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Digest of Education Statistics
2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 602.40. Average reading literacy, mathematics literacy, and science literacy scores of 15-year-old students, by sex and country or other education system: 2009, 2012, and 2015
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Country or other education system Reading literacy Mathematics literacy Science literacy
2009 2012 2015 2009 2012 2015 2009 2012 2015
Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8   9 10 11 12 13   14 15 16
OECD average1 493 (0.5) 496 (0.5) 493 (0.5) 479 (0.6) 506 (0.5) 496 (0.5) 494 (0.5) 490 (0.4) 494 (0.6) 486 (0.5) 501 (0.5) 501 (0.5) 493 (0.4) 495 (0.5) 491 (0.5)
                                                             
Australia 515 (2.3) 512 (1.6) 503 (1.7) 487 (2.3) 519 (2.3) 514 (2.5) 504 (1.6) 494 (1.6) 497 (2.1) 491 (2.5) 527 (2.5) 521 (1.8) 510 (1.5) 511 (2.1) 509 (1.7)
Austria 470 (2.9) 490 (2.8) 485 (2.8) 475 (4.3) 495 (3.7) 496 (2.7) 506 (2.7) 497 (2.9) 510 (3.8) 483 (3.6) 494 (3.2) 506 (2.7) 495 (2.4) 504 (3.6) 486 (3.1)
Belgium 506 (2.3) 509 (2.3) 499 (2.4) 491 (3.1) 507 (2.9) 515 (2.3) 515 (2.1) 507 (2.4) 514 (3.1) 500 (2.8) 507 (2.5) 505 (2.2) 502 (2.3) 508 (3.1) 496 (2.7)
Canada 524 (1.5) 523 (1.9) 527 (2.3) 514 (2.6) 540 (2.5) 527 (1.6) 518 (1.8) 516 (2.3) 520 (2.9) 511 (2.6) 529 (1.6) 525 (1.9) 528 (2.1) 528 (2.5) 527 (2.3)
Chile 449 (3.1) 441 (2.9) 459 (2.6) 453 (3.4) 465 (2.9) 421 (3.1) 423 (3.1) 423 (2.5) 432 (3.1) 413 (3.0) 447 (2.9) 445 (2.9) 447 (2.4) 454 (3.1) 440 (2.7)
                                                             
Czech Republic 478 (2.9) 493 (2.9) 487 (2.6) 475 (3.6) 501 (2.9) 493 (2.8) 499 (2.9) 492 (2.4) 496 (3.3) 489 (2.8) 500 (3.0) 508 (3.0) 493 (2.3) 497 (3.3) 488 (2.5)
Denmark 495 (2.1) 496 (2.6) 500 (2.5) 489 (2.8) 511 (3.4) 503 (2.6) 500 (2.3) 511 (2.2) 516 (2.5) 506 (2.8) 499 (2.5) 498 (2.7) 502 (2.4) 505 (2.6) 499 (3.2)
Estonia 501 (2.6) 516 (2.0) 519 (2.2) 505 (2.9) 533 (2.3) 512 (2.6) 521 (2.0) 520 (2.0) 522 (2.7) 517 (2.3) 528 (2.7) 541 (1.9) 534 (2.1) 536 (2.7) 533 (2.3)
Finland 536 (2.3) 524 (2.4) 526 (2.5) 504 (3.0) 551 (2.8) 541 (2.2) 519 (1.9) 511 (2.3) 507 (2.6) 515 (2.6) 554 (2.3) 545 (2.2) 531 (2.4) 521 (2.7) 541 (2.6)
France 496 (3.4) 505 (2.8) 499 (2.5) 485 (3.3) 514 (3.3) 497 (3.1) 495 (2.5) 493 (2.1) 496 (2.9) 490 (2.6) 498 (3.6) 499 (2.6) 495 (2.1) 496 (2.7) 494 (2.7)
                                                             
