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PISA: 15-year-olds by science proficiency level (%). Below Level 1 by country

Percentage of 15-year-old students scoring below the lowest proficiency level (less than or equal to 261) on the PISA science scale. No item in the PISA assessment can indicate what students who perform below Level 1b can do. Students below Level 1b may have acquired some elements of science knowledge and skills,...

Countries reporting
50
Highest
5.2%
Qatar
Lowest
0.1%
Estonia
Median
0.6%
Years covered
13
2006–2018
Data points
250

What the numbers show

PISA: 15-year-olds by science proficiency level (%). Below Level 1 is currently reported for 50 countries. The highest value is 5.2% in Qatar; the lowest is 0.1% in Estonia.

The median across all reporting countries is 0.6%, and the mean is 1.1%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 55.

Over the past decade 6 countries rose and 29 fell. The largest increase was in Romania (up 45.3%), and the largest decrease in Japan (down 84.5%).

PISA: 15-year-olds by science proficiency level (%). Below Level 1: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Qatar 5.2% 2018 down 47.6% falling
2 Brazil 4.0% 2018 up 34.2% falling
3 Israel 3.2% 2018 down 19.2% falling
4 Jordan 3.2% 2018 down 20.6% falling
5 Bulgaria 3.0% 2018 down 26.2% falling
6 Romania 2.9% 2018 up 45.3% rising
7 Montenegro 2.2% 2018 down 55.3% falling
8 Uruguay 2.1% 2018 down 48.0% falling
9 Colombia 2.1% 2018 down 48.3% volatile
10 Indonesia 1.8% 2018 down 54.5% falling
11 Slovakia 1.4% 2018 up 43.9% rising
12 Thailand 1.3% 2018 down 33.9% falling
13 Greece 1.2% 2018 up 19.2% rising
14 Italy 1.1% 2018 up 8.5% falling
15 Norway 1.1% 2018 up 5.8% falling
16 Mexico 1.0% 2018 down 48.9% falling
17 Chile 1.0% 2018 down 2.8% falling
18 Netherlands 0.9% 2018 — volatile
19 Luxembourg 0.8% 2018 down 59.0% falling
20 Germany 0.8% 2018 down 23.8% volatile
21 Denmark 0.7% 2018 down 34.3% volatile
22 Hungary 0.6% 2018 — volatile
23 Australia 0.6% 2018 down 35.5% falling
24 United Kingdom 0.6% 2018 down 35.8% falling
25 Sweden 0.6% 2018 down 37.7% falling
26 Croatia 0.6% 2018 down 38.0% volatile
27 New Zealand 0.6% 2018 down 38.9% falling
28 France 0.6% 2018 down 69.9% falling
29 Austria 0.6% 2018 down 44.2% volatile
30 Spain 0.6% 2018 down 44.9% falling
31 Belgium 0.6% 2018 down 44.9% falling
32 United States 0.5% 2018 — volatile
33 Iceland 0.5% 2018 down 50.3% falling
34 Lithuania 0.5% 2018 — volatile
35 South Korea 0.5% 2018 — volatile
36 Portugal 0.4% 2018 — volatile
37 Finland 0.4% 2018 — volatile
38 Switzerland 0.4% 2018 — volatile
39 Canada 0.4% 2018 — volatile
40 Russia 0.4% 2018 down 61.4% volatile
41 Czechia 0.4% 2018 down 61.9% volatile
42 Turkey 0.3% 2018 down 66.6% volatile
43 Ireland 0.3% 2018 down 68.1% volatile
44 Latvia 0.3% 2018 — volatile
45 Poland 0.2% 2018 — volatile
46 Slovenia 0.2% 2018 — volatile
47 Hong Kong 0.2% 2018 — volatile
48 Japan 0.2% 2018 down 84.5% volatile
49 Macao 0.1% 2018 — volatile
50 Estonia 0.1% 2018 — volatile

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PISA: 15-year-olds by science proficiency level (%). Below Level 1 by country. Statizoid, drawing on OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Retrieved 25 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/pisa-15-year-olds-by-science-proficiency-level-percent-below-level-1/

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About this data

Indicator
PISA: 15-year-olds by science proficiency level (%). Below Level 1
Source
OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
50 places, 250 data points, 2006–2018
Last refreshed

Percentage of 15-year-old students scoring below the lowest proficiency level (less than or equal to 261) on the PISA science scale. No item in the PISA assessment can indicate what students who perform below Level 1b can do. Students below Level 1b may have acquired some elements of science knowledge and skills, but based on the tasks included in the PISA test, their ability can only be described in terms of what they cannot do – and they are unlikely to be able to solve, other than by guessing, any of the PISA tasks. Data reflect country performance in the stated year, but may not be comparable across years or countries. Consult the PISA website for more detailed information: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/