The year 2011-12, during which the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) added a new section to its format, has turned out to be a record year for the test, with 286,529 GMAT exams being taken across the world. The highest ever number of tests in a single year were in part due to the rush to take the GMAT in its older and more familiar format before June 1, the cutoff date for the new Integrated Reasoning section to kick in.

It was also the year for the largest ever number of GMAT exams to be taken on Indian soil, at 22,803. Globally, however, Indian citizens appeared for a total of 30,213 tests, or roughly one in ten tests was taken by an Indian. India stood third behind USA and China in terms of the number of tests taken by its citizens. One in five tests was taken by a Chinese citizen, making it the second largest applicant market for global b-schools after the US.

Women took 42.9% of the total number of GMAT exams worldwide, also a record.

Of the score reports sent during the year, over 67% were sent to MBA or Executive MBA programs. Within India, 128 of the total 175 programs that accept the GMAT received score reports, the highest ever.

"While applications to Indian business schools from non-Indian applicants have grown, overall they represent a small proportion. Systematic efforts to attract interest from NRI, PIO and Foreign national candidates will further help create diversity in the classroom (for Indian business schools)," said Ashish Bhardwaj, Regional Director of the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) for South Asia.

Of all the GMAT exams taken by Indian citizens, 75% were taken in India, followed by 17% in the US and 2% each in Singapore and the UK.