ISEF Statistics: who wins, from 17,565 finalist projects (2014 to 2026)
ISEF Statistics in one line: of the 17,565 projects that reached the ISEF finals, about one in four won a grand award whatever the category, and about one in six of Korea's 294 finalist projects did. These are the odds after qualifying through a national fair, not the odds of getting there. This series compiles every public result and splits it by category, team size, AI, topic, abstract and country.
By CIT Intelligence Architect|Apgujeong, Seoul|Last reviewed 2026-10-11|한국어 페이지
At a glance
17,565 ISEF finalist projects, 2014 to 2026, every public result
Grand award 27.1%: one finalist in four, 26 to 30% in all 24 categories
Solo 28.1% vs team 22.6%; 80% of finalists are solo
AI mention 2.8% → 27.1% (2014 → 2026)
Korea: 15.8% of 272 judged finalists, world 25.3%
Grand awards per 100 finalist projects
27.1%
Per 100 finalists, all countries (2021 to 2026)
18.1%
Per 100 Korean finalists (2021 to 2026)
27.1%
grand-award rate, 2021 to 2026 (2,220 of 8,207)
38.7%
won a grand or special award
28.1% vs 22.6%
solo vs team grand-award rate
2.8% to 27.1%
projects mentioning AI/ML, 2014 to 2026
15.8%
Korean grand-award rate, 2014 to 2026 (43 of 272)
37.8% vs 22.4%
returning finalists vs first-timers
Primary AI education and portfolio routes
International-school coursework and EC rules differ from science and gifted-school rules. Start with the international-school route, then check the gifted-school route separately.
In 2021 to 2026, 2,220 of 8,207 ISEF projects (27.1%) won a grand award (First to Fourth Award or Best of Category), and 38.7% won something once sponsor special awards are counted. The grand-award rate sits between 26% and 30% in all 24 categories, so switching category does not change the odds. What does change them: special-award opportunities, team size, how the abstract is built, and whether the student has been to ISEF before.
Size and awards by year
ISEF seats 1,300 to 1,450 projects and 1,600 to 1,800 finalists from 60 to 80 fair countries each year; the United States supplies two thirds. Grand awards are allocated per category in proportion to entries, which is why about 27% of projects win one every year.
ISEF finalist projects by year
1,394201414
1,347201515
1,371201616
1,403201717
1,390201818
1,426201919
1,027202020
1,452202121
1,400202222
1,316202323
1,345202424
1,328202525
1,366202626
2020 ran without judging and is excluded from award rates.
Korean projects at ISEF by year
18201414
18201515
18201616
17201717
20201818
21201919
22202020
30202121
28202222
23202323
25202424
25202525
29202626
ISEF projects, finalists, fair countries and awarded projects by year (2020 was held without judging)
Year
Projects
Finalists
Fair countries
Awarded projects (abstract DB)
Korean projects
Korean students
2014
1394
1790
79
347
18
38
2015
1347
1712
78
339
18
38
2016
1371
1768
77
360
18
36
2017
1403
1777
79
538
17
39
2018
1390
1782
82
508
20
42
2019
1426
1840
81
508
21
48
2020
1027
1255
56
0
22
37
2021
1452
1804
63
549
30
64
2022
1400
1739
63
513
28
63
2023
1316
1635
63
545
23
42
2024
1345
1691
65
523
25
57
2025
1328
1661
61
507
25
52
2026
1366
1720
64
540
29
57
Awarded-project counts come from the abstract database, which has no 2025 awards; isef.net records 367 grand awards for 2025.
Category does not change grand-award odds. All 24 categories sit at 26 to 30%. What varies is the special-award rate: Software Design 69%, Mathematics 49%, Plant Sciences 7%. See choosing a category.Special-award rate (2021 to 2026)Software Design69%Mathematics49%Plant Sciences7%
Solo projects win more than teams. Solo 28.1%, pairs 21.4%, trios 26.0%. But there is no team penalty in Robotics, Embedded Systems, Animal Sciences or Chemistry. See solo vs team.Grand rate by team sizeSolo28.1%Pair21.4%Trio26%
AI pays off when it solves another field's problem. Outside the computing categories, AI projects win 36 to 44% versus 22 to 26% without AI; inside computing the gap is 29.9% vs 24.4%. See AI projects.Grand rate (2021 to 2026)Outside computing, with AI36~44%Outside computing, without AI22~26%Inside computing, with AI29.9%Inside computing, without AI24.4%
Winning abstracts share a structure. Abstracts with five or more paper-like features (baseline comparison, quantified results, cost claim, novelty claim) win at 58%; abstracts with none win at 17%. See winning abstracts.Abstract elements and grand rate5 or more paper-style elements58%None17%
Korea sends many and wins few. 294 projects in 2014 to 2026, 15.8% grand awards, one First Award, zero Top Awards. Two thirds of Korean entries are teams, and the most common Korean category, Systems Software, produced one grand award in 24 entries. See Korea at ISEF.Grand rate (2014 to 2026; Systems Software 2021 to 2026)All countries25.3%Korea15.8%Korea, Systems Software1 / 24
How the awards are structured
Grand awards in each category run First ($6,000 in 2026), Second ($2,400), Third ($1,200) and Fourth ($600), split among team members; through 2024 they were $5,000, $2,000, $1,000 and $500. Across 2014 to 2024, 2.2% of all projects took a First Award, 4.9% a Second, 7.4% a Third and 9.8% a Fourth. From the First Award winners, 12 or 13 projects a year receive Top Awards of $10,000 to $100,000. Of 90 Top Awards in 13 years, 64 went to the United States, 6 to China and none to Korea.
