International Geography Olympiad

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The logo of the International Geography Olympiad Igeo logo.jpg
The logo of the International Geography Olympiad
Group photo at the 12th International Geography Olympiad in Russia in August 2015. IGeo 2015 Group.jpg
Group photo at the 12th International Geography Olympiad in Russia in August 2015.
Written Response Test at the 11th International Geography Olympiad in Poland in August 2014. IGeo 2014 WRT.jpg
Written Response Test at the 11th International Geography Olympiad in Poland in August 2014.
Awarding of an International Geography Olympiad Gold Medal at the Opening Ceremony of the International Geographical Union Conference in Moscow, Russia, in August 2015. IGeo 2015 Gold Medal.jpg
Awarding of an International Geography Olympiad Gold Medal at the Opening Ceremony of the International Geographical Union Conference in Moscow, Russia, in August 2015.
Gold Medal Winners from the 12th International Geography Olympiad at the Opening Ceremony of the International Geographical Union Conference in Moscow, Russia, in August 2015. 2015 Closing Ceremony.jpg
Gold Medal Winners from the 12th International Geography Olympiad at the Opening Ceremony of the International Geographical Union Conference in Moscow, Russia, in August 2015.
Geographical Analysis Component of the Fieldwork Exercise at 11th International Geography Olympiad in Poland in August 2014. Written Element of Fieldwork 2014 iGeo.jpg
Geographical Analysis Component of the Fieldwork Exercise at 11th International Geography Olympiad in Poland in August 2014.
Cartographic Representation Component of the Fieldwork Exercise at 12th International Geography Olympiad in Russia in August 2015. IGeo 2015 Fieldwork.jpg
Cartographic Representation Component of the Fieldwork Exercise at 12th International Geography Olympiad in Russia in August 2015.

The International Geography Olympiad (iGeo) is an annual competition for 16- to 19-year-old geography students from all over the world. Students chosen to represent their countries are some of the best, chosen from thousands of students who participate enthusiastically in their own National Geography Olympiads. iGeo tests the abilities of every participant in spatial patterns and processes. The iGeo consists of three parts: a written test, a multimedia test and a substantial fieldwork exercise requiring observation, leading to cartographic representation and geographical analysis. The programme also includes poster presentations by teams, cultural exchanges, and time for students to know their fellow students and explore the host city.

Contents

The International Geography Olympiad is organised by the International Geographical Union (IGU) Olympiad Task Force, who produce tests with reference to the local organisers and the international board.

After the first iGeo in 1996, it was recommended that the competition was held biennially. Due to the competition growing in popularity, since 2012 the competition has been held annually, rather than biennially, as is the case with the other large International Science Olympiads.

2024 International Geography Olympiad

The 2024 iGeo will be held in the Maynooth University, Trinity College Dublin and Maynooth Post-Primary School. For the first time, Ireland will present a team to the competition, as the winners of the Geography Olympiad for Ireland will attend. The IGEO event is organised by the IGEO 2024 Local Organising Committee, chaired by Dr Susan Pike of Trinity College Dublin.

History of competition and national success

During the 1994 Congress of the International Geographical Union (IGU) in Prague, people from Poland and the Netherlands launched the idea of an International Geography Competition (iGeo) or Olympiad for students between 15 and 19 years of age. The first one was held in 1996 in The Hague, Netherlands, with five participating countries. The participant count grew to 24 countries with the 2008 competition in Carthage, Tunisia.

Before 2012, the International Science Olympiads were held every two years, and some regional geography Olympiads were held during intervening years. [1] These include the Asia Pacific Regional Geography Olympiads (APRGO), which were held in 2007 (Hsinchu, Taiwan [2] [3] ), 2009 (Tsukuba, Japan [4] ), and 2011 (Merida, Mexico [5] ), and the Central European Regional Geography Olympiads (CERIGEO). Since 2013, the International Geography Olympiad, in concordance with the other Olympiads, has been held on a yearly basis.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 iGeo in Istanbul, Turkey was postponed. [6] The Olympiad was held in Istanbul between 11 and 15 August the following year, with 46 countries participating. [7] The Olympiad was held online once again in 2022, hosted by Paris. It was the edition with the highest number of countries (54) and participants (209). [8] In 2023, the iGeo returned to a physical format and it was held in Bandung, Indonesia. [9] The next Olympiad is to be held in Bangkok, Thailand in 2025.

Member countries and regions

The countries and regions which participated in the 2023 International Geography Olympiad were: [10]

The full list of participating teams for all past iGeos may be found on the iGeo website.

