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

Percentage of 15-year-old students scoring higher than 261 but less than or equal to 335 on the PISA science scale. At Level 1B, students can use basic or everyday scientific knowledge to recognise aspects of familiar or simple phenomenon. They are able to identify simple patterns in data, recognise basic...

Countries reporting
50
Highest
19.9%
Brazil
Lowest
0.8%
Macao
Median
4.8%
Years covered
13
2006–2018
Data points
250

What the numbers show

PISA: 15-year-olds by science proficiency level (%). Level 1B is currently reported for 50 countries. The highest value is 19.9% in Brazil; the lowest is 0.8% in Macao.

The median across all reporting countries is 4.8%, and the mean is 6.8%.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 26.

Over the past decade 35 countries rose and 15 fell. The largest increase was in South Korea (up 206.9%), and the largest decrease in Qatar (down 36.0%).

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

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Brazil 19.9% 2018 up 17.2% flat
2 Indonesia 16.8% 2018 down 19.9% falling
3 Qatar 16.6% 2018 down 36.0% falling
4 Colombia 15.3% 2018 down 9.9% falling
5 Bulgaria 15.3% 2018 up 27.3% rising
6 Montenegro 14.6% 2018 down 14.4% falling
7 Uruguay 13.2% 2018 up 1.4% flat
8 Romania 13.1% 2018 up 30.5% falling
9 Mexico 11.6% 2018 down 3.3% falling
10 Thailand 11.6% 2018 up 5.2% rising
11 Jordan 11.0% 2018 down 21.7% falling
12 Israel 10.7% 2018 up 7.1% falling
13 Chile 8.8% 2018 up 26.1% falling
14 Greece 8.1% 2018 up 35.5% rising
15 Slovakia 7.9% 2018 up 98.0% rising
16 Luxembourg 6.8% 2018 up 13.0% rising
17 Italy 6.6% 2018 up 31.0% rising
18 Iceland 5.9% 2018 up 48.2% rising
19 Norway 5.7% 2018 up 89.5% rising
20 Hungary 5.7% 2018 up 88.4% rising
21 Croatia 5.6% 2018 up 86.8% rising
22 Belgium 5.3% 2018 up 6.1% rising
23 Germany 5.0% 2018 up 67.7% rising
24 France 5.0% 2018 down 16.6% flat
25 Austria 4.8% 2018 down 19.3% flat
26 Netherlands 4.8% 2018 up 138.2% rising
27 Lithuania 4.7% 2018 up 57.7% rising
28 Turkey 4.7% 2018 down 21.8% falling
29 Switzerland 4.6% 2018 up 52.8% rising
30 Sweden 4.6% 2018 down 8.8% rising
31 Spain 4.5% 2018 up 13.1% rising
32 Australia 4.5% 2018 up 48.9% rising
33 Portugal 4.4% 2018 up 45.7% falling
34 United States 4.4% 2018 up 9.1% falling
35 New Zealand 4.3% 2018 up 43.7% rising
36 Denmark 4.1% 2018 up 3.7% falling
37 Russia 4.1% 2018 down 17.6% falling
38 Czechia 3.9% 2018 down 2.6% rising
39 United Kingdom 3.9% 2018 up 29.1% flat
40 Latvia 3.4% 2018 up 68.3% rising
41 Ireland 3.3% 2018 up 9.1% flat
42 South Korea 3.1% 2018 up 206.9% rising
43 Finland 2.8% 2018 up 179.7% rising
44 Canada 2.6% 2018 up 28.8% rising
45 Poland 2.5% 2018 up 25.2% falling
46 Slovenia 2.5% 2018 down 17.6% falling
47 Hong Kong 2.4% 2018 up 144.9% rising
48 Japan 1.8% 2018 down 9.1% falling
49 Estonia 1.1% 2018 up 12.9% rising
50 Macao 0.8% 2018 down 22.0% falling

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PISA: 15-year-olds by science proficiency level (%). Level 1B 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-level-1b/

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About this data

Indicator
PISA: 15-year-olds by science proficiency level (%). Level 1B
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 higher than 261 but less than or equal to 335 on the PISA science scale. At Level 1B, students can use basic or everyday scientific knowledge to recognise aspects of familiar or simple phenomenon. They are able to identify simple patterns in data, recognise basic scientific terms and follow explicit instructions to carry out a scientific procedure. 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/