PISA: 15-year-olds by science proficiency level (%). Level 4 by country
Percentage of 15-year-old students scoring higher than 559 but less than or equal to 633 on the PISA science scale. At Level 4, students can use more complex or more abstract content knowledge, which is either provided or recalled, to construct explanations of more complex or less familiar events and processes....
What the numbers show
PISA: 15-year-olds by science proficiency level (%). Level 4 is currently reported for 50 countries. The highest value is 30.8% in Macao; the lowest is 0.7% in Tunisia.
The median across all reporting countries is 16.9%, and the mean is 15.4%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 41.
Over the past decade 18 countries rose and 32 fell. The largest increase was in Indonesia (up 193.2%), and the largest decrease in Tunisia (down 61.3%).
PISA: 15-year-olds by science proficiency level (%). Level 4: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Macao | 30.8% | 2018 | up 36.2% | rising |
| 2 | Japan | 26.5% | 2018 | down 10.2% | flat |
| 3 | Estonia | 25.4% | 2018 | down 1.0% | flat |
| 4 | Hong Kong | 25.0% | 2018 | down 23.4% | falling |
| 5 | Finland | 24.9% | 2018 | down 20.4% | falling |
| 6 | South Korea | 24.5% | 2018 | down 19.5% | falling |
| 7 | Canada | 23.5% | 2018 | down 10.4% | flat |
| 8 | Netherlands | 22.1% | 2018 | down 13.0% | falling |
| 9 | Poland | 22.0% | 2018 | up 3.9% | rising |
| 10 | New Zealand | 21.8% | 2018 | down 13.1% | falling |
| 11 | Slovenia | 21.8% | 2018 | down 5.2% | flat |
| 12 | Germany | 21.5% | 2018 | down 14.1% | flat |
| 13 | Belgium | 21.3% | 2018 | down 11.2% | falling |
| 14 | Australia | 21.2% | 2018 | down 13.6% | falling |
| 15 | United States | 21.1% | 2018 | up 4.7% | rising |
| 16 | United Kingdom | 20.8% | 2018 | down 6.3% | flat |
| 17 | Sweden | 20.7% | 2018 | up 11.0% | flat |
| 18 | France | 20.0% | 2018 | down 7.6% | falling |
| 19 | Switzerland | 19.3% | 2018 | down 20.1% | falling |
| 20 | Austria | 19.2% | 2018 | down 6.5% | falling |
| 21 | Portugal | 19.2% | 2018 | up 6.2% | rising |
| 22 | Denmark | 19.1% | 2018 | down 4.6% | rising |
| 23 | Czechia | 19.1% | 2018 | down 4.3% | falling |
| 25 | Norway | 18.7% | 2018 | down 6.6% | rising |
| 26 | Hungary | 17.0% | 2018 | down 21.9% | falling |
| 27 | Latvia | 16.8% | 2018 | down 4.3% | flat |
| 28 | Spain | 16.8% | 2018 | down 4.4% | flat |
| 30 | Lithuania | 16.3% | 2018 | down 4.3% | falling |
| 31 | Iceland | 15.2% | 2018 | down 19.4% | falling |
| 32 | Israel | 15.1% | 2018 | up 17.8% | rising |
| 33 | Croatia | 14.2% | 2018 | down 15.4% | falling |
| 34 | Russia | 14.0% | 2018 | up 0.3% | falling |
| 35 | Italy | 13.4% | 2018 | down 28.2% | falling |
| 36 | Slovakia | 13.2% | 2018 | down 25.6% | falling |
| 37 | Turkey | 12.3% | 2018 | up 34.8% | rising |
| 38 | Greece | 9.3% | 2018 | down 33.8% | falling |
| 39 | Chile | 7.9% | 2018 | up 1.1% | flat |
| 40 | Qatar | 7.5% | 2018 | up 56.3% | rising |
| 41 | Bulgaria | 7.4% | 2018 | down 32.2% | falling |
| 42 | Romania | 6.4% | 2018 | up 46.0% | rising |
| 43 | Uruguay | 6.1% | 2018 | down 13.8% | falling |
| 44 | Jordan | 6.0% | 2018 | up 45.1% | flat |
| 45 | Thailand | 5.3% | 2018 | up 20.0% | rising |
| 46 | Brazil | 4.6% | 2018 | up 19.9% | rising |
| 47 | Colombia | 4.2% | 2018 | up 68.6% | rising |
| 48 | Argentina | 4.1% | 2018 | down 16.0% | flat |
| 49 | Montenegro | 4.0% | 2018 | up 28.9% | rising |
| 50 | Mexico | 3.5% | 2018 | up 14.5% | falling |
| 51 | Indonesia | 1.6% | 2018 | up 193.2% | rising |
| 52 | Tunisia | 0.7% | 2015 | down 61.3% | falling |
About this data
Percentage of 15-year-old students scoring higher than 559 but less than or equal to 633 on the PISA science scale. At Level 4, students can use more complex or more abstract content knowledge, which is either provided or recalled, to construct explanations of more complex or less familiar events and processes. They can conduct experiments involving two or more independent variables in a constrained context. They are able to justify an experimental design, drawing on elements of procedural and epistemic knowledge. Level 4 students can interpret data drawn from a moderately complex data set or less familiar context, draw appropriate conclusions that go beyond the data and provide justifications for their choices. 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/