The National Geographic Society organized the first international geography contest in 1993 at the Royal Geographical Society in London. Competitions were held in Florida in 1995, Washington, D.C., in 1997, Toronto, Canada, in 1999, Vancouver, Canada, in 2001, Florida in 2003, Budapest, Hungary, in 2005, and San Diego, California in 2007. In 2002, the contest name changed from the International Geographic Olympiad to the National Geographic World Championship. Student teams from around the world gather together to test their geographic knowledge. The team from the United States is selected from the top winners of the National Geographic Bee. Other regions of the world that host geography competitions for students under 16 years of age choose their teams for the World Championship from their pool of winners.

1995 | 1997 | 1999 | 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | 2007