Economics shapes almost every decision young people will face, from taking a loan to voting on a tax, yet in more than half of the countries that take part in the IEO, economics is not part of the general school curriculum. Mathematics, physics and informatics have had international olympiads for decades; by 2018 economics had none. We created the International Economics Olympiad to fill that gap and to give talented students from any background a ladder: a fair, rigorous competition in which they can test themselves against the best of their peers, be noticed by universities, and meet like-minded students from around the world.
We also wanted to change what "being good at economics" means at school level. Instead of memorising definitions, IEO students have to reason about real choices: interpret data, apply a model to an unfamiliar situation, weigh trade-offs, and defend a recommendation in front of experts. The olympiad is built to reward curiosity and analytical thinking rather than familiarity with one national textbook, so that students from very different education systems can compete on equal terms. Participation is free of charge, and the competition is supported by leading economists, including Nobel laureate Eric Maskin.
Every country runs its own open national selection and sends a team of up to five secondary-school students with one or two teacher-leaders. The international round is a week-long event hosted by a different country each year.
Students compete in three parts. In Economics they sit a written test of multiple-choice and open questions covering micro, macro and international economics. In Financial Literacy they answer practical questions on budgeting, credit, investment, insurance and fraud. In the Business Case, each national team gets a real problem linked to the host country's economy, prepared with a consulting partner, and has 24 hours to build a solution and present it in English to a jury. In 2025 in Baku, teams assessed whether a bridge between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan would be economically viable.
Open answers are graded by university professors assisted by AI. Since 2024 an AI model produces first-pass grades and detailed feedback, and human jurors make the final decisions. A moderation session then lets team leaders challenge marks. The week also includes cultural programmes, company visits and talks, so students leave with an international network as well as results.
The first IEO was held in Moscow in 2018 with 13 countries. Each year a different organisation hosts it, and the olympiad has grown almost every year: 24 countries in Saint Petersburg (2019), 29 online from Astana (2020), 44 in Riga (2021), 47 in Volos (2023), 50 in Hong Kong (2024), 52 in Baku (2025) and 54 in Shenzhen (2026). Japan will host in 2027. In total, 74 countries and territories have taken part.
Growth has come from the bottom up. To send a team, an organisation in each country, such as a university, ministry or NGO, must run an open, transparent national selection. In many countries the IEO prompted the creation of the first national economics competition: 54 new national selections have been created so far, and together they now involve more than 600,000 students a year. Some were started by students themselves.
The IEO is governed by an international association registered in Switzerland, with an Executive Board and an International Board in which every participating country's team leaders have a voice. Experienced national organisers mentor new ones and share materials, so each new country makes the next one easier to add.
Since 2018 the IEO has moved from a single university's initiative to an independent international association with an Executive Board, an International Board of participating countries and an Advisory Board. Hosting now rotates between countries and continents.
The competition itself keeps evolving. We added the IEOx projects so that students who are not on a national team can take part: the online WinterChallenge for anyone under 21, an Open Track run alongside the main round, training lectures and workshops, and a platform for economics teachers and competition organisers to share experience. The Financial Literacy round changed from a simulation game to a written test, and the syllabus became modular so it can be adapted to very different school systems.
The biggest recent change is AI-assisted grading. Since 2024, large language models have produced first-pass grades and detailed feedback on economics open questions, with professors making the final decision. In 2024 only 6 of 118 medals would have gone to different students without human regrading; in 2025 it was 2 of 133. AI feedback turned out more detailed than human feedback, and the approach saves jurors time so they can focus on the hard cases.
Students: find out whether your country already runs a national selection for the IEO. Check the participating countries on ieo-official.org and contact your national organiser. If your country does not take part yet, write to info@ieo-official.org. Anyone under 21 can also try the online IEOx WinterChallenge.
Organisations: any university, ministry, school network or NGO can apply to represent its country. You need to hold an open national competition that includes at least one IEO subject (economics, financial literacy or a business case) and select a team of up to five students, all under 20 on 30 June of the olympiad year, plus one or two English-speaking team leaders. Your competition's rules must commit to fairness, openness and transparency. The selection can be built from scratch or based on an existing contest.
Start by reading the Regulations of Competition, the Syllabus and the Application Guideline on ieo-official.org, then contact the Central Office. Applications are reviewed by the Executive Board, and deadlines for each year are set in the Annual Regulations. New countries receive past papers, help adapting the syllabus, branding materials, guidance on fair contests and mentoring from experienced organisers. You are never starting alone.
