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USMLE Pass Rate by Country 2024
The USMLE, better known as the United States Medical Licensing Examination, is a test that is used to award licenses to future physicians. There are three steps in this program before you are able to earn a medical licensure. It tests a potential physician's ability to apply and demonstrate all the skills they have learned throughout the course of their education journey. Naturally, it is a complex exam process, and not everyone passes. In this article, we will learn more about the pass rates of the USMLE and which countries tend to be more successful with it.
Currently, it's the country of Nepal that has the highest pass rate of all the countries in the world. 21.2% of those who take the USMLE who are from Nepal pass. It's China, however, that has the highest total number of USMLE passers. The US and Canada also have large numbers of USMLE successful pass rates.
Overall, the percentage of passing exams often depends on the examinee's education level as well as how many times they have taken the test. The test is taken in three steps, and the stats involved with each of those steps are a little different. For example, in 2022, 91% of MD degree graduates from US and Canadian schools passed the USMLE exam. This was a decrease, however from the previous year of 4%. 89% of those with a DO degree passed this portion of the exam in 2022 as compared to 94% in 2021.
For the second step in the process, the CK Administrations step, it was the MD Degree recipients who took the step for the 1st time who had the highest pass rate. 99% of MD Degree graduates from US and Canadian schools passed on the first try in 2022, which was the same rate as 2021 results. 97% of those with a DO Degree passed on the first try as compared to 98% in 2021.
The final step in the USMLE exam is the Administrations step. Overall, 97% of those with an MD Degree from a US or Canadian school passed the exam. 98% passed on the first try. Those who were taking this step again were only successful 76% of the time. For those with a DO Degree, 96% overall, as well as first-time testers, successfully passed. 97% of testers from US and Canadian schools passed in 2021.
For non-US and Canadian Schools, only 91% of all test takers passed on the first try in 2022. That number dropped to 64% for those taking the test a second time.
- Data pertains to 15 Middle East countries in which medical instruction is performed primarily in English.
- 1st attempt pass rates on the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1, Step 2CK (clinical knowledge), and a combination of Step 2CS (clinical skills) and ECFMG CSA (clinical skills assessment) were tallied by country.
Country | Pass Rate (Step 1) | Pass Rate (Step 2 CK) | Pass Rate (Step 2 CS/CSA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palestine | 94.67% | 94% | 66.67% |
| Jordan | 90.96% | 89.18% | 79.68% |
| Lebanon | 90.91% | 93.3% | 84.17% |
| Qatar | 88.36% | 95.3% | 94.59% |
| Syria | 85.98% | 82.75% | 72.14% |
| Libya | 81.33% | 88.02% | 71.43% |
| Iraq | 75.35% | 78.15% | 77.35% |
| Sudan | 72.74% | 69.06% | 67.76% |
| Saudi Arabia | 68.17% | 75.09% | 75.51% |
| Egypt | 67.64% | 62.64% | 65.65% |
| Bahrain | 65.04% | 74.13% | 85.58% |
| Yemen | 63.79% | 58.21% | 68.3% |
| United Arab Emirates | 51.28% | 58.59% | 86.51% |
| Oman | 47.89% | 73.17% | 62.5% |
| Kuwait | 47.37% | 60.55% | 78.69% |