Proportion of children and young people achieving a minimum proficiency level in reading and mathematics (%) by country
Countries reporting
63
Highest
91.7%
Japan
Lowest
17.1%
Jordan
Median
68.5%
Years covered
24
2000–2023
Data points
580
What the numbers show
Proportion of children and young people achieving a minimum proficiency level in reading and mathematics (%) is currently reported for 63 countries. The highest value is 91.7% in Japan; the lowest is 17.1% in Jordan.
The median across all reporting countries is 68.5%, and the mean is 59.8%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 5.
Over the past decade 11 countries rose and 52 fell. The largest increase was in Oman (up 49.0%), and the largest decrease in Jordan (down 45.4%).
Proportion of children and young people achieving a minimum: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 91.7% | 2023 | up 5.7% | rising |
| 2 | Singapore | 89.3% | 2023 | down 3.4% | flat |
| 3 | Liechtenstein | 85.9% | 2012 | down 2.1% | flat |
| 4 | Estonia | 85.0% | 2022 | down 4.9% | flat |
| 5 | South Korea | 83.8% | 2022 | down 7.8% | falling |
| 5 | Republic of Korea | 83.8% | 2022 | down 7.8% | falling |
| 7 | Ireland | 81.0% | 2022 | down 2.6% | flat |
| 8 | Switzerland | 80.5% | 2022 | down 8.0% | falling |
| 9 | Denmark | 79.5% | 2022 | down 4.3% | flat |
| 10 | Canada | 78.4% | 2022 | down 9.1% | falling |
| 11 | Russia | 78.4% | 2018 | up 9.7% | rising |
| 11 | Russian Federation | 78.4% | 2018 | up 9.7% | rising |
| 13 | Latvia | 77.8% | 2022 | down 2.8% | rising |
| 14 | Poland | 77.0% | 2022 | down 10.1% | rising |
| 15 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 75.7% | 2022 | down 3.2% | falling |
| 15 | United Kingdom | 75.7% | 2022 | down 3.2% | falling |
| 17 | Slovenia | 75.4% | 2022 | down 5.6% | flat |
| 18 | Finland | 75.2% | 2022 | down 14.3% | falling |
| 19 | Austria | 75.1% | 2022 | down 7.6% | falling |
| 20 | Belgium | 75.0% | 2022 | down 7.4% | falling |
| 21 | Czechia | 74.5% | 2022 | down 5.8% | flat |
| 22 | Australia | 73.7% | 2022 | down 8.3% | falling |
| 23 | Luxembourg | 72.8% | 2018 | down 4.3% | rising |
| 24 | Sweden | 72.8% | 2022 | down 0.2% | falling |
| 25 | Spain | 72.7% | 2022 | down 4.8% | flat |
| 26 | Netherlands (Kingdom of the) | 72.7% | 2022 | down 14.7% | falling |
| 27 | Lithuania | 72.2% | 2022 | down 2.5% | flat |
| 28 | New Zealand | 71.2% | 2022 | down 7.9% | falling |
| 29 | France | 71.2% | 2022 | down 8.3% | falling |
| 30 | Germany | 70.5% | 2022 | down 14.3% | flat |
| 31 | Portugal | 70.3% | 2022 | down 6.4% | rising |
| 32 | Norway | 68.5% | 2022 | down 11.8% | falling |
| 33 | Croatia | 67.1% | 2022 | down 4.4% | flat |
| 34 | Slovakia | 66.8% | 2022 | down 7.9% | falling |
| 35 | United States | 66.1% | 2022 | down 10.9% | falling |
| 36 | Iceland | 65.9% | 2022 | down 16.1% | falling |
| 37 | Hungary | 64.6% | 2023 | down 1.2% | falling |
| 38 | Israel | 62.8% | 2022 | down 5.6% | rising |
| 39 | Italy | 61.4% | 2023 | down 3.8% | rising |
| 40 | Turkey | 59.5% | 2023 | up 47.3% | rising |
| 40 | Türkiye | 59.5% | 2023 | up 47.3% | rising |
| 42 | Serbia | 56.9% | 2022 | down 6.8% | flat |
| 43 | Greece | 52.8% | 2022 | down 17.9% | falling |
| 44 | Romania | 51.4% | 2022 | down 13.1% | rising |
| 45 | Bulgaria | 46.4% | 2022 | down 17.5% | flat |
| 46 | Uruguay | 43.5% | 2022 | down 1.6% | falling |
| 47 | Montenegro | 40.5% | 2022 | down 6.6% | rising |
| 48 | Qatar | 40.4% | 2023 | up 38.8% | rising |
| 49 | Mexico | 34.2% | 2022 | down 24.5% | rising |
| 50 | Thailand | 31.7% | 2022 | down 36.9% | falling |
| 51 | Bahrain | 30.4% | 2023 | up 16.1% | rising |
| 52 | Colombia | 28.8% | 2022 | up 10.0% | rising |
| 53 | Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 28.6% | 2023 | up 11.8% | rising |
| 54 | Costa Rica | 28.2% | 2022 | down 29.8% | falling |
| 55 | Argentina | 27.1% | 2022 | down 19.2% | falling |
| 56 | Lebanon | 26.8% | 2019 | down 26.6% | flat |
| 57 | Brazil | 26.6% | 2022 | down 19.1% | rising |
| 58 | Albania | 26.1% | 2022 | down 33.8% | rising |
| 59 | Tunisia | 25.2% | 2015 | down 8.5% | rising |
| 60 | Oman | 24.4% | 2023 | up 49.0% | rising |
| 61 | Chile | 23.8% | 2023 | up 3.6% | rising |
| 62 | Indonesia | 18.3% | 2022 | down 24.5% | falling |
| 63 | Jordan | 17.1% | 2022 | down 45.4% | falling |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- China, Macao Special Administrative Region 91.6%
- China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 86.2%
- Oceania 76.4%
- Europe and Northern America 74.7%
- United States of America 66.1%
- World 50.8%
- Eastern and South-Eastern Asia 47.1%
- Latin America and the Caribbean 36.4%
- Northern Africa and Western Asia 31.4%