The European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) is a
mathematical olympiad
A mathematical olympiad is a mathematical competition where participants are examined by problem solving and may win medals depending on their performance. Usually aimed at pre-university students, much of olympiad mathematics consists of elemen ...
for girls which started in 2012, and is held in April each year. It was inspired by the
China Girls Mathematical Olympiad (CGMO).
Although the competition is held in Europe, it is open to female participants from all over the world, and is considered the most prestigious mathematics competition for girls. In recent years, participants from around 55 countries have been invited to the competition.
Process and scoring
The competition is similar in style to the
International Mathematical Olympiad
The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a mathematical olympiad for pre-university students, and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. It is widely regarded as the most prestigious mathematical competition in the wor ...
(IMO), with two papers, each consisting of three problems to be solved in 4.5 hours, taken on consecutive days. Participating countries send teams consisting of four female mathematicians below the age of 20 who are not enrolled at a university. Each of the six problems are marked out of 7, making the maximum possible score 42 points.
The first edition was held in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, UK. Since then, 11 other countries in Europe have organized the EGMO. The number of participating countries have grown from 19 in the first edition to 57 in the eleventh edition, and the number of contestants from 61 in the first edition to 226 in the eleventh edition. The competitors participate as a team of 4 under the national flag but the contest itself is individual. The selection process varies between countries, but it often involves national Mathematical Olympiads and other Team Selection Tests (TSTs), which become progressively more selective.
Medals are awarded according to this criterion:
* The top 1/12 of the competitors receive a gold medal
* The following 1/6 of the general classification receive a silver medal
* The subsequent 1/4 of the general classification receive a bronze medal
* All those who have not received a medal but have scored the maximum points in at least one of the six problems receive an honorable mention.
Summary
Medal table
The 63 countries that have won a medal are as follows:
The individuals with the most medals and appearances at the EGMO can be found on the "EGMO: Hall of Fame" section of the website.
There have been 28 perfect scores (USA - 8, Russia, China - 4 each, Ukraine - 3, Serbia, Turkey - 2 each, UK, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Israel - 1 each) in the first 13 editions of the competition.
Impact
Several international Olympiad competitions aimed at girls were launched, inspired by the success of the EGMO. These include:
*The European Girls' Olympiad in Informatics (EGOI), an international programming competition, the first edition of which was held in
Zürich
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.
*The Pan-American Girls' Mathematical Olympiad (PAGMO), the first edition organized virtually by a group of South American countries.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad SiteEuropean Girls' Mathematical Olympiad 2012European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad 2014European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad 2017European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad 2018European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad 2020European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad 2022European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad 2025European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad 2026
Culture of Europe
Maths
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, theories and theorems that are developed and proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many areas of mathematics, which include num ...
Mathematics competitions