The inclusion of competencies in curriculum documents can be seen as an international reform movement in mathematics education. The purpose of this study is to understand which role mathematical competencies have in curriculum documents in different countries, with a focus on the relationship between competencies and content. Curriculum documents from 11 different countries were analysed. The results reveal three different themes of variation, concerning if the competencies are specific to mathematics, if competencies are described as learning goals, and if such learning goals are differentiated between grade levels.