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...
What the numbers show
PISA: 15-year-olds by science proficiency level (%). Level 1B is currently reported for 48 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 33 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 | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
About this data
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/