By EFTeam It is a 100% true that some exams out there are much harder or tougher than the others to crack and just pass through. No two ways about that! At present, there are literally hundreds of types of exams out there, but not all of them can be considered “tough,” especially if you compare them to the actual toughest exams in the world. Like, so far, you must have heard that China’s Gaokao exam is the toughest one on the planet to crack, which is true, but what other exams have made it to this list? Well, that’s what we’re about to find out with this list of the top 10 toughest exams in the world as of 2025. Alright, let’s just get to it.
1. Gaokao – China’s College Entrance Exam
Alright, let’s start with the toughest one out there, and that is China’s Gaokao national college entrance test. Can you even imagine that every year nearly 12 million students sit in this entrance test? And it is not like any average entrance test out there; this one actually lasts about 9 hours, which is usually divided into 2 or 3 days usually. Subjects? Oh, that’ll be maths, science, and literature. The thing that makes this exam the toughest one out there is the fact that the students need more than a 600 score out of 750 just to pass, and that’s the reason why the acceptance rate is super low like 0.004%.
2. UPSC Civil Services Exam – India
If you’re reading this post from India, well, yes, the UPSC Civil Services Exam is the toughest one in India so far, and it is the 2nd toughest on the global stage. Now you get it, why do people give so many attempts just to pass this exam? Well, if you crack this exam, you get government jobs like IAS, IPS, and IFS. What makes this exam tough, though? Oh, it’s the competition level actually! Like, every year, there are as many as 1 million candidates who attempt to crack this exam, but only 1000 make it through.
3. IIT JEE Advanced – India
We all know by this point that engineering is a big thing down there in India, and if you want to get into the top engineering colleges, especially the government ones, you’d have to pass the JEE exam, which has two parts, first one is JEE Main, and then comes JEE Advanced. It is actually the IIT JEE Advanced that is the hardest one. Every year, literally lakhs of students give this exam, but only around 15,000 are selected, which means the pass rate is about 1% or so.
4. CFA – Chartered Financial Analyst
If you have ever dreamt of becoming a Chartered Financial Analyst, then you’d have to crack the CFA Exam for sure. It is one of THE most respected financial exams in the entire world. It is not just the preparation part that is hard; the exam itself is quite lengthy as well, like this CFA exam has three levels, and each level lasts about 6 hours because there are 240 questions each. The levels work like filters where, with each level, the pass rate drastically decreases.
5. Master Sommelier Diploma Exam – USA & UK
Can you even imagine that an exam related to becoming an expert in wine would make it to this list? Well, that’s how it is. The Master Sommelier Diploma Exam is probably one of the toughest exams out there, and the main reason for that is because the theory part in the preparation isn’t written; it is actually oral. To give you perspective on how hard of an exam this is, well, ever since 1969, less than 300 people have passed this exam.
6. All Souls Prize Fellowship Exam – Oxford, UK
We have all heard so many good things about the UK’s University of Oxford, right? Well, one exam in this university, which goes by the name All Souls Prize Fellowship Exam, is the toughest one down there. One thing that makes this exam the toughest one is that it doesn’t include a fixed syllabus, instead, the candidates are given broad topics to work on. This exam is more about original thinking and that is precisely why the pass rate is less than 1%.
7. CCIE – Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert
If we talk about literally the toughest IT certification in the world to get, then it would be CCIE. The exam itself is in two parts like a 2-hour written test and an 8-hour lab exam. What’s even more interesting about this one is that candidates are expected to have 5 to 7 years of experience before even attempting it.
8. Mensa IQ Test – Global
Oh, this one isn’t the typical academic exam, you know? Like, this one is purely about testing IQ. And what makes this one so difficult is the fact that just to qualify, a person needs to score in the top 2% of the population, which is extremely rare, wouldn’t you agree? Even more surprising is that the estimated pass rate is just 0.02% globally.
9. GATE – Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (India)
Oh, another one from India? Yes, this time it is the GATE, short for Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, which also has a super low pass rate, like only 15% to 18%. You may look at it and go: it’s a good pass rate! Right? Well, the thing is, it’s the preparation for the competition part that makes it super tough like every single year, 8 to 9 lakh students attempt this exam.
10. Bar Exam – Global (California & South Korea Highlighted)
When it comes to law-related exams, surely, the Bar Exam is the most popular one out there, and yes, it is one of the toughest ones too. At this point, it is actually held in many countries, but the ones in California and South Korea are known to be the hardest ones so far. Usually, with this exam, the pass rate is below 30%, which is why we have included this one today.
Conclusion
There you have it. These are by far the toughest exams to crack, according to popular opinion. If you’re thinking of preparing for these exams, well, surely, it is going to require hours and hours of study and hard work, but if you have already cracked one of these exams, you’ve already done the hard part in your career.