What Is a Good IELTS Score? Averages, Score Chart and Who Needs 8+

A good IELTS score is the one your university, employer or visa asks for. At the universities we checked, that ranged from 6.5 to 7.5 overall, usually with a minimum for each skill. IELTS's own scale calls 7 "Good" and 8 "Very good". In its 2024–25 data, about a quarter of Academic test takers heading for higher education scored 7 or more, and about 6 in 100 scored 8 or more.

So most people don't need 8+. The people who do are usually applying to immigrate. Australia gives its top English points for 8 in every skill, and Canada's Express Entry needs 8 in Listening for CLB 9.

The score shares and averages come from the 2024–25 data on IELTS's test statistics page. We checked every requirement below on the official site on 29 October 2026. Requirements change, so check your own course or visa page before you book.

IELTS score chart: what each band means

Each whole band has a skill level name. The last two columns show how many people in two large groups scored at that band or higher in 2024–25.

"Academic, higher education" means people who took IELTS Academic for a course of three months or more. "General Training, immigration" means people who took General Training to immigrate. IELTS publishes its score shares by reason for taking the test, so there's no single figure for everyone. The CEFR column follows IELTS's own CEFR guidance, which says 8.5 and above is C2, 8 is borderline, and the C1 line falls between 6.5 and 7.

Read down the Academic column. A 7 puts you in about the top quarter of people heading for university, a 7.5 in the top 14%, and an 8 in the top 6%.

What is the average IELTS score?

About 6.2 for IELTS Academic and about 6.4 for General Training in 2024–25.

IELTS publishes these averages separately for women and men, not as one figure. We combined them using its reported split of test takers, 53% women and 47% men. The two groups are close. Academic overall averages were 6.25 for women and 6.19 for men, and General Training 6.41 and 6.30, so the combined figures can't be far off.

Writing is the lowest-scoring Academic skill, at about 5.9. That matters more than the overall average, because most requirements set a minimum for each skill. If a course asks for 6.5 with no skill below 6.0, Writing is the one most likely to stop you.

Average IELTS score by country

Averages vary a lot by nationality. These are the overall averages for some of the nationalities in IELTS's 2024–25 tables, which IELTS lists alphabetically without saying how many people each one had.

The Academic and General Training groups from one country are different people taking the test for different reasons, so a higher average in one doesn't make that test easier.

Is my IELTS score good?

Is 6.5 a good IELTS score?

Yes. It's above the Academic average of about 6.2, and 44% of Academic test takers heading for higher education reached it. It's a common undergraduate requirement: the University of Melbourne's standard level for most bachelor's degrees is 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each skill. IELTS places 6.5 at B2, close to C1.

Is 7 a good IELTS score?

Yes. IELTS's skill level for 7 is "Good", and about 1 in 4 Academic test takers heading for higher education reached it. A 7 meets many graduate requirements. The University of Toronto asks graduate applicants for 7.0 with at least 6.5 in each skill, Harvard's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences asks for 7 with at least 6.5 in Speaking, and Oxford's standard level is 7.0 with 6.5 in each skill.

Is 7.5 a good IELTS score?

Yes. About 1 in 7 Academic test takers heading for higher education reached 7.5. It's Oxford's higher level, set by some graduate courses, with 7.0 in each skill. It's also the overall score the UK's General Medical Council asks of doctors, again with 7.0 in each skill.

Is 8 a good IELTS score?

Yes, and it's uncommon. IELTS's skill level for 8 is "Very good". About 6% of Academic test takers heading for higher education and 11% of General Training test takers immigrating reached it. None of the university requirements we checked asks for 8.

Do you really need 8 or higher?

Usually not. Here's what some common targets asked for when we checked.

Universities set the bar per course, and some courses ask for more than their university's minimum. Oxford, for example, says each course page states which level applies.

Where 8 pays off is immigration points.

• Australia: skilled visas such as the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189) need at least Competent English, which is 6 in each skill. The points test then gives 0 points for Competent English, 10 for Proficient (7 in each skill) and 20 for Superior (8 in each skill). Australia accepts Academic or General Training, usually taken in the three years before you apply, depending on the visa.
• Canada: Express Entry accepts IELTS General Training only, and the Federal Skilled Worker Program needs at least CLB 7 in every skill. Points then rise with each CLB level. A single applicant gets 23 points per skill at CLB 8, 31 at CLB 9 and 34 at CLB 10. CLB 9 needs 8.0 in Listening, so anyone aiming for CLB 9 needs an 8 there.

Both systems count each skill, not the overall band. An overall 8 with a 7.5 in Writing isn't Superior English.

Why does everyone on Reddit seem to score 8?

Because people with high scores post them. A thread on r/IELTS this year asked whether the group was "full of IELTS geniuses". Replies called it survivor bias and pointed out that people who get 5.0 don't post their results.

The official numbers show how unusual 8+ is: about 6% of Academic test takers heading for higher education reached it. Even people who grew up with English don't all get there. Test takers from the United States who took General Training averaged 8.2 overall, and 14% of them scored 9. Among Academic test takers who gave English as their first language, 26% scored 8 or more.

What is the highest IELTS score, and how rare is a 9?

The highest band is 9, which IELTS calls "Expert". An overall 9 is very rare. In 2024–25, about 2 in 10,000 Academic test takers heading for higher education scored 9, and about 3 in 1,000 General Training test takers immigrating. About 1 in 100 of the Academic group scored 8.5 or higher.

Is there a passing score for IELTS?

No. IDP says there is no pass or fail in IELTS Academic or General Training. Each university, employer or immigration office sets the score it needs, so the minimum score that counts for you is the one on your course or visa page. The lowest band IELTS gives is 0, for someone who didn't attempt the test.

How to tell if you're on track

Write down the exact requirement, with the overall band and every skill minimum, and compare yourself skill by skill. The overall band is the average of your four skills, rounded to the nearest half band, so one weak skill can sit below a minimum even when the overall is fine. Our guide to how IELTS band scores are calculated shows the rounding.

If you don't have a recent score, the first PrepEx IELTS diagnostic is free and gives you a practice range for each of the four skills, with feedback. It's a practice estimate, not an official result, but it shows which skill is furthest from your target.

Take the free IELTS diagnostic IELTS statistics

Sources checked on 29 October 2026: IELTS test statistics 2024–25, scoring in detail, IELTS and the CEFR and IELTS for UKVI; IDP band scores; Australian Department of Home Affairs Superior, Proficient and Competent English and the subclass 189 points table; IRCC language tests, CRS points and Federal Skilled Worker; GOV.UK Student visa; GMC; NMC; University of Oxford; University of Toronto; Harvard GSAS; University of Melbourne.