How major exam providers are faring by market

Updated 17th June 2026

 

Iran, crisis level

This is the most dramatic situation in the group. The British Council pulled out of Iran in 2009, leaving IDP as the sole IELTS operator in the country, and IDP announced it would stop offering the IELTS in Iran at the end of January 2026. The disruption stems from financial transfer barriers caused by sanctions, which made it impossible for Iranian test centres to settle their debts with IDP. Iran's National Organization for Educational Testing (NOET/Sanjesh) confirmed the suspension and simultaneously announced it was looking to expand access to TOEFL and exams in other languages. As a result of a special OFAC license issued to ETS, the TOEFL technically remains an option for Iranian candidates, but with the country now in active conflict, internet restrictions, and near-total financial isolation, even that is precarious. There are effectively zero viable international English exam seats in Iran right now. Test Resources + 2

Uzbekistan, severely disrupted

Starting July 11, 2025, the paper-based IELTS was suspended in Uzbekistan following reports of leaked test materials circulating online. Candidates registered for the paper-based exam can switch to the computer-based version or request a refund. The computer-based IELTS can be taken through IDP in 4 cities (exam fee: 0) or through the British Council in 12 cities. The CBT option technically exists, but the infrastructure is thin for a country of 37 million, and the non-resident restriction on paper-based testing adds another layer of friction. GazetaKun.uz

China, structurally bottlenecked

China represents the biggest volume paradox globally. There are only 95 IELTS test centres across China, despite a testing volume of about 500,000 per year, with IELTS testing in China valued at about 0 million, or about 40% of the global IELTS value. Due to this shortage of seats in testing centres, students hire agents to sit in front of a computer and nab appointments as soon as they become available. Other times they travel outside China to take tests. TOEFL and IELTS in China are administered through NEEA, an organ of the Chinese state, creating inefficiencies that compound the shortage. The at-home IELTS is simply not available in China. IDP began direct testing operations in China in late 2024, which may ease pressure over time, but is nowhere near resolving it. Test ResourcesTest Resources

Vietnam, recovering from a deep integrity crisis

Vietnam experienced a catastrophic breakdown of exam integrity in 2022: from September 10 to November 16, 2022, IDP issued more than 56,200 IELTS certificates without the Ministry's approval. The government suspended all foreign language testing (IELTS, TOEFL, PTE, TOPIK, HSK) simultaneously in November 2022. In 2022, both IDP and the British Council in Vietnam issued 124,567 IELTS certificates combined. Recovery has been painful and slow. From March 29, 2025, all IELTS exams in Vietnam switched to a computer-based format only, following last-minute test version switches in February 2025 due to suspected leaks. The situation is now stabilising but the market remains fragile and testing is concentrated in the three major cities. Vietnam News + 2

India, functional but peak-constrained

India is the most infrastructure-rich market in the group. There are around 75–78 IELTS test centres across India, with IDP running the network as the sole IELTS operator since 2021. Computer-delivered IELTS runs up to three times daily, seven days a week. However, IELTS test centres get fully booked, especially during peak times like the beginning of academic terms or visa deadlines. The advice everywhere is to book 2–3 months ahead. The market is not in crisis, but demand dramatically outstrips capacity in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, which is precisely where growth is now happening (TOEFL registrations from Phagwara, a tier-3 Punjab city, are projected to grow over 40% in 2024). Careers360GeeksforGeeks

Türkiye, bifurcated market

Turkey has a well-organised domestic ecosystem built around YÖKDİL and YDS (university and public sector equivalents), which dominate for domestic purposes. International seats for IELTS and TOEFL are available in major cities but are under no particular crisis. The strategic interest here is different: it's a gateway market for the Central Asian linguistic zone and has high aspirations for study in the UK and Germany, creating latent demand for internationally recognised certs that the domestic tests can't satisfy.

