PISA: 15-year-olds by reading proficiency level (%). Level 4 by country
Percentage of 15-year-old students scoring higher than 553 but lower than or equal to 626 on the PISA reading scale. At Level 4, readers can comprehend extended passages in single or multiple-text settings. They interpret the meaning of nuances of language in a section of text by taking into account the text as a...
What the numbers show
PISA: 15-year-olds by reading proficiency level (%). Level 4 is currently reported for 52 countries. The highest value is 27.0% in Hong Kong; the lowest is 1.0% in Tunisia.
The median across all reporting countries is 18.0%, and the mean is 15.7%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 27.
Over the past decade 22 countries rose and 20 fell. The largest increase was in Spain (up 69.2%), and the largest decrease in Tunisia (down 66.7%).
PISA: 15-year-olds by reading proficiency level (%). Level 4: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hong Kong | 27.0% | 2018 | down 15.6% | flat |
| 2 | Macao | 26.0% | 2018 | up 52.9% | rising |
| 4 | Finland | 25.0% | 2018 | down 19.4% | falling |
| 4 | South Korea | 25.0% | 2018 | down 24.2% | falling |
| 6 | Canada | 24.0% | 2018 | down 11.1% | falling |
| 6 | Estonia | 24.0% | 2018 | up 14.3% | rising |
| 9 | Poland | 23.0% | 2018 | up 4.5% | rising |
| 9 | New Zealand | 23.0% | 2018 | down 8.0% | falling |
| 11 | Japan | 22.0% | 2018 | down 18.5% | falling |
| 11 | Norway | 22.0% | 2018 | unchanged | flat |
| 11 | Denmark | 22.0% | 2018 | up 4.8% | flat |
| 11 | Spain | 22.0% | 2015 | up 69.2% | rising |
| 11 | Sweden | 22.0% | 2018 | up 10.0% | falling |
| 16 | United Kingdom | 21.0% | 2018 | up 5.0% | falling |
| 16 | United States | 21.0% | 2018 | unchanged | flat |
| 16 | Australia | 21.0% | 2018 | down 12.5% | falling |
| 16 | Germany | 21.0% | 2018 | down 8.7% | rising |
| 16 | Portugal | 21.0% | 2018 | up 5.0% | rising |
| 21 | France | 20.0% | 2018 | down 9.1% | falling |
| 21 | Belgium | 20.0% | 2018 | down 20.0% | falling |
| 21 | Slovenia | 20.0% | 2018 | up 5.3% | flat |
| 24 | Netherlands | 19.0% | 2018 | down 20.8% | falling |
| 24 | Czechia | 19.0% | 2018 | up 11.8% | flat |
| 24 | Austria | 19.0% | 2018 | up 11.8% | falling |
| 24 | Switzerland | 19.0% | 2018 | down 17.4% | falling |
| 28 | Hungary | 18.0% | 2018 | down 18.2% | flat |
| 28 | Israel | 18.0% | 2018 | unchanged | rising |
| 30 | Italy | 17.0% | 2018 | down 15.0% | flat |
| 30 | Latvia | 17.0% | 2018 | unchanged | rising |
| 30 | Lithuania | 17.0% | 2018 | up 21.4% | rising |
| 30 | Iceland | 17.0% | 2018 | down 22.7% | falling |
| 34 | Russia | 16.0% | 2018 | up 45.5% | rising |
| 34 | Croatia | 16.0% | 2018 | unchanged | flat |
| 37 | Slovakia | 14.0% | 2018 | down 17.6% | falling |
| 38 | Turkey | 13.0% | 2018 | up 8.3% | rising |
| 38 | Greece | 13.0% | 2018 | down 27.8% | falling |
| 40 | Chile | 12.0% | 2018 | up 33.3% | rising |
| 41 | Romania | 9.0% | 2018 | up 50.0% | rising |
| 42 | Bulgaria | 8.0% | 2018 | down 27.3% | rising |
| 42 | Uruguay | 8.0% | 2018 | unchanged | falling |
| 44 | Qatar | 7.0% | 2018 | up 40.0% | rising |
| 44 | Brazil | 7.0% | 2018 | up 16.7% | rising |
| 46 | Colombia | 6.0% | 2018 | up 20.0% | rising |
| 46 | Montenegro | 6.0% | 2018 | up 20.0% | rising |
| 48 | Peru | 5.0% | 2018 | up 66.7% | rising |
| 48 | Mexico | 5.0% | 2018 | unchanged | falling |
| 48 | Argentina | 5.0% | 2018 | down 16.7% | falling |
| 51 | Jordan | 4.0% | 2018 | up 33.3% | rising |
| 52 | Thailand | 3.0% | 2018 | unchanged | falling |
| 52 | Albania | 3.0% | 2018 | unchanged | rising |
| 54 | Indonesia | 1.0% | 2018 | unchanged | volatile |
| 54 | Tunisia | 1.0% | 2015 | down 66.7% | falling |
About this data
Percentage of 15-year-old students scoring higher than 553 but lower than or equal to 626 on the PISA reading scale. At Level 4, readers can comprehend extended passages in single or multiple-text settings. They interpret the meaning of nuances of language in a section of text by taking into account the text as a whole. In other interpretative tasks, students demonstrate understanding and application of ad hoc categories. They can compare perspectives and draw inferences based on multiple sources. Readers can search, locate and integrate several pieces of embedded information in the presence of plausible distractors. They can generate inferences based on the task statement in order to assess the relevance of target information. They can handle tasks that require them to memories prior task context. In addition, students at this level can evaluate the relationship between specific statements and a person’s overall stance or conclusion about a topic. They can reflect on the strategies that authors use to convey their points, based on salient features of texts (e.g., titles and illustrations). They can compare and contrast claims explicitly made in several texts and assess the reliability of a source based on salient criteria. Texts at Level 4 are often long or complex, and their content or form may not be standard. Many of the tasks are situated in multiple-text settings. The texts and the tasks contain indirect or implicit cues. 2000, 2003, and 2006 PISA assessments used a different reading proficiency scale (Levels 1 to 5). PISA 2000/2003/2006 Level 4 data have been included in this database as Level 4 because they are based on an identical score range. Use caution in comparing proficiency scores across years. For more information on comparability of results, consult the PISA website: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/