Australia vs United States of America: Share of children achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower-secondary age
Australia
77.7%
in 2022
United States of America
79.0%
in 2022
Australia rank
10th
United States of America rank
7th
Share of children achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower-secondary age over time
- Australia
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 79.0% against 77.7% in Australia, a difference of 1.3%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 7 shared years of data; in 2000 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 10th and United States of America ranks 7th of 53 countries.
Across the 3 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 2 and United States of America in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 84.5% | 79.4% | 5.1% | Australia |
| 2010s | 81.1% | 80.6% | 0.5% | Australia |
| 2020s | 77.7% | 79.0% | 1.3% | United States of America |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of children achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower-secondary age, Australia or United States of America?
- United States of America, at 79.0% against 77.7% in Australia as of 2022.
- What is the difference in share of children achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower-secondary age between Australia and United States of America?
- 1.3%, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and United States of America?
- 7 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2022.
- How do Australia and United States of America rank globally for share of children achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower-secondary age?
- Australia ranks 10th and United States of America ranks 7th of 53 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of children achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower-secondary age. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of children who achieve minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education. This data accounts for school completion rates to estimate skills for all children, not just those in school.