It can be fun sometimes to revisit data from Google Trends to see how much the world cares about certain English tests. As most readers know, this tool shows off the interest in a particular search term on Google, relative to the highest ever interest in that term. It can also be used to compare interest in two terms.
Before we get into it, a few things are worth noting:
- Don’t pay too much attention to month-by-moth peaks and plummets, as tests are seasonal. Focus on the overall trends.
- I can’t figure out a good way to search for interest in the DET and PTE since those are such common initialisms.
- China data is unreliable, since Google is blocked in that country.
With that out of the way, here is the worldwide interest in “TOEFL” and “IELTS” for the twenty years ending in June of 2025:
We can see how the absolute peak of interest in IELTS was in August of 2023. Interest has declined since then, but the decline isn’t as steep as some of my doom ‘n gloom posts here might suggest – interest in the test is about the same as it was in 2018.
TOEFL is another story. Interest in TOEFL peaked in January of 2006, and has been declining since then. Interest is at its lowest level ever, save for the absolute doldrums of the pandemic period. A TOEFL solo chart makes the decline a bit more clear:
Here’s the chart for India:
This one tells a story. Interest in IELTS peaked in July of 2022. Then it declined a little bit. Then it declined a lot. The current level of interest is the lowest it has ever been. We all know the reasons.
The TOEFL story is a little more interesting. Interest in the TOEFL peaked in January of 2006. IELTS pulled ahead by a little bit later that year. Then it pulled ahead by a lot. And then interest in the TOEFL evaporated completely. This is the story of the TOEFL. I’ll write about what happened in those 19 years on another occasion as it might serve as a cautionary tale for all test makers. Anyway, Interest in the TOEFL in India is currently at its lowest level in history. ETS has put many of its eggs in the Indian basket these past few years… but seemingly to no effect whatsoever.
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A quick glance at some of the middle of the pack sending markets helps to explain the global trends. Some competitive markets show gradual declines for IELTS. Here’s Nigeria, which has been targeted by several test makers:
And here’s Philippines, where everyone is piling in to compete:
Many others are flat or show gradual increases for IELTS. Here’s Germany:
And here’s Brazil, where IELTS has finally nudged ahead of TOEFL:
Frankly, I’m more interested in potential IELTS success stories as they hint at where other firms might enjoy the same success. For instance, here’s Vietnam:
As the kids say, LINE GOES UP. Vietnam has been such a success story for the IELTS partnership. I’ve written about this market quite a lot in the past year. Competing test companies are starting to pile in, but IELTS is still king. My advice is to send a few more bodies.
Korea, meanwhile, is a stealthy success story for IELTS that doesn’t get much attention. Here’s the chart:
Ignore those wild numbers from the aughts (they were weird in Korea), and look instead at the steady increase in interest in IELTS. Note how it finally pulled away from TOEFL for good back in 2023. Remember that according to some reports Korea was the number one market for TOEFL when the iBT launched in 2006 – Korea is the TOEFL heartland.
Japan is another success story for the IELTS:
The IELTS is pretty much at its peak of popularity in that country. Note how TOEFL was formerly way ahead of IELTS, but now interest is just about equal. Japan is another part of the TOEFL heartland, but it looks like IELTS will soon pull ahead there as well.
I’ll leave it at that, but let me know if you find any particularly interesting charts I should examine. For a chuckle, check out the chart for Canada.