Germany 497 (2.7) 508 (2.8) 509 (3.0) 499 (3.7) 520 (3.1) 513 (2.9) 514 (2.9) 506 (2.9) 514 (3.5) 498 (3.0) 520 (2.8) 524 (3.0) 509 (2.7) 514 (3.2) 504 (2.8)
Greece 483 (4.3) 477 (3.3) 467 (4.3) 449 (5.1) 486 (4.2) 466 (3.9) 453 (2.5) 454 (3.8) 454 (4.7) 454 (3.6) 470 (4.0) 467 (3.1) 455 (3.9) 451 (4.6) 459 (3.9)
Hungary 494 (3.2) 488 (3.2) 470 (2.7) 457 (3.7) 482 (3.1) 490 (3.5) 477 (3.2) 477 (2.5) 481 (3.6) 473 (3.0) 503 (3.1) 494 (2.9) 477 (2.4) 478 (3.4) 475 (2.9)
Iceland 500 (1.4) 483 (1.8) 482 (2.0) 460 (2.8) 502 (2.6) 507 (1.4) 493 (1.7) 488 (2.0) 487 (2.9) 489 (2.4) 496 (1.4) 478 (2.1) 473 (1.7) 472 (2.6) 475 (2.1)
Ireland 496 (3.0) 523 (2.6) 521 (2.5) 515 (3.2) 527 (2.7) 487 (2.5) 501 (2.2) 504 (2.1) 512 (3.0) 495 (2.4) 508 (3.3) 522 (2.5) 503 (2.4) 508 (3.2) 497 (2.6)
                                                             
Israel 474 (3.6) 486 (5.0) 479 (3.8) 467 (5.4) 490 (4.6) 447 (3.3) 466 (4.7) 470 (3.6) 474 (5.4) 466 (4.0) 455 (3.1) 470 (5.0) 467 (3.4) 469 (4.7) 464 (4.1)
Italy 486 (1.6) 490 (2.0) 485 (2.7) 477 (3.5) 493 (3.6) 483 (1.9) 485 (2.0) 490 (2.8) 500 (3.5) 480 (3.4) 489 (1.8) 494 (1.9) 481 (2.5) 489 (3.1) 472 (3.6)
Japan 520 (3.5) 538 (3.7) 516 (3.2) 509 (4.2) 523 (3.3) 529 (3.3) 536 (3.6) 532 (3.0) 539 (3.8) 525 (3.1) 539 (3.4) 547 (3.6) 538 (3.0) 545 (4.1) 532 (2.9)
Korea, Republic of 539 (3.5) 536 (3.9) 517 (3.5) 498 (4.8) 539 (4.0) 546 (4.0) 554 (4.6) 524 (3.7) 521 (5.2) 528 (3.9) 538 (3.4) 538 (3.7) 516 (3.1) 511 (4.6) 521 (3.3)
Latvia 484 (3.0) 489 (2.4) 488 (1.8) 467 (2.3) 509 (2.4) 482 (3.1) 491 (2.8) 482 (1.9) 481 (2.6) 483 (2.5) 494 (3.1) 502 (2.8) 490 (1.6) 485 (2.0) 496 (2.2)
                                                             
Luxembourg 472 (1.3) 488 (1.5) 481 (1.4) 471 (1.9) 492 (2.2) 489 (1.2) 490 (1.1) 486 (1.3) 491 (2.0) 480 (2.0) 484 (1.2) 491 (1.3) 483 (1.1) 487 (1.7) 479 (1.5)
Mexico 425 (2.0) 424 (1.5) 423 (2.6) 416 (2.9) 431 (2.9) 419 (1.8) 413 (1.4) 408 (2.2) 412 (2.7) 404 (2.4) 416 (1.8) 415 (1.3) 416 (2.1) 420 (2.6) 412 (2.3)
Netherlands 508 (5.1) 511 (3.5) 503 (2.4) 491 (3.0) 515 (2.9) 526 (4.7) 523 (3.5) 512 (2.2) 513 (2.6) 511 (2.5) 522 (5.4) 522 (3.5) 509 (2.3) 511 (2.9) 507 (2.5)
New Zealand 521 (2.4) 512 (2.4) 509 (2.4) 493 (3.3) 526 (3.0) 519 (2.3) 500 (2.2) 495 (2.3) 499 (3.4) 491 (2.7) 532 (2.6) 516 (2.1) 513 (2.4) 516 (3.2) 511 (2.7)
Norway 503 (2.6) 504 (3.2) 513 (2.5) 494 (3.1) 533 (2.9) 498 (2.4) 489 (2.7) 502 (2.2) 501 (2.9) 503 (2.3) 500 (2.6) 495 (3.1) 498 (2.3) 500 (2.7) 497 (2.7)
                                                             
