China’s Gaokao has emerged as the world’s largest examination by number of applications, while India’s NEET UG ranks fifth, according to a recent SBI Research report released on September 30.
The report places Gaokao at the top with around 12.9 million applications, followed by Brazil’s ENEM with 4.8 million and China’s Central Civil-Service Examination, or Guokao, with 3.7 million. China’s National Master’s Entrance Examination ranks fourth with 3.4 million applications.
India’s NEET UG is fifth with around 2.5 million applications, making it one of the largest undergraduate entrance examinations globally. Other major Indian examinations listed include UPSC Civil Services Examination with around 1.2 million applications, JEE Main with about 1 million and UGC NET with approximately 0.8 million.
The SBI report also examined China’s examination infrastructure. In 2026, around 12.9 million candidates registered for Gaokao, with thousands of examination centres and extensive arrangements for security, transportation, healthcare and candidates with disabilities.
The research suggested that India could strengthen examination systems by improving question-paper custody, emergency response, postponement and re-test procedures, reserve papers and alternative venues.
It also recommended greater transparency in incident reporting, time-bound appeals, scoring audits and monitoring of disruptions across different groups of candidates.
The findings come amid continuing discussions in India about the security and administration of major competitive examinations, particularly NEET UG.
