How Many Students Appeared in CBSE 12th Exams 2026?

Manasvini GuptaUpdated on 10 Mar 2026, 12:21 PM IST

The Central Board of Secondary Education is administering Class 12th board exams 2026 from February 17 to April 10, 2026, across designated exam centres in India and abroad. This year, the board is witnessing one of the largest participation numbers in recent years, with around 20 lakh students likely appearing for the CBSE Senior Secondary exams.

This Story also Contains

How Many Students Are Appearing in the CBSE 12th Exam 2026?
Previous Year’s CBSE Class 12 Exams 2025: Participation and Exam Data
CBSE Class 12 Result Statistics (Year-Wise)

How Many Students Appeared in CBSE 12th Exams 2026?

The CBSE Class 12 exams are conducted in CBSE-affiliated schools across the country as well as in 26 countries abroad. In 2025, over 16.92 lakh students appeared for the CBSE 12th board exams. The number is expected to touch around 20 lakh in 2026. The exam cycle will involve the evaluation of a massive volume of answer sheets and participation across multiple subject streams. Therefore, the board has also introduced the CBSE 12th On-Screen marking system.

How Many Students Are Appearing in the CBSE 12th Exam 2026?

The number of candidates appearing for the CBSE Class 12 board exams continues to rise every year. Nearly 20 lakh candidates are taking the CBSE Class 12 board exams 2026, making it one of the largest batches in recent years. Check the data provided in the table below:

Year	Total students appeared
2026	Around 20,00,000 (exact figure awaited)
2025	16,92,794
2024	16,21,224
2023	16,60,511

Previous Year’s CBSE Class 12 Exams 2025: Participation and Exam Data

To understand the scale of the CBSE board exams, it is helpful to look at the data from the previous year. The evaluation of over 1 crore answer sheets demonstrates the magnitude of the examination process conducted annually by CBSE.

Particulars	Details
Exam duration	February 15 to April 4, 2025
Students registered	17,88,165
Subjects offered	120
Actual exam days	38 days
Answer books evaluated	1,07,28,990

CBSE Class 12 Result Statistics (Year-Wise)

Pass percentages and student participation numbers over the years show how consistently large the CBSE exam system has been.

Year	Total appeared students	Overall Pass %	Boys' pass %	Girls' pass %
2025	16,92,794	88.39	85.70	91.64
2024	16,21,224	87.98	91.52	85.12
2023	16,60,511	87.33	84.67	90.68
2022	14,35,366	92.71	91.25	94.54
2021	13,69,745	99.37	99.67	99.13
2020	11,92,961	88.78	86.19	92.15
2019	12,05,484	83.4	79.4	88.7

CBSE 12th Exams 2026: Why the Number of Students is Increasing Every Year?

The number of schools affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education has grown steadily in recent years, which naturally leads to more students reaching the Class 12 board exam stage.
Many parents prefer the CBSE curriculum because it follows a national-level syllabus and is closely aligned with major competitive examinations in India. A large number of international schools outside India have adopted the CBSE curriculum, allowing Indian and foreign students studying abroad to appear for the same board exams.
More students are now choosing to continue their studies after Class 10, leading to a larger number reaching the Class 12 board exam stage.
The expansion of private and government CBSE-affiliated schools in urban as well as semi-urban areas has also contributed to the steady rise in student participation.
Increased awareness about the importance of higher education and professional courses has encouraged more students to complete their Class 12 education through the CBSE board.

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