Summary

Number Year Host country Host city Individual Olympiad Champion Best National Team2nd National Team3rd National TeamNations Participants
1 1996 Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands The Hague Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium

Steven Pattheeuws

Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 5 20
2 1998 Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal Lisbon Flag of Poland.svg  Poland

Katarzyna Kwiecińska

Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 5 20
3 2000 Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea Seoul Flag of Poland.svg  Poland

Adam Biliski

Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 13 52
4 2002 Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa Durban Flag of Romania.svg  Romania

Florin Olteanu

Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus 12 48
5 2004 Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Gdańsk Flag of Poland.svg  Poland

Maciej Hermanowicz

Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 16 64
6 2006 Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Brisbane Flag of Poland.svg  Poland

Jacek Próchniak

Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 23 92
7 2008 Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia Carthage Flag of Romania.svg  Romania

Barbu Ion Alexandru

Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 24 96
8 2010 Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taiwan Taipei Flag of Romania.svg  Romania

Barbu Ion Alexandru

Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 27 108
9 2012 Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Cologne Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore

Samuel Chua

Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 31 124
10 2013 Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Kyoto Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore

Daniel Wong

Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 32 128
11 2014 [11] Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Kraków Flag of the United States.svg  USA

James Mullen

Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 36 144
12 2015 Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Tver Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taiwan

Chang-Chin Wang

Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taiwan 40 159
13 2016 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Beijing Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand

Wuttipat Kiratipaisarl

Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 45 173
14 2017 Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia Belgrade Flag of Romania.svg  Romania

Victor Vescu

Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Flag of the United States.svg  USA 41160
15 2018 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada Quebec City Flag of Russia.svg  Russia

Alen Kospanov

Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore Flag of the United States.svg  USA 43165
162019Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong Hong Kong Flag of the United States.svg  USA

Albert Zhang

Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia Flag of the United States.svg  USA Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 43166
2020Postponed for 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
172021Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey Istanbul (online)Flag of Russia.svg  Russia

Rustam Bigildin

Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 46180
182022Flag of France.svg  France Paris (online)Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan

Sanzhar Khamitov

Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania Flag of the Republic of China.svg  Taiwan 54216
192023Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia Bandung Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand

Passakarn Leewongcharoen

Flag of Romania.svg  Romania Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 45177
202024Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland Dublin and Maynooth Flag of Romania.svg  Romania

David-Mihai Dumitrescu

Flag of the United States.svg  USA Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 46183
212025Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand Bangkok
222026Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey Istanbul

Performances

Best nations by podium finishes (all time)

Place National Team 1st, 2nd, 3rd Years Champions (Teams Participating)Years Runners Up (Teams)Years 3rd Place (Teams)
1stFlag of Poland.svg  Poland 7, 1, 11996 (5), 1998 (5), 2000 (13), 2004 (12), 2006 (23), 2015 (40), 2017 (41)2002 (12)2012 (31)
2ndFlag of Romania.svg  Romania 5, 3, 22002 (12), 2008 (24), 2013 (32), 2018 (43), 2023 (45)2012 (31), 2015 (40), 2017 (41)2006 (23), 2014 (36)
3rdFlag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 4, 4, 12010 (27), 2012 (31), 2014 (36), 2022 (54)2016 (45), 2018 (43), 2021 (46), 2023 (45)2013 (32)
4thFlag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 1, 3, 12016 (45)2010 (27), 2014 (36), 2024 (46)2008 (24)
5thFlag of the United States.svg  USA 1, 1, 22024 (46)2019 (43)2017 (41), 2018 (43)
6thFlag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 1, 0, 12019 (43)2024 (46)
7thFlag of Russia.svg  Russia 1, 0, 02021 (46)
8thFlag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 0, 3, 02004 (12), 2006 (23), 2008 (24)
9thFlag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 0, 2, 01996 (5), 1998 (5)
10th (tied)Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 0, 1, 02022 (54)
10th (tied)Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 0, 1, 02013 (32)
10th (tied)Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 0, 1, 02000 (13)
13th (tied)Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taiwan 0, 0, 22015 (40), 2022 (54)
13th (tied)Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 0, 0, 21996 (5), 1998 (5)
15th (tied)Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 0, 0, 12021 (46)
15th (tied)Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 0, 0, 12023 (45)
15th (tied)Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 0, 0, 12016 (45)
15th (tied)Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 0, 0, 12019 (43)
15th (tied)Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 0, 0, 12000 (13)
15th (tied)Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus 0, 0, 12002 (12)

Most national individual victories (All time)

Place Nation Wins World Champions Produced (Year)
1stFlag of Romania.svg  Romania 5David-Mihai Dumitrescu (2024), Victor Vescu (2017), Barbu Ion Alexandru (2010, 2008), Florin Olteanu (2002)
2ndFlag of Poland.svg  Poland 4Jacek Próchniak (2006), Maciej Hermanowicz (2004), Adam Biliski (2000), Katarzyna Kwiecińska (1998)
3rd (tied)Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 2Daniel Wong (2013), Samuel Chua (2012)
3rd (tied)Flag of the United States.svg  USA 2James Mullen (2014), Albert Zhang (2019)
3rd (tied)Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 2Alen Kospanov (2018), Rustam Bigildin (2021)
3rd (tied)Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 2Wuttipat Kiratipaisarl (2016), Passakarn Leewongcharoen (2023)
7th (tied)Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taiwan 1Chang-Chin Wang (2015)
7th (tied)Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 1Steven Pattheeuws (1996)
7th (tied)Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan 1Sanzhar Khamitov (2022)

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