the passing rate is actually > 40% for English speakers

an CFA-l workshop instructor who is also a writer of the exam and participated in reading the exams said that the passing rate is actually higher than 40% for English speakers. It is the significant increase in candidates from non-English speaking countries such as east Asians, European continents, middle east that dragged the passing rate down in recent years.

May be in ethics only.

From CFAI in 2006: Exam Results by Country/Region By country/region, the pass rates for the Level I, Level II, and Level III exams combined are: * United States: 54 percent of the 22,173 total exam candidates * Canada: 53 percent of the 5,914 total exam candidates * Europe: 57 percent of the 10,287 total exam candidates * Asia and Pacific Asia: 49 percent of the 21,109 total exam candidates * Central and South America: 46 percent of the 1,091 total exam candidates * Africa/Middle East: 39 percent of the 2,675 total exam candidates If English was the main factor, why would Europe have the highest pass rate? True, there are probably more people with English as a second language in the U.S. than in Europe. Also, true, the average rate is lower in Asia, South America, and Middle East. So, there might be some truth to the claim.

It’s amazing how many people claim to be in the know (here’s an “in the know” fact: if you are a CFA instructor you can’t participate in writing or reading the exams and even if you did you still don’t learn any of thi stuff), and then say such nonsense.

China’s never been way out front as long as I’ve been around. Seems to me that Bambi decided that Germany wins the most. Can’t really trust German opinions about such things though. Edit: Anyway, who gives a darn? These country effects have nothing to do with your probability of passing the exam which is completely controlled by how smart you are, how much studying you do, and how effective your studying is.