PISA Scores Comparison: Math, Reading, Science by Country

PISA compares how well 15-year-old students can apply knowledge and skills in mathematics, reading, and science to real-life problems. [OECD] The latest published core-domain results are from PISA 2022, covering 81 participating countries and economies. Singapore recorded the highest mean score in all three domains: 575 in mathematics, 543 in reading, and 561 in science. [OECD]

PISA 2022 Scores By Country and Economy

The OECD averages in PISA 2022 were 472 points in mathematics, 476 in reading, and 485 in science. These are separate subject scales, not percentages. The table below reports the official mean scores rounded to whole points for every participating country or economy with published results in the three core domains. [OECD]

Data: OECD PISA 2022 Database, Tables I.B1.2.1, I.B1.2.2, and I.B1.2.3. [OECD] An asterisk (*) marks systems for which OECD advises care because one or more sampling standards were not met. The double asterisk on Viet Nam applies to reading: OECD advises extra care when comparing that reading estimate internationally because the linkage to the international reading scale was not strong enough.

The table also shows why a single PISA league table can hide useful detail. A system can occupy a different position in mathematics, reading, and science, and the distance between neighboring systems is often small. OECD reported that 18 countries and economies performed above the OECD average in all three domains in 2022. [OECD]

Mathematics Scores Show The Widest Top-To-Bottom Range

Mathematics was the focal domain in PISA 2022. Singapore led with 575 points, followed by Macao (China) at 552 and Chinese Taipei at 547. OECD also reported a 238-point gap between the highest- and lowest-scoring participating education systems in mathematics, larger than the corresponding full-participant ranges in reading and science. [OECD]

The upper mathematics group has a marked East Asian presence: Singapore, Macao (China), Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong (China), Japan, and Korea all appear in the first six places by rounded mean score. Estonia is the highest-scoring European Union member in the mathematics table at 510, while Switzerland follows at 508. The OECD mathematics mean of 472 sits well below the scores of the leading systems. [OECD]

Reading Changes The Order Of The Leading Systems

Reading produces a different top group. Singapore remains first at 543, while Ireland and Japan both round to 516. Chinese Taipei and Korea each round to 515. The United States and New Zealand enter the reading top ten even though neither appears in the mathematics top ten shown above. [OECD]

The reading results also illustrate why rounded scores should not be treated as exact rank boundaries. Ireland and Japan both display as 516 after rounding, while Chinese Taipei and Korea both display as 515. OECD comparisons use the underlying estimates and their uncertainty, not only the displayed whole-number score. [OECD]

Science Produces Another Distinct Country Pattern

Singapore also led science, with 561 points. Japan followed at 547, Macao (China) at 543, and Chinese Taipei at 537. Finland and Australia appear in the science top ten, adding another change to the set of systems seen near the top of mathematics and reading. [OECD]

Across all participating systems, OECD reported a 214-point gap between the highest and lowest mean science scores. The corresponding reading gap was also 214 points, compared with 238 points in mathematics. These ranges describe differences among education systems in the 2022 assessment; they do not convert directly into years of schooling or a percentage of curriculum mastered. [OECD]

There Is No Official Overall PISA Score

Mathematics, reading, and science scores should be kept as three separate measures. OECD guidance states that performance across the domains is not directly comparable: a higher numerical score in mathematics than in reading does not by itself mean that a student group is stronger in mathematics. The scores are also not cumulative, so adding the three domains does not produce an official final PISA score. [OECD]

This distinction matters in country comparisons. It is valid to compare Japan’s mathematics score with another system’s mathematics score, or Japan’s reading score with another system’s reading score. It is not valid to conclude that Japan is “better at science than reading” simply because its science score of 547 is numerically higher than its reading score of 516. The domains have separate reporting scales.

Mean Scores and Proficiency Levels Describe Different Parts Of Performance

A country mean is useful for comparing the central level of performance, but it does not show how students are distributed across the PISA proficiency levels. OECD treats Level 2 as the baseline proficiency level in each core domain. In 2022, 69% of students across OECD countries reached Level 2 or higher in mathematics, 74% in reading, and 76% in science. [OECD]

The upper end of the distribution is much smaller. Across OECD countries, about 9% of students reached Level 5 or 6 in mathematics, while about 7% reached the top two levels in reading and 7% in science. A country with a high mean may therefore still have an informative internal distribution: the shares below Level 2 and at Levels 5–6 show aspects that a single average cannot. [OECD]

Small Score Gaps Do Not Always Create A Clear Rank Order

PISA scores are estimates based on samples of students. Each mean has a standard error, and OECD uses confidence intervals and statistical tests when comparing systems. A displayed difference of two or three points can therefore be too small to support a clear ordering, even though a simple sorted table places one system above another. [OECD]

This is especially relevant in crowded parts of the table. For example, Denmark and Poland both round to 489 in mathematics; several other systems lie within only a few points. Those whole-number values are useful summaries, but they do not imply that every one-point difference reflects a dependable population difference.

