	Toruń	Template:POL	July 3–13		12	—
11	1979	Leningrad	Template:USSR	July 2–11		11	—
12	1980	Linz	Template:AUT	July 13–23		13	Netherlands, Italy
13	1981	Burgas	Template:BUL	July 13–23		14	France
14	1982	Stockholm	Template:SWE	July 3–12		17	Yugoslavia, Denmark, Norway
15	1983	Timișoara	Template:ROU	July 2–11		18	United Kingdom
16	1984	Frankfurt	Template:FRG	July 1–10		21	Greece, Kuwait, USA
17	1985	Bratislava	Template:TCH	July 1–8		22	Cuba
18	1986	Leiden	Template:NED	July 6–15		23	Canada
19	1987	Veszprém	Template:HUN	July 6–15		26	Switzerland, China
20	1988	Espoo	Template:FIN	July 2–9		26	Australia, Singapore
21	1989	Halle	Template:GDR	July 2–10		26	—
22	1990	Paris	Template:FRA	July 8–17		28	Cyprus, Thailand
23	1991	Łódź	Template:POL	July 7–15		30	Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia
24	1992	Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.	Template:USA	July 11–22		33	New Zealand, Mexico
25	1993	Perugia	Template:ITA	July 11–22		38	Iran, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Venezuela, Taiwan, Korea
26	1994	Oslo	Template:NOR	July 3–11	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	39	Estonia, Turkey, Ukraine
27	1995	Beijing	Template:CHN	July 13–20	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	42
28	1996	Moscow	Template:RUS	July 14–23	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	45	Belarus
29	1997	Montreal	Template:CAN	July 13–22	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	47
30	1998	Melbourne	Template:AUS	July 5–14	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	47
31	1999	Bangkok	Template:THA	July 4–11	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	52	India
32	2000	Copenhagen	Template:DEN	July 2–11	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	53<ref name="autogenerated1">Template:Cite web</ref>
33	2001	Mumbai	Template:IND	July 6–15	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	54<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
34	2002	Groningen	Template:NED	July 5–14	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	57<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
35	2003	Athens	Template:GRE	July 5–14	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	60<ref>http://www.35icho.uoa.gr/ichol_eng/chemistry_eng/results/results.pdf Template:Bare URL PDF</ref>
36	2004	Kiel	Template:GER	July 18–27	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	61<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
37	2005	Taipei	Template:TWN	July 16–25	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	59<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
38	2006	Gyeongsan	Template:KOR	July 1–11	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	66<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Saudi Arabia, Israel
39	2007	Moscow	Template:RUS	July 15–24	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	68<ref name="autogenerated1"/>
40	2008	Budapest	Template:HUN	July 12–21	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
41	2009	Cambridge	Template:GBR	July 18–27	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
42	2010	Tokyo	Template:JPN	July 19–28	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
43	2011	Ankara	Template:TUR	July 9–18	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
44	2012	Washington, D.C.	Template:USA	July 21–30	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
45	2013	Moscow	Template:RUS	July 15–24	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	74<ref>http://www.icho2013.chem.msu.ru/materials/Results_by_country.pdf Template:Bare URL PDF</ref>
46	2014	Hanoi	Template:VIE	July 20–29	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
47	2015	Baku	Template:AZE	July 20–29	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
48	2016	Tbilisi	Template:Flag	July 23 – August 1	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
49	2017	Nakhon Pathom	Template:THA	July 6–15	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	76<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
50	2018	Bratislava Prague	Template:SVK Template:CZE	July 19–29	<ref name="www.ichosc.org">Template:Cite web</ref>	76<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
51	2019	Paris	Template:FRA	July 21–30	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	80
52	2020	Istanbul (online)	Template:TUR	July 23–30	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	60
53	2021	Osaka (online)	Template:JPN	July 24 – August 2	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	79
54	2022	Tianjin (online)	Template:CHN	July 10–18	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	84
55	2023	Zürich	Template:SWI	July 16–25	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	89
56	2024	Riyadh	Template:KSA	July 21–30	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	84
57	2025	Dubai	Template:UAE	July 5–14	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
58	2026	Tashkent	Template:UZB	July 1–10	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
59	2027		Template:TWN		<ref name="www.ichosc.org"/>

Remote IChO

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, IChO 2020, 2021 and 2022 were organized remotely without a laboratory exam in order to keep the Olympic spirit of collaboration and peace even in harsh times.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