Malaysia, healthy domestic alternative, weak international coverage

MUET (Malaysian University English Test), established in 1999, is a prerequisite for admissions into all public universities and colleges in Malaysia, and is also used for public servant promotion. It is largely recognised in Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, with limited recognition elsewhere. For the domestic pathway, the system works. In Malaysia, institutions and employers often prefer qualifications like IELTS or TOEFL over Cambridge tests due to their broader recognition for international opportunities. There is genuine unmet demand from Malaysians seeking to study abroad or get internationally portable credentials, and Cambridge exams (including Linguaskill) have low penetration in this market. WikipediaIDP IELTS

National alternatives: credibility and success

China: CET-4 and CET-6

China's College English Test (CET-4 and CET-6) is the dominant domestic English exam, taken by tens of millions of university students annually. It is institutionally mandatory for degree completion at most Chinese universities. Its limitations are significant: it has no international recognition, no CEFR alignment of consequence, and is widely perceived (even domestically) as measuring test-taking skill more than functional English proficiency. It fills the mass-domestic role but cannot substitute for IELTS or TOEFL for study abroad or immigration. China has been exploring a National College English Proficiency Test (NCEPST) to bridge this gap, but adoption remains limited.

Vietnam: VSTEP

VSTEP is the most developed national alternative in the group. VSTEP was introduced in 2014 by Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training and is now accepted by most Vietnamese academic institutions for admissions, graduation requirements, and exemptions from English exams. In 2023, the Ministry authorized 25 universities to administer the test, expanding to 36 institutions by February 2025. Its fee of VND 1.5–1.8 million (–73) is significantly lower than IELTS at VND 4.6 million, and its structure is not structurally different from IELTS or TOEFL. Crucially, VSTEP B1 certificate holders are exempt from the foreign language component of the high school graduation exam, the only domestic certificate with this privilege. Wikipedia + 2

However, the ceiling is clear: since VSTEP is not valid internationally, it is very difficult for those wishing to study abroad to use it. VSTEP is a credible domestic instrument that has grown rapidly under crisis conditions, but it cannot replace IELTS for the emigration and overseas study pipeline that drives the highest-stakes demand. Vietnam

Malaysia: MUET

MUET is generally considered easier than IELTS because it targets Malaysian university entry standards. MUET scores are valid for 5 years, compared to IELTS's 2 years. It maps to CEFR and has band correspondence with IELTS and TOEFL. Many Malaysian students take a hybrid approach: completing MUET during pre-university studies, then sitting for IELTS later if international opportunities arise. MUET is a mature, well-functioning system that has effectively bifurcated the market rather than replacing international tests — it handles domestic need, leaving international demand partially unmet. TwinseducationPress

Türkiye: YÖKDİL / YDS

These state exams are well-entrenched for civil service and domestic university access. They have no international currency and their format (vocabulary-heavy, decontextualised items) is widely criticised as not reflecting communicative competence. They serve the bureaucratic function but leave significant unmet demand from anyone with international mobility ambitions.

What candidates do when they can't find exam centres

Several behavioural patterns have crystallised across markets:

"Exam tourism" is the highest-visibility phenomenon. Chinese students flock to Korea to take TOEFL and IELTS tests, and it is estimated that as many as half of the 30,000 people who take IELTS in Korea annually are Chinese nationals. Previously, test-takers travelled to Thailand and Vietnam for the same purpose before switching to Korea after the ban on Korean culture in China was lifted. Iranian candidates travel to Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, and UAE. Vietnamese candidates in the Mekong Delta have been known to travel to Ho Chi Minh City for exam slots, even when living hundreds of kilometres away. Test Resources

Slot scalping and third-party booking agents: In China particularly, test takers sometimes resort to paying third parties to quickly book spots at test centres as soon as they become available. This is an informal market that has emerged purely in response to supply constraints. Test Resources

Fraud and impersonation: The integrity crises in Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, and China are partly a function of desperation. In one documented case, a Hong Kong student who failed four English tests travelled to Cambodia in May 2024 to sit the TOEFL and arranged for another person to take the test on her behalf. Test Resources

Downgrading to domestic alternatives: Students who cannot access international exams fall back on VSTEP, MUET, or CET, accepting reduced mobility in exchange for a certificate they can actually obtain. This is particularly common for domestic university admission, where the domestic cert suffices.

Shifting to online-proctored tests: Duolingo English Test has captured a significant share of the exam-deprived population, particularly in markets where it has gained university acceptance (now exceeding 5,000 institutions globally). It is fully remote, , results in 48 hours. Its Achilles heel is that governments and immigration authorities still do not accept it, so for immigration and visa purposes, it cannot substitute for IELTS or TOEFL.

Prep camp strategy: Candidates who know they need to travel for the exam invest months of preparation before booking a single trip, essentially treating the exam as a high-stakes one-shot event rather than a retakeable credential. This inflates preparation spend significantly.

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