What Changed From PISA 2018 To PISA 2022

Across OECD countries, mean performance fell by 15 points in mathematics and by 10 points in reading between 2018 and 2022. Science did not show a comparable average decline over the same interval. OECD described the mathematics fall as the largest recorded between consecutive PISA assessments for the OECD average. [OECD]

These changes explain why a country’s rank and its score should be treated as separate ideas. A system can move upward in a ranking because its own performance rose, because other systems fell, or through a mixture of both. Score trends provide the better basis for judging movement over time, while rank is mainly a relative position within the group that participated in a given cycle.

What A PISA Score Represents

PISA is designed around the ability of 15-year-olds to use knowledge and skills in practical contexts. It is not a test of whether every participating country teaches the same national curriculum. The OECD describes the assessment as measuring how students use reading, mathematics, and science knowledge to meet real-life challenges. [OECD]

• Mathematics: mathematical reasoning and the use of mathematical concepts, procedures, facts, and tools in varied situations.
• Reading: understanding, using, evaluating, reflecting on, and engaging with texts.
• Science: using scientific knowledge and reasoning to engage with questions and evidence related to science.

The target population is age-based rather than grade-based. This improves international comparability because 15-year-olds can be enrolled in different grades across education systems. PISA is therefore best read as a measure of learning outcomes near the end of compulsory schooling for the tested population, not as a direct measure of primary education, university quality, school funding, or the full performance of an education system.

Why Some Entries Are Countries and Others Are Economies

OECD reports PISA results for participating countries and economies, so the dataset is not limited to sovereign states. Entries such as Macao (China), Hong Kong (China), Chinese Taipei, and Baku (Azerbaijan) appear as distinct participating education systems in the official tables. The 2022 dataset also reports “Ukrainian regions (18 of 27)” rather than a whole-country value. Keeping the official entity labels avoids turning an education-system comparison into a different kind of classification. [OECD]

PISA 2025 Will Reset The Latest Country Comparison

The next release will change the reference cycle. OECD says the first PISA 2025 results will be released on September 8, 2026. The assessment involved more than 760,000 15-year-old students in 91 countries and economies, representing about 33 million 15-year-olds. Science is the focal domain, while reading and mathematics remain core domains. Initial reporting will also include computational problem solving. [OECD]

PISA 2025 also expands the information available around learning. OECD says the release will include evidence on how students use AI for schoolwork and on learner attitudes such as curiosity, perseverance, and agency. Further results on self-regulated learning in a digital environment and English as a foreign language are scheduled for 2027. [OECD]

Questions About PISA Country Scores

Which Country Has The Highest PISA Score?

There is no official combined PISA score. In the latest published core-domain results, Singapore had the highest mean score separately in mathematics, reading, and science: 575, 543, and 561 respectively. [OECD]

What Is The OECD Average PISA Score?

For PISA 2022, OECD-country means were 472 in mathematics, 476 in reading, and 485 in science. The three values belong to separate subject scales and should not be averaged into an official OECD overall score. [OECD]

Is A PISA Score A Percentage?

No. A PISA score is a scaled score point estimate, not the percentage of questions answered correctly and not the percentage of a curriculum mastered. Proficiency levels add a second layer of interpretation by describing the types of tasks students at different points on each subject scale can typically handle. [OECD]

What Does Level 2 Mean In PISA?

OECD uses Level 2 as the baseline proficiency level in mathematics, reading, and science. The task descriptions differ by domain, so Level 2 is not one identical skill across all subjects. In PISA 2022, 69% of OECD students reached Level 2 or higher in mathematics, 74% in reading, and 76% in science. [OECD]

Can Two Countries With Similar Scores Have The Same Statistical Standing?

Yes. Because PISA means are sample estimates, two nearby scores may not be statistically distinguishable. OECD publishes standard errors, confidence intervals, and ranges of ranks for this reason. A simple one-place difference in a sorted ranking can overstate how clearly the underlying populations differ. [OECD]

When Will PISA 2025 Country Scores Be Available?

OECD has scheduled the first PISA 2025 results for September 8, 2026. Those results will replace PISA 2022 as the newest core-domain cycle once the new country and economy scores are officially released. [OECD]