Countries with the highest (and lowest) average GMAT scores
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Last year, the GMAT was administered in over 180 countries. The Graduate Management Admissions Committee has carefully recorded the number of people that have taken the GMAT in each country, as well as the mean score for test-takers in that country.
In the 2012-2013 testing year, the GMAC administered over 90,000 tests in the United States. China took second place with 53,000 and India was in a distant third with 25,000.
Top 10 GMAT countries:
1. United States (90,541)
2. China (53,005)
3. India (25,268)
4. Canada (6,500)
5. South Korea (4,327)
6. Germany (4,018)
7. Taiwan (3,163)
8. Japan (2,710)
9. Saudi Arabia (2,375)
10. Russia (2,038)
However, even more interesting is the countries with the highest mean GMAT score, as shown by the map above.
The 10 highest mean GMAT scores:
1. New Zealand (608)
2. Singapore (605)
3. Argentina (591) (tie)
3. Belgium (591) (tie)
5. United Kingdom (590) (tie)
5. Australia (590) (tie)
5. Austria (590) (tie)
8. Uruguay (587)
9. China (582)
10. South Korea (581)
Note that only New Zealand and Singapore had scores above 600. Meanwhile, the U.S. was ranked 53rd with an average score of 532.
The top ten is relatively well distributed geographically, with 3 Asian countries, 2 South American countries, 3 European countries, and 2 Oceanic countries. The highest scoring African country was Morocco, with 505. In North America, Canada took the top spot with a score of 565.
Notice that the majority of the top countries are dominated by a language other than English.
The 10 lowest GMAT scores:
1. Afghanistan (307)
2. Saudi Arabia (311)
3. Democratic Republic of the Congo (312)
4. Liberia (314)
5. Cambodia (338)
6. Sierra Leone (341)
7. Kuwait (344)
8. Namibia (347)
9. Antigua and Barbuda (353)
10. Mauritania (354)
Of course, of among the bottom 10 countries, only two (Saudi Arabia and Kuwait) has more than 100 students taking the GMAT every year. Though Afghanistan had the dubious honor of the lowest mean score for the 2012-2013 testing year, the mean GMAT score for Afghanistan in 2011-2012 was 382.
Of course, when it’s your turn to take the GMAT, your preparation will matter far more than your passport.
Source: The Official GMAT.