There is a difference. For cfa, it’s out of those who registered. So those who sign up and do not show up on the exam date ( those empty seats you see…) are also included. On the other hand, the caia includes only those who actually took the exam. I am guessing that if the cfa uses the actual test taker number for the denominator, the passing rate would be higher and comparable to that of caia.
Nope, I don’t think that’s true. I don’t know how CAIA pass rates are calculated, but CFA pass rates only include those that actually took the exam. See excerpt from CFAI Q&A below. — DO THE PASS/FAIL NUMBERS PUBLISHED BY CFA INSTITUTE INCLUDE ALL THE REGISTERED CANDIDATES OR JUST THE ONES WHO TOOK THE EXAM? THE PUBLISHED PASS RATES INCLUDE ONLY THOSE CANDIDATES WHO ACTUALLY TOOK THE EXAMS. THE NUMBERS DO NOT INCLUDE NO-SHOW CANDIDATES OR THOSE WHO WITHDREW. http://www.cfarussia.ru/lib.asp?rubr_id=153
It’s the same for both, those that sat the exam (as far as I remember anyway).