Annual competition for high school students in the field of economics. The competition’s activities are designed to stimulate creative problem-solving skills among students interested in Economics, Business, and Finance.
International Economics Olympiad (IEO) is an annual competition for high school students around the world in the areas of Economics and Finance. The Olympiad is supported by Eric Maskin, winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2007. Participation is free of charge.
IEO Mission
To further Economics and Financial Literacy education in high schools throughout the world.
IEO Goals
To create an opportunity for the exchange of information on school syllabi and practices throughout the world
To discover, challenge, unite, and reward young people who are exceptionally talented in Economics, Finance, and Business
To foster leadership qualities among young talented economists
The IEO is operated by the "International Economics Olympiad (IEO)" Association pursuant to art. 60 et seq. Civil Code (CC) headquartered in Bern, Switzerland. The Association is politically independent and denominationally neutral.
To encourage friendly relations, international communication, and a spirit of competition between young economists
To maintain the high standard of international competitions
we are supported by the world's leading economists
Eric Maskin
Adams University Professor, Professor of Economics and Mathematics at Harvard University, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences laureate (2007)
It is reassuring to me that there are young people coming into the picture who are seriously interested in economics. We are going to rely on you to solve the economic problems that are the foundation of our political problems.
Economics and the rigorous quantitative approach that it brings to our changing world is set to become even more important as we struggle with major challenges related to climate change, inequality, adaptation to new technologies, and social and political change. I'm so happy to see so many young, talented people take up the mantle of economics. I wish you all the best of luck in the Olympiad, and I hope that this will be a memorable experience, both because of the learning and connections you form with other participants.
This is a great time to be an economist: a lot of difficult things are going on around the world, but economics can contribute a lot to helping solve the world’s problems. So thank you for participating in this activity and good luck!
Laurence Kotlikoff
Professor of Economics at Boston University, president of Economic Security Planning, and a New York Times best-selling author
Economics is a terrific thing to study: it can actually prescribe solutions to people's problems, not just study mistakes. You're really on the right path in getting into it. I wish you all the best in this very exciting Olympiad, and enjoy yourselves.
After visiting many editions of the IEO, I can say that it is always a great event.
Mark Uzan
Executive Director and Founder Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee
You are the International Economics Olympiad, it means that you care about the interactions among countries, the interactions among people, and the capacity that trade is a driver for growth, so whatever you are going to do in your life, you have to think and you have to create and to imagine the world of tomorrow.
Eric Maskin
Adams University Professor, Professor of Economics and Mathematics at Harvard University, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences laureate (2007)
It is reassuring to me that there are young people coming into the picture who are seriously interested in economics. We are going to rely on you to solve the economic problems that are the foundation of our political problems.
Economics and the rigorous quantitative approach that it brings to our changing world is set to become even more important as we struggle with major challenges related to climate change, inequality, adaptation to new technologies, and social and political change. I'm so happy to see so many young, talented people take up the mantle of economics. I wish you all the best of luck in the Olympiad, and I hope that this will be a memorable experience, both because of the learning and connections you form with other participants.
This is a great time to be an economist: a lot of difficult things are going on around the world, but economics can contribute a lot to helping solve the world’s problems. So thank you for participating in this activity and good luck!
Laurence Kotlikoff
Professor of Economics at Boston University, president of Economic Security Planning, and a New York Times best-selling author
Economics is a terrific thing to study: it can actually prescribe solutions to people's problems, not just study mistakes. You're really on the right path in getting into it. I wish you all the best in this very exciting Olympiad, and enjoy yourselves.
After visiting many editions of the IEO, I can say that it is always a great event.
Mark Uzan
Executive Director and Founder Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee
You are the International Economics Olympiad, it means that you care about the interactions among countries, the interactions among people, and the capacity that trade is a driver for growth, so whatever you are going to do in your life, you have to think and you have to create and to imagine the world of tomorrow.
Check the Participating Countries section of this website.
If your country is on the list, it means that we have a long-term partner there.
If your country is not on the list, please contact us via email or the Contact Us form at the bottom of the page. We will be glad to provide the contact information of our partner in your country if we have one.
Contact your national organizer to receive information about thenational competition.
Study hard and win the national competition!
Come to the IEO, meet like-minded students from around the world, and enjoy yourself!
Make sure that your organization can hold an appropriate selection process and support the team (including finding means to cover their travel costs).
Appoint a coordinator.
Form a team that consists of no more than 5 contestants and 1 or 2 team leaders.
Ensure that the contestants will all be under the age of 20 years on 30 June of the year of the Olympiad.
Ensure that team leaders can communicate well in English and are competent in the fields tested in the IEO.
Send the application to our official email adress, info@ecolymp.org. To learn more about the application form, please refer to the Application Guideline.
Responsible for the sustainable development of the IEO, long-term coordination of essential IEO processes and overall monitoring
As of 2024, 60 members from 51 countries
Consists of the EB members as well as Team Leaders of a particular year. Makes the most important and strategic decisions regarding the IEO, including (but not limited to) the general guidelines for the IEO tasks composition and selection of the Host Organizations
Provides advice for the long-term development of the IEO. Assists in the communications with government organizations, NGOs, and business communities around the world
The Problem Committee is responsible for providing tasks, solutions, and marking schemes for the IEO
People who promote our Olympiad all over the world
Members are appointed by the Host Organization each year
Responsible for organizing all IEO processes and events, including opening and closing ceremonies, rounds of the competition, visa support, logistics and etc
Eric Maskin during the Opening Ceremony of the IEO 2019 in Saint-Petersburdg, 2019
Team Spain meeting the Minister of Education of Spain, 2019
Team Brazil meeting the President and Minister of the Economy of Brazil, 2020
Not Only the Olympiad
IEOx is a project-based platform aimed at strengthening the IEO Community as well as improving the IEO and introducing new projects.
While most of the IEOx projects are conducted outside of the main IEO event, in 2020, one of the projects involved creating a separate part of the Olympiad available to the general public— IEO OpenTrack.