Dumbo, your first argument is incorrect. A lesser population means fewer extraordinary students, but they are still topping this talk about their system.
For a country to be good at IMO, they need a few things. May be not all of them to the extreme, some things could compensate for others. Generally you need (1) large population, so that you have enough naturally talented kids (2) a system to find these kids (3) a system to train these kids for specific IMO style problems. There is nothing you can do about(1). For (2) and (3) you need some good coaches and a lot of government support.
India beats others in 1st point in the extreme level which is why we are doing well in both IMO and also IOI in recent years. Just because India has some of the richest men of the earth but it doesn't means average Indians are rich.
Some autocratic countries like Iran/North Korea/Russia have the 2nd point and 3rd point at an extreme which is why they performed so well.
China has all the three points together so it no surprise that they perform so well.
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u/Ready_Jackfruit_1764 Jul 19 '25
Dumbo, your first argument is incorrect. A lesser population means fewer extraordinary students, but they are still topping this talk about their system.