Distribution of medals

The current list of countries with the best results for last decade by Golds are as follows as of July 2025 (Consolidated from following sources: <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>):

Rank	Country	Gold in Last 10 contests (2016-2025)
1	Template:Flag	37 (4+3+4+3+3+4+4+4+4+4)
2	Template:Flag	29 (2+3+1+2+4+3+4+3+3+4)
3	Template:Flag	28 (1+4+4+3+4+2+1+2+3+4)
4	Template:Flag	27 (3+4+1+2+2+3+4+3+2+3)
5	Template:Flag	21 (2+2+2+2+3+2+2+4+1+1)
6	Template:Flag	20 (3+2+3+4+2+1+2+1+1+1)
7	Template:Flag	16 (3+2+2+4+1+4+x+x+x+x)<ref>students from Russia and Belarus participate as individual participants since 2022</ref>
8	Template:Flag	15 (2+3+0+1+1+2+2+3+1+0)
9	Template:Flag	14 (1+1+1+2+0+0+4+2+2+1)
10	Template:Flag	13 (2+1+2+2+x+2+0+1+1+2)
10	Template:Flag	13 (3+2+0+1+x+3+2+1+0+1)
12	Template:Flag	9 (0+0+3+1+1+1+1+0+1+1)
12	Template:Flag	9 (0+0+3+1+1+2+0+1+0+1)
14	Template:Flag	8 (0+1+1+1+0+0+1+2+1+1)
14	Template:Flag	8 (2+2+1+1+0+0+0+1+0+1)
14	Template:Flag	8 (x+1+1+0+2+2+1+1+0+0)
17	Template:Flag	7 (0+1+0+0+0+0+1+1+2+2)
18	Template:Flag	6 (1+0+0+0+0+0+1+1+2+1)
18	Template:Flag	6 (0+0+0+0+0+1+0+2+1+2)
20	Template:Flag	5 (0+0+0+0+1+1+1+0+x+2)
21	Template:Flag	4 (0+0+1+1+x+0+0+0+0+2)
22	Template:Flag	3(0+0+2+0+0+0+0+0+1+0)
22	Template:Flag	3 (0+0+0+2+0+0+0+0+1+0)
24	Template:Flag	2 (0+0+0+1+0+0+0+0+0+1)
24	Template:Flag	2 (0+0+0+0+0+0+0+1+0+1)
24	Template:Flag	2(0+0+1+0+0+0+0+1+0+0)
24	Template:Flag	2 (0+1+1+0+0+0+0+0+0+0)
24	Template:Flag	2 (0+1+0+0+0+0+0+0+1+0)
29	Template:Flag <ref> students from Russia and Belarus participate as individual participants since 2022 </ref>	1 (1+0+0+0+x+0+x+x+x+x)
29	Template:Flag	1(0+0+0+0+0+0+0+1+0+0)
29	Template:Flag	1 (0+0+0+0+1+0+0+0+0+0)
29	Template:Flag	1 (0+0+0+1+x+x+0+0+0+0)
29	Template:Flag	1 (x+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+1+0)
29	Template:Flag	1 (0+1+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0)
29	Template:Flag	1 (x+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+1+0)
29	Template:Flag	1 (0+0+1+0+0+0+0+0+0+0)
29	Template:Flag	1 (0+0+0+1+x+x+x+0+0+0)
29	Template:Flag	1 (0+0+0+1+0+0+0+0+0+0)
29	Template:Flag	1 (0+1+0+0+x+x+0+0+0+0)
29	Template:Flag	1 (0+0+0+0+0+0+0+0+1+0)
29	Template:Flag	1 (0+0+0+0+x+0+1+0+0)

0 denotes participated and yet did not get any gold, whilst x denotes the country did not participate at that year

See also

• Asian Physics Olympiad
• International Physics Olympiad
• International Astronomy Olympiad
• International Biology Olympiad
• List of chemistry awards
• Tuymaada
• International Mendeleev Chemistry Olympiad (IMChO) - 1965

External links

• The official site of the IChO Steering Committee with uptodate rules and data
• Official site of the International Chemistry Olympiad International Information Center Template:Webarchive
• A short review on the development of the International Chemistry Olympiads
• A database of all past IChO participants

Preparatory problems, final results, and the theoretical and practical examinations from particular competition can be found on the respective IChO's website.