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How do science skills compare around the world?
This graphic ranks participating countries and economies by the average science scores of 15-year-old students in the latest PISA 2025 study, published in September 2026.
PISA assesses students in mathematics, reading, and science. Its science assessment goes beyond recalling facts, testing how well students can explain scientific phenomena, evaluate investigations and evidence, and assess scientific information for decision-making.
More than 760,000 students took part in PISA 2025 across 91 countries and economies, representing roughly 33 million 15-year-olds worldwide.
China in this ranking represents the participating jurisdictions of Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang.
Behind China and Singapore, Macao, Taiwan, and Japan round out the top five, while South Korea ranks seventh.
Estonia is the only European country among the top seven, with an average science score of 527.
Several of the highest-scoring Asian education systems combine strong academic expectations with learning environments that support consistent performance. China, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea all ranked well above the OECD average in science while also performing strongly in mathematics and reading.
One factor may be fewer classroom distractions. In China, Japan, and South Korea, fewer than 10% of students said classmates were distracted by digital devices during most or every science lesson, compared with 28% across OECD countries. The OECD also found that schools with clear rules around smartphone use generally reported less digital distraction.
These systems also produce a larger share of students with advanced skills. In Singapore, for example, 26% of students reached the top two proficiency levels in science, compared with just 7% across OECD countries.
Some high-performing Asian systems also combine strong results with relatively small links between students’ socioeconomic backgrounds and their science performance, suggesting that their results are not driven solely by affluent students.
Outside school, intensive tutoring and strong academic expectations are also common in parts of East Asia. However, PISA does not isolate these factors as the cause of the region’s higher scores, making it difficult to attribute the performance gap to any single practice.
The United States scores 502, compared with the OECD average of 482.
Canada ranks ninth at 510, while Australia and New Zealand each score 509.
Together, these English-speaking countries fall within a relatively narrow eight-point range, though all remain below the highest-scoring Asian education systems.
Estonia ranks sixth overall with an average science score of 527, making it the highest-scoring European country in the dataset.
The United Kingdom follows among European countries at 511, while Finland scores 504 and Switzerland 501.
Farther down the ranking, many large European economies sit close to the OECD average of 482, including Germany at 486, France and Italy at 483, and Spain at 477.
The OECD notes that several small score differences are not statistically significant, meaning nearby positions in the ranking should not always be interpreted as meaningful performance gaps.
More broadly, PISA 2025 found that roughly three-quarters of students across OECD countries reached at least baseline proficiency in science.
At the same time, the OECD average science score fell to its lowest level recorded in the assessment, continuing a broader decline in student performance.
If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Countries by Education Spending as % of GDP on Voronoi.
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Which countries are best at reading? See the latest PISA scores and how the world’s top education systems compare.
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Reading performance is declining across many OECD countries, raising concerns about how well students can interpret and evaluate information in an increasingly digital environment.
This visualization ranks 40 countries and economies by their average reading scores in the 2025 PISA assessment, with results published in September 2026.
Conducted by the OECD, PISA measures how well 15-year-olds can apply their knowledge and skills to real-world problems. The 2025 assessment included more than 760,000 students representing roughly 33 million 15-year-olds.
Singapore ranks first globally in PISA reading. Its literacy curriculum takes a highly structured approach, combining guided reading, discussion, and targeted support for weaker readers from primary school onward.
The country’s English curriculum also emphasizes higher-order skills such as inference, evaluating arguments, identifying evidence, and critically interpreting information across different types of texts.
China, Taiwan, Japan, Macao, and Korea complete the top six, underscoring the strong showing by Asian education systems.

