Facts and figures about the IAPM

Several black chess pieces.

The IAPM was founded in 1997 as a loosely structured international network for project managers. The first international meeting was held in Helsinki, Finland, in 1999. Further annual meetings have been held in Houston/ USA (2001), Berlin/ Germany (2002), Budapest/Hungary (2004) and New Delhi/India (2005). In 2010 the IAPM published the "PM Guide 2.0" as the basis for IAPM certification.

Then, the project management professionals and scientists formally established the IAPM. It elected the Principality of Liechtenstein as the location of its headquarters and certification body.

Since the IAPM was founded, a large number of large and globally recognized companies have put their trust in IAPM certification. Companies that regularly have their project personnel certified by the IAPM include Rheinmetall, Diehl, Edeka, Siemens Healthineers, CANCOM and LIDL.

The IAPM is a registered trademark (CTM trademark and DE trademark) and its business processes and quality management system conform to the international standard ISO 9001 (standard for quality management systems).

Recognized in 2018 by the Procurement Office of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior

In the public tender of the Procurement Office of the German Federal Ministry of the Interio for "Consulting and Support Services for Project Management", the competitive tendering procedure were published.

The tender is divided into three lots: Individual project management, large-scale and multi-project management as well as project management of security-relevant projects. The Procurement Office of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior defines the current and recognized standards and methods to be realised in the implementation of the consulting services for all lots. These standards and methods now also include those of the International Association of Project Managers (IAPM).

The project manager who manages a respective federal project must have a current and valid project management certificate. Here too, the International Association of Project Managers (IAPM) is named as the certification body whose certificates "Project Manager (IAPM)" meet the requirements of the federal government.

One advantage of the IAPM certification is that the certificates have a lifelong validity, comparable to a university degree. With the recognition by the Procurement Office of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, this advantage over other certification bodies gains a new quality.

We are pleased about this adaptation in the public tenders of the Procurement Office of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior.

Information on certifications and network

Figures 2024/02, since 2011/10:

Passed certification exams:
7.049 examinees from 167 nations

Failed certification exams:
1.344

Pass rate:
84%

United in IAPM networks*:
67.000 project managers from 167 nations
* Networks (e.g. metropolitan area or university networks), social networks (e.g. XING or LinkedIn), professional groups and committees.

The top ten nations of our certificate holders

Germany Germany
India India
Austria Austria
Switzerland Switzerland
Nigeria Nigeria
Philippines Philippines
United States United States
Hungary Hungary
Poland Poland
Egypt Egypt

The IAPM certification

The certification can be taken via a reputable online examination procedure. The costs are based on the gross domestic product of your country of origin.

From the IAPM Blog

Become a Network Official

Do you want to get involved in project management in your environment and contribute to the further development of project management? Then become active as an IAPM Network Official or as a Network Official of the IAPM Network University. 


For better readability, we usually only use the generic masculine form in our texts. Nevertheless, the expressions refer to members of all genders.