PISA: 15-year-olds by reading proficiency level (%). Level 5 by country
Percentage of 15-year-old students scoring higher than 626 but lower than or equal to 698 on the PISA reading scale. Readers at Level 5 can comprehend lengthy texts, inferring which information in the text is relevant even though the information of interest may be easily overlooked. They can perform causal or other...
What the numbers show
PISA: 15-year-olds by reading proficiency level (%). Level 5 is currently reported for 52 countries. The highest value is 12.0% in Macao; the lowest is 0.0% in Albania.
The median across all reporting countries is 5.5%, and the mean is 5.7%.
Over the past decade 24 countries rose and 12 fell. The largest increase was in Macao (up 300.0%), and the largest decrease in Uruguay (down 50.0%).
PISA: 15-year-olds by reading proficiency level (%). Level 5: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Macao | 12.0% | 2018 | up 300.0% | volatile |
| 1 | Hong Kong | 12.0% | 2018 | up 9.1% | rising |
| 1 | Finland | 12.0% | 2018 | down 7.7% | falling |
| 1 | Canada | 12.0% | 2018 | up 9.1% | falling |
| 5 | United States | 11.0% | 2018 | up 37.5% | flat |
| 5 | South Korea | 11.0% | 2018 | down 8.3% | rising |
| 5 | New Zealand | 11.0% | 2018 | down 15.4% | falling |
| 5 | Estonia | 11.0% | 2018 | up 120.0% | rising |
| 5 | Sweden | 11.0% | 2018 | up 37.5% | falling |
| 11 | Germany | 10.0% | 2018 | up 42.9% | rising |
| 11 | Poland | 10.0% | 2018 | up 42.9% | rising |
| 11 | Australia | 10.0% | 2018 | down 9.1% | falling |
| 11 | Norway | 10.0% | 2018 | up 25.0% | rising |
| 16 | Japan | 9.0% | 2018 | down 18.2% | rising |
| 16 | United Kingdom | 9.0% | 2018 | up 28.6% | falling |
| 18 | Israel | 8.0% | 2018 | up 33.3% | rising |
| 18 | France | 8.0% | 2018 | unchanged | rising |
| 18 | Belgium | 8.0% | 2018 | down 20.0% | falling |
| 18 | Netherlands | 8.0% | 2018 | down 11.1% | rising |
| 22 | Austria | 7.0% | 2018 | up 40.0% | falling |
| 22 | Switzerland | 7.0% | 2018 | unchanged | falling |
| 22 | Slovenia | 7.0% | 2018 | up 75.0% | rising |
| 22 | Denmark | 7.0% | 2018 | up 75.0% | rising |
| 22 | Czechia | 7.0% | 2018 | up 40.0% | rising |
| 27 | Iceland | 6.0% | 2018 | down 25.0% | falling |
| 27 | Portugal | 6.0% | 2018 | up 20.0% | rising |
| 30 | Lithuania | 5.0% | 2018 | up 66.7% | rising |
| 30 | Italy | 5.0% | 2018 | unchanged | flat |
| 30 | Russia | 5.0% | 2018 | up 66.7% | rising |
| 30 | Hungary | 5.0% | 2018 | down 16.7% | flat |
| 30 | Spain | 5.0% | 2015 | up 150.0% | rising |
| 35 | Latvia | 4.0% | 2018 | up 33.3% | falling |
| 35 | Croatia | 4.0% | 2018 | up 33.3% | rising |
| 35 | Slovakia | 4.0% | 2018 | unchanged | flat |
| 38 | Turkey | 3.0% | 2018 | up 50.0% | falling |
| 38 | Greece | 3.0% | 2018 | down 40.0% | falling |
| 40 | Bulgaria | 2.0% | 2018 | down 33.3% | rising |
| 40 | Brazil | 2.0% | 2018 | up 100.0% | volatile |
| 40 | Qatar | 2.0% | 2018 | unchanged | volatile |
| 40 | Chile | 2.0% | 2018 | up 100.0% | volatile |
| 44 | Colombia | 1.0% | 2018 | unchanged | flat |
| 44 | Argentina | 1.0% | 2018 | unchanged | volatile |
| 44 | Uruguay | 1.0% | 2018 | down 50.0% | falling |
| 44 | Romania | 1.0% | 2018 | unchanged | volatile |
| 44 | Peru | 1.0% | 2018 | — | volatile |
| 44 | Montenegro | 1.0% | 2018 | unchanged | rising |
| 44 | Mexico | 1.0% | 2018 | — | volatile |
| 51 | Jordan | 0.0% | 2018 | — | flat |
| 51 | Thailand | 0.0% | 2018 | — | volatile |
| 51 | Tunisia | 0.0% | 2015 | — | flat |
| 51 | Indonesia | 0.0% | 2018 | — | flat |
| 51 | Albania | 0.0% | 2018 | — | volatile |
About this data
Percentage of 15-year-old students scoring higher than 626 but lower than or equal to 698 on the PISA reading scale. Readers at Level 5 can comprehend lengthy texts, inferring which information in the text is relevant even though the information of interest may be easily overlooked. They can perform causal or other forms of reasoning based on a deep understanding of extended pieces of text. They can also answer indirect questions by inferring the relationship between the question and one or several pieces of information distributed within or across multiple texts and sources. Reflective tasks require the production or critical evaluation of hypotheses, drawing on specific information. Readers can establish distinctions between content and purpose, and between fact and opinion as applied to complex or abstract statements. They can assess neutrality and bias based on explicit or implicit cues pertaining to both the content and/or source of the information. They can also draw conclusions regarding the reliability of the claims or conclusions offered in a piece of text. For all aspects of reading, tasks at Level 5 typically involve dealing with concepts that are abstract or counterintuitive, and going through several steps until the goal is reached. In addition, tasks at this level may require the reader to handle several long texts, switching back and forth across texts in order to compare and contrast information. In this database, 2000/2003/2006 Level 5 data are calculated figures based on the current Level 5 (626 to 698) rather than the figures presented for Level 5 (626+) in PISA Reports for 2000, 2003, and 2006. Use caution in comparing results across years. For more information on comparability of results, consult the PISA website: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/