Average performance of 15-year-old girls and boys in reading by country

Assessed through the PISA reading scale, which measures how well someone can understand and use written information to learn new things and be a part of society.

Countries reporting
55
Highest
552.55 score
Singapore
Lowest
364.44 score
Jordan
Median
487.18 score
Years covered
23
2000–2022
Data points
411

What the numbers show

Average performance of 15-year-old girls and boys in reading is currently reported for 55 countries. The highest value is 552.55 score in Singapore; the lowest is 364.44 score in Jordan.

The median across all reporting countries is 487.18 score, and the mean is 470.64 score.

The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 2.

Over the past decade 6 countries rose and 49 fell. The largest increase was in Peru (up 4.5%), and the largest decrease in Jordan (down 16.4%).

Average performance of 15-year-old girls and boys in reading: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Singapore 552.55 score 2022 down 1.1% flat
2 South Korea 533.34 score 2022 down 2.7% flat
3 Taiwan 529.05 score 2022 down 1.8% flat
5 Estonia 524.78 score 2022 down 2.4% flat
6 Japan 524.1 score 2022 down 4.8% flat
7 Canada 519.48 score 2022 down 3.9% flat
8 Macao 517.76 score 2022 down 1.8% rising
9 United States 514.64 score 2022 up 0.3% flat
10 New Zealand 513.86 score 2022 down 3.0% falling
11 Finland 513.01 score 2022 down 7.7% falling
12 Hong Kong 511.87 score 2022 down 8.3% flat
13 Australia 508.74 score 2022 down 3.9% falling
14 Sweden 505.61 score 2022 down 0.7% flat
15 Czechia 503.39 score 2022 down 1.8% flat
16 Poland 503.24 score 2022 down 6.6% flat
17 United Kingdom 502.79 score 2022 down 1.7% flat
18 Denmark 499.37 score 2022 down 2.4% flat
19 Norway 497.96 score 2022 down 5.6% flat
20 Switzerland 495.39 score 2022 down 6.0% flat
21 Croatia 492.96 score 2022 down 3.2% flat
22 Belgium 492.38 score 2022 down 6.1% falling
23 Russia 491.02 score 2018 up 2.0% rising
24 Italy 491 score 2022 down 3.7% flat
25 Slovenia 490.96 score 2022 down 3.8% flat
26 Austria 490.77 score 2022 down 3.4% flat
27 Germany 489.67 score 2022 down 7.6% flat
28 Latvia 488.23 score 2022 down 5.4% flat
29 Portugal 487.18 score 2022 down 4.0% flat
30 Lithuania 487.09 score 2022 down 3.6% flat
31 Spain 487.08 score 2022 down 3.1% flat
32 Israel 485.51 score 2022 down 4.3% rising
34 France 483.77 score 2022 down 8.2% flat
35 Hungary 481.45 score 2022 down 5.1% flat
36 Netherlands 472.55 score 2022 down 9.9% falling
37 Turkey 468.45 score 2022 down 6.1% flat
38 Slovakia 462.5 score 2022 down 4.3% falling
39 Iceland 454.02 score 2022 down 10.7% falling
40 Chile 451.35 score 2022 down 0.2% rising
41 Greece 451.35 score 2022 down 10.1% falling
42 Romania 441.75 score 2022 down 3.4% flat
43 Qatar 439.55 score 2022 up 3.7% rising
44 Uruguay 438.07 score 2022 up 2.4% flat
45 Montenegro 423.33 score 2022 down 6.5% flat
46 Bulgaria 422.1 score 2022 down 10.6% flat
47 Mexico 419.02 score 2022 down 3.7% flat
48 Brazil 419.01 score 2022 down 0.7% flat
49 Colombia 414.26 score 2022 up 0.5% flat
50 Peru 412.3 score 2022 up 4.5% rising
51 Argentina 407.86 score 2022 down 1.5% flat
52 Kazakhstan 400.27 score 2022 down 2.6% flat
53 Thailand 391.49 score 2022 down 15.9% falling
54 Albania 379.24 score 2022 down 5.5% flat
55 Tunisia 372.67 score 2015 down 6.4% flat
56 Indonesia 369.75 score 2022 down 9.9% flat
57 Jordan 364.44 score 2022 down 16.4% falling

About this data

Indicator
Average performance of 15-year-old girls and boys in reading
Unit
score
Source
OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
57 places, 411 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed

Assessed through the PISA reading scale, which measures how well someone can understand and use written information to learn new things and be a part of society.