Rank	Country	Average Reading PISA Score
1	🇸🇬 Singapore	535
2	🇨🇳 China	527
3	🇹🇼 Taiwan	508
4	🇯🇵 Japan	503
5	🇲🇴 Macao	501
5	🇰🇷 Korea	501
7	🇮🇪 Ireland	500
8	🇪🇪 Estonia	499
9	🇳🇿 New Zealand	497
10	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	494
11	🇦🇺 Australia	491
12	🇨🇦 Canada	490
12	🇺🇸 United States	490
14	🇵🇱 Poland	482
15	🇭🇰 Hong Kong	480
16	🇫🇮 Finland	474
16	🇮🇹 Italy	474
18	🇹🇷 Türkiye	472
19	🇨🇭 Switzerland	470
20	🇨🇿 Czechia	468
21	🇦🇹 Austria	467
22	🇧🇪 Belgium	466
22	🇸🇪 Sweden	466
24	🇩🇪 Germany	465
25	🇱🇹 Lithuania	464
26	🇵🇹 Portugal	462
27	🇩🇰 Denmark	460
28	🇫🇷 France	456
29	🇭🇷 Croatia	453
29	🇳🇴 Norway	453
31	🇭🇺 Hungary	452
32	🇪🇸 Spain	451
33	🇸🇰 Slovakia	448
34	🇸🇮 Slovenia	445
35	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	443
36	🇳🇱 Netherlands	441
37	🇨🇱 Chile	436
37	🇮🇱 Israel	436
39	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	433
40	🇱🇻 Latvia	430

Ireland has the highest reading score among European countries in the dataset, at 500 points. Estonia follows closely at 499, while the United Kingdom rounds out Europe’s top three at 494.
Several major European economies sit much closer to the OECD average of 461. Germany scores 465, while France and Spain come in below the average at 456 and 451, respectively.
North America’s two entries are tied at 490. That puts both the United States and Canada behind the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and Estonia, but 29 points above the OECD average.
Recent research shows that reading for pleasure is declining in the U.S., with just 16.1% of Americans ages 15 and older reading for leisure on an average day in 2025, down from 27% in 2005.
Reading performance has declined significantly across OECD countries over the past decade. Average reading scores fell from 489 points in 2015 to 461 in 2025, a 28-point drop and a steeper decline than in math or science over the same period.
The OECD notes that strong reading skills are increasingly important for finding, evaluating, interpreting, and reflecting on information in a digital environment.
It also reports that weakening reading performance predates the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries, while increased digitalization, longer screen time, and declining reading for enjoyment have coincided with weaker outcomes.
As AI makes information easier to generate and access, the ability to critically evaluate what we read may become even more important.
If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Countries by Education Spending as % of GDP on Voronoi.
See which countries are best at math based on PISA 2025 scores, with China and Singapore leading the global ranking.
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How do math skills compare around the world?
This graphic ranks participating countries and economies by the average mathematics scores of 15-year-old students in the most recent PISA 2025 study, published in September 2026.
PISA assesses students in mathematics, reading, and science. Its mathematics assessment goes beyond memorizing formulas or procedures, measuring whether students can apply mathematical knowledge and reasoning to real-world problems.
More than 760,000 students took part in PISA 2025 across 91 countries and economies, representing roughly 33 million 15-year-olds worldwide.
China in this ranking represents the participating jurisdictions of Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. Uzbekistan is excluded because a comparable mathematics score was not reported.
China leads Singapore by 49 points, while Macao and Taiwan rank third and fourth with scores of 549 and 546, respectively.
Japan ranks fifth with 525 points, while Korea and Hong Kong are tied at 522. Estonia breaks up the concentration of East Asian education systems at the top, ranking eighth globally with a score of 508 and placing highest among European countries.
The United States ranks 27th with a score of 463, exactly matching the OECD average.
Canada ranks 11th overall with an average mathematics score of 485, putting it 22 points above the OECD average. It also places ahead of several major European economies, including Germany, France, Spain, and Italy.
The United Kingdom ranks 10th with a score of 488. Australia comes in 17th at 478, while New Zealand ties for 14th at 480.
Across OECD countries, average mathematics scores fell by 22 points between 2015 and 2025, equivalent to just over one year of learning. Declines were also recorded among non-OECD participants.
PISA also found an association between heavy digital leisure use and student outcomes. Students spending more than four hours a day on digital leisure activities outside school tended to have lower mathematics scores and a weaker sense of belonging.
By contrast, moderate digital use was associated with better outcomes on both measures than either no use or very high use.
If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Countries by Education Spending as % of GDP on Voronoi.
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