Special awards are chosen by each sponsoring organization with its own judges, independently of the Society's panels. In 2021 to 2026, 20.3% of projects won a special award and 11.7% won one without a grand award. Who gives what, and in which category, is mapped on the special awards page.
The road to ISEF and the number at each step
School and regional fairs
Thousands per country
qualify
National affiliate fair
KSEF for Korea
selected
17,565
ISEF finals
1,300 to 1,450 a year
judged
27.1%
Grand award
of finalists, 2021 to 2026
top
2.2%
First Award
of finalists, 2014 to 2024
Grand-award prize money by tier (2026, USD)
6,000FirstFirst
2,400SecondSecond
1,200ThirdThird
600FourthFourth
Teams split the prize. Through 2024 the tiers paid 5,000 / 2,000 / 1,000 / 500 dollars.
Grand-award tiers per 100 finalists (2014 to 2024, 13,844 projects)
9.8%74.9%
First 2.2%Second 4.9%Third 7.4%Fourth 9.8%Best of Category 0.8%No grand award 74.9%
2025 is excluded because the public record carries no tiers for that year.
Award combinations per 100 finalists (2021 to 2026)
18.4%11.7%61.3%
Grand only 18.4%Grand + special 8.7%Special only 11.7%No award 61.3%
Where the 90 Top Awards went (2014 to 2026)
United States64
China6
Slovakia2
Ireland2
Hong Kong2
Thailand2
Germany2
Canada1
One each: Japan, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, India, Turkey, Malaysia, Bulgaria, Belgium, Brazil.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of ISEF projects win a grand award?
27.1% in 2021 to 2026: 2,220 of 8,207 projects. A grand award is a First to Fourth Award or Best of Category. Counting sponsor special awards, 38.7% won at least one award. ISEF 2020 was held without judging and is excluded.
How many Korean projects compete at ISEF each year?
The abstract database lists 29 projects and 57 students under South Korea for 2026. The 2021 to 2026 average is 27 projects and 56 students a year, up from 19 projects a year in 2014 to 2019.
Does choosing the right category raise the odds?
Not for grand awards. Category rates range from 26.1% (Biochemistry) to 29.5% (Technology Enhances the Arts), within confidence intervals. Special-award rates are where categories differ.
When and where is ISEF 2027?
May 8 to 14, 2027, in Los Angeles. ISEF 2026 ran May 9 to 15 in Phoenix, Arizona, with 1,366 projects and 1,720 finalists.
Can these numbers predict a student's chances?
No. Every figure is a category-level base rate compiled from public results. It does not predict or promise any individual outcome. Use it to order the preparation, not to forecast the result.
Data and method
Two public sources. From the Society for Science abstract database (abstracts.societyforscience.org) we compiled every ISEF finalist project from 2014 to 2026: 17,565 projects with title, category, fair country, awards and full abstract. From the isef.net project library we took the award-tier flags for the 8,134 ISEF projects of 2021 to 2026 and joined them to the abstracts by year and booth id. Compiled on 2026-10-11.
A grand award means a First to Fourth Award or Best of Category, roughly the top 27% of each category. A special award is given by a sponsoring organization with its own judges. ISEF 2020 was held without judging and is excluded from every rate. The abstract database carries no 2025 awards and misses most Materials Science grand awards after 2017, so award flags for 2021 to 2026 combine both sources. An AI mention means the title or abstract contains a machine-learning term; it does not mean the project is about AI. All numbers are correlations, and Korean per-category figures rest on 2 to 24 projects, so read them as direction rather than precision.
The figures on this page are category-level base rates compiled from public ISEF results. They do not predict or promise any student's award, selection or admission. CIT does not guarantee awards, selection or admission.