The Ministry of Digital Technologies of Uzbekistan reported on the results of the 38th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI-2026), which took place in Tashkent. This was the first event of this kind in Uzbekistan.
The competition was held from August 9 to 16 at the CAEx exhibition complex. Young specialists from over 90 countries participated in intellectual contests covering areas such as algorithm development, problem analysis, testing, and programming. Participants had to complete two five-hour stages, each requiring them to solve three algorithmic problems, with a maximum score of 600.
In total, 368 schoolchildren participated in the competition. Following the event, gold medals were awarded to 32 participants, silver to 62, and bronze to 94. The Ministry of Digital Technologies noted that this result is historic for the Uzbek team.
Results of the Uzbek Team
Jahonaliy Khaydaraliyev, a ninth-grade student from Muhammad al-Khwarizmi School, won a silver medal, scoring 303.48 points. Among the bronze medalists were Timur Kadirbergenov from the Presidential School in Nukus (295.79 points), Ulugbek Rahmatullaev from the Presidential School in Namangan (288.58 points), and Jahongirshoh Avazhonov from the Presidential School in Namangan (285.97 points).
Additionally, Sardorbek Salimov, a student from the Presidential School in Navoi, received an 'Honorary Recognition' award with a score of 189 points. It should be noted that Jahonaliy Khaydaraliyev and Jahongirshoh Avazhonov participated in the IOI for the first time. Timur Kadirbergenov previously represented Uzbekistan in 2025 and received 'Honorary Recognition' with 222 points.
Other representatives of Uzbekistan could not reach the prize top: Ulugbek Kamalov scored 209.56 points, Khumayun Abduraupov scored 139.34 points, and Ravshan Rakhimiddinov scored 35.38 points.
The Ministry of Digital Technologies emphasized that the successful performance of Uzbekistan's youth among global programming leaders forms a solid foundation for future achievements and serves as a powerful stimulus for the country's young citizens.
International Context and Awards
The absolute winner of IOI 2026 was Civen Xu from China, who won the Grand Prize with 498.27 points. Telegram founder Pavel Durov stated on August 10 that many employees of his platform are IOI medalists. He promised that Telegram would give the winners exclusive digital collections of Algorithm Cups valued at no less than $117 thousand.
Pavel Durov noted the symbolism of holding the Olympiad in Uzbekistan, calling it the homeland of Al-Khwarizmi, whose name is the basis of the word 'algorithm'. He added that these digital items, being the only releases from Telegram this year, could be worth significantly more in the future than the stated $1000 for a gold medal, and expressed pride in supporting talented programmers.
The next International Informatics Olympiad is scheduled to be held in Germany in 2027. The IOI flag was solemnly handed over to the German delegation. Uzbekistan's application to host the IOI was approved in 2023 during the 35th Olympiad, which took place in Szeged (Hungary) from August 28 to September 4.
