SINGAPORE - Singapore has topped the Asia-Pacific region in the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma examinations.

It produced 48 students who attained the perfect score of 45 points in the exam last November. Almost all the 1,640 students - or 98 per cent - who took the exam passed, compared with the global rate of 81 per cent.

Their average scores were also higher than the global average: 38.5 points against 31 points, according to the Switzerland-based IB Organisation that conducts the examinations.

There are 20 institutions offering the IB diploma in Singapore, including the School of the Arts and international schools.

Worldwide, more than 11,700 students in 107 countries such as Australia and New Zealand took the November exam. A total of 81 students attained perfect scores.

Students will be receiving their results in the next few days, according to a statement by the IB on Monday (Jan 4).

Last year (2015), more than 580,780 examination papers were processed in 79 languages, making it the largest number of exams conducted at the IB since the introduction of its diploma programme in 1968.