PISA Reading Scores by Country
The PISA Reading Scores evaluates the reading comprehension abilities of 15-year-old students across different countries. Developed by the OECD, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test measures how well students can understand, interpret, and analyze written texts, providing insights into the education quality and literacy levels in each country.
The table below ranks the countries with the highest improvement in scores from the most recent test compared to the previous one.
Ranking summary
Brunei tops the rankings in PISA Scores (Reading), recording an increase from 408 to 429. Panama follows with a gain from 377 to 392, while Japan rounds out the top three, rising from 504 to 516.- Across all 71 countries, the average year-over-year change was -11 percentage points with a median change of -10 percentage points.
- Overall, 13 countries improved in this area while 57 worsened. Click on a country to open the full country scorecard and see how it performs across a range of key indicators.
| Rank | Country | Most Recent Year | Previous Year | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Brunei | 429 (2022) | 408 (2018) | +21.00 pp |
| 2 |  Panama | 392 (2022) | 377 (2018) | +15.00 pp |
| 3 |  Japan | 516 (2022) | 504 (2018) | +12.00 pp |
| 4 |  Qatar | 419 (2022) | 407 (2018) | +12.00 pp |
| 5 |  Dominican Republic | 351 (2022) | 342 (2018) | +9.00 pp |
| 6 |  Peru | 408 (2022) | 401 (2018) | +7.00 pp |
| 7 |  Philippines | 347 (2022) | 340 (2018) | +7.00 pp |
| 8 |  Italy | 482 (2022) | 476 (2018) | +6.00 pp |
| 9 |  Lebanon | 353 (2018) | 347 (2015) | +6.00 pp |
| 10 |  Israel | 474 (2022) | 470 (2018) | +4.00 pp |
| 11 |  Uruguay | 430 (2022) | 427 (2018) | +3.00 pp |
| 12 |  South Korea | 515 (2022) | 514 (2018) | +1.00 pp |
| 13 |  Serbia | 440 (2022) | 439 (2018) | +1.00 pp |
| 14 |  Romania | 428 (2022) | 428 (2018) | +0.00 pp |
| 15 |  Argentina | 401 (2022) | 402 (2018) | -1.00 pp |
| 16 |  Switzerland | 483 (2022) | 484 (2018) | -1.00 pp |
| 17 |  Czech Republic | 489 (2022) | 490 (2018) | -1.00 pp |
| 18 |  Kazakhstan | 386 (2022) | 387 (2018) | -1.00 pp |
| 19 |  United States | 504 (2022) | 505 (2018) | -1.00 pp |
| 20 |  Ireland | 516 (2022) | 518 (2018) | -2.00 pp |
| 21 |  Brazil | 410 (2022) | 413 (2018) | -3.00 pp |
| 22 |  Colombia | 409 (2022) | 412 (2018) | -3.00 pp |
| 23 |  Hungary | 473 (2022) | 476 (2018) | -3.00 pp |
| 24 |  Malta | 445 (2022) | 448 (2018) | -3.00 pp |
| 25 |  Austria | 480 (2022) | 484 (2018) | -4.00 pp |
| 26 |  Chile | 448 (2022) | 452 (2018) | -4.00 pp |
| 27 |  Croatia | 475 (2022) | 479 (2018) | -4.00 pp |
| 28 |  Lithuania | 472 (2022) | 476 (2018) | -4.00 pp |
| 29 |  Latvia | 475 (2022) | 479 (2018) | -4.00 pp |
| 30 |  Australia | 498 (2022) | 503 (2018) | -5.00 pp |
| 31 |  Mexico | 415 (2022) | 420 (2018) | -5.00 pp |
| 32 |  New Zealand | 501 (2022) | 506 (2018) | -5.00 pp |
| 33 |  Georgia | 374 (2022) | 380 (2018) | -6.00 pp |
| 34 |  Singapore | 543 (2022) | 549 (2018) | -6.00 pp |
| 35 |  United Kingdom | 494 (2022) | 504 (2018) | -10.00 pp |
| 36 |  Türkiye | 456 (2022) | 466 (2018) | -10.00 pp |
| 37 |  Costa Rica | 415 (2022) | 426 (2018) | -11.00 pp |
| 38 |  Luxembourg | 470 (2018) | 481 (2015) | -11.00 pp |
| 39 |  Slovakia | 447 (2022) | 458 (2018) | -11.00 pp |
| 40 |  Denmark | 489 (2022) | 501 (2018) | -12.00 pp |
| 41 |  Estonia | 511 (2022) | 523 (2018) | -12.00 pp |
| 42 |  Indonesia | 359 (2022) | 371 (2018) | -12.00 pp |
| 43 |  Canada | 507 (2022) | 520 (2018) | -13.00 pp |
| 44 |  Moldova | 411 (2022) | 424 (2018) | -13.00 pp |
| 45 |  Belgium | 479 (2022) | 493 (2018) | -14.00 pp |
| 46 |  Thailand | 379 (2022) | 393 (2018) | -14.00 pp |
| 47 |  United Arab Emirates | 417 (2022) | 432 (2018) | -15.00 pp |
| 48 |  Portugal | 477 (2022) | 492 (2018) | -15.00 pp |
| 49 |  Bulgaria | 404 (2022) | 420 (2018) | -16.00 pp |
| 50 |  Montenegro | 405 (2022) | 421 (2018) | -16.00 pp |
| 51 |  Russia | 479 (2018) | 495 (2015) | -16.00 pp |
| 52 |  Saudi Arabia | 383 (2022) | 399 (2018) | -16.00 pp |
| 53 |  Germany | 480 (2022) | 498 (2018) | -18.00 pp |
| 54 |  France | 474 (2022) | 493 (2018) | -19.00 pp |
| 55 |  Greece | 438 (2022) | 457 (2018) | -19.00 pp |
| 56 |  Sweden | 487 (2022) | 506 (2018) | -19.00 pp |
| 57 |  Morocco | 339 (2022) | 359 (2018) | -20.00 pp |
| 58 |  Spain | 474 (2022) | 496 (2015) | -22.00 pp |
| 59 |  Norway | 477 (2022) | 499 (2018) | -22.00 pp |
| 60 |  Poland | 489 (2022) | 512 (2018) | -23.00 pp |
| 61 |  Vietnam | 462 (2022) | 487 (2015) | -25.00 pp |
| 62 |  Netherlands | 459 (2022) | 485 (2018) | -26.00 pp |
| 63 |  Slovenia | 469 (2022) | 495 (2018) | -26.00 pp |
| 64 |  Malaysia | 388 (2022) | 415 (2018) | -27.00 pp |
| 65 |  Finland | 490 (2022) | 520 (2018) | -30.00 pp |
| 66 |  North Macedonia | 359 (2022) | 393 (2018) | -34.00 pp |
| 67 |  Iceland | 436 (2022) | 474 (2018) | -38.00 pp |
| 68 |  Cyprus | 381 (2022) | 424 (2018) | -43.00 pp |
| 69 |  Tunisia | 361 (2015) | 404 (2012) | -43.00 pp |
| 70 |  Albania | 358 (2022) | 405 (2018) | -47.00 pp |
| 71 |  Jordan | 342 (2022) | 419 (2018) | -77.00 pp |
Source: OECD. Only countries with complete data (both points within the past 10 years) are shown.