Poland 500 (2.6) 518 (3.1) 506 (2.5) 491 (2.9) 521 (2.8) 495 (2.8) 518 (3.6) 504 (2.4) 510 (2.8) 499 (2.8) 508 (2.4) 526 (3.1) 501 (2.5) 504 (2.9) 498 (2.8)
Portugal 489 (3.1) 488 (3.8) 498 (2.7) 490 (3.1) 507 (2.8) 487 (2.9) 487 (3.8) 492 (2.5) 497 (3.0) 487 (2.7) 493 (2.9) 489 (3.7) 501 (2.4) 506 (2.9) 496 (2.6)
Slovak Republic 477 (2.5) 463 (4.2) 453 (2.8) 435 (3.3) 471 (3.5) 497 (3.1) 482 (3.4) 475 (2.7) 478 (3.0) 472 (3.6) 490 (3.0) 471 (3.6) 461 (2.6) 460 (3.0) 461 (3.3)
Slovenia 483 (1.0) 481 (1.2) 505 (1.5) 484 (2.3) 528 (2.1) 501 (1.2) 501 (1.2) 510 (1.3) 512 (1.9) 508 (2.2) 512 (1.1) 514 (1.3) 513 (1.3) 510 (1.9) 516 (1.9)
Spain 481 (2.0) 488 (1.9) 496 (2.4) 485 (3.0) 506 (2.8) 483 (2.1) 484 (1.9) 486 (2.2) 494 (2.4) 478 (2.8) 488 (2.1) 496 (1.8) 493 (2.1) 496 (2.5) 489 (2.5)
                                                             
Sweden 497 (2.9) 483 (3.0) 500 (3.5) 481 (4.1) 520 (3.5) 494 (2.9) 478 (2.3) 494 (3.2) 493 (3.8) 495 (3.3) 495 (2.7) 485 (3.0) 493 (3.6) 491 (4.1) 496 (3.7)
Switzerland 501 (2.4) 509 (2.6) 492 (3.0) 480 (3.4) 505 (3.4) 534 (3.3) 531 (3.0) 521 (2.9) 527 (3.2) 515 (3.5) 517 (2.8) 515 (2.7) 506 (2.9) 508 (3.1) 502 (3.5)
Turkey 464 (3.5) 475 (4.2) 428 (4.0) 414 (4.5) 442 (4.8) 445 (4.4) 448 (4.8) 420 (4.1) 423 (4.6) 418 (4.9) 454 (3.6) 463 (3.9) 425 (3.9) 422 (4.5) 429 (4.4)
United Kingdom 494 (2.3) 499 (3.5) 498 (2.8) 487 (2.9) 509 (3.5) 492 (2.4) 494 (3.3) 492 (2.5) 498 (2.9) 487 (3.1) 514 (2.5) 514 (3.4) 509 (2.6) 510 (2.9) 509 (3.3)
United States 500 (3.7) 498 (3.7) 497 (3.4) 487 (3.7) 507 (3.9) 487 (3.6) 481 (3.6) 470 (3.2) 474 (3.6) 465 (3.4) 502 (3.6) 497 (3.8) 496 (3.2) 500 (3.7) 493 (3.4)
                                                             
Non-OECD education systems                                                            
Albania 385 (4.0) 394 (3.2) 405 (4.1) 376 (4.8) 435 (3.8) 377 (4.0) 394 (2.0) 413 (3.4) 409 (4.2) 418 (3.5) 391 (3.9) 397 (2.4) 427 (3.3) 415 (4.0) 439 (3.0)
Algeria (†) (†) 350 (3.0) 335 (2.9) 366 (3.5) (†) (†) 360 (3.0) 356 (3.1) 363 (3.6) (†) (†) 376 (2.6) 369 (3.0) 383 (3.1)
Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu,
       Guangdong (China)
(†) (†) 494 (5.1) 486 (5.0) 503 (5.8) (†) (†) 531 (4.9) 534 (4.8) 528 (5.7) (†) (†) 518 (4.6) 522 (4.5) 513 (5.3)
Brazil 412 (2.7) 410 (2.1) 407 (2.8) 395 (3.1) 419 (3.0) 386 (2.4) 391 (2.1) 377 (2.9) 385 (3.2) 370 (3.0) 405 (2.4) 405 (2.1) 401 (2.3) 403 (2.5) 399 (2.4)
Buenos Aires (Argentina) 398 (4.6) 396 (3.7) 475 (7.2) 468 (8.1) 483 (7.8) 388 (4.1) 388 (3.5) 456 (6.9) 467 (8.0) 446 (7.8) 401 (4.6) 406 (3.9) 475 (6.3) 483 (7.2) 468 (7.1)
                                                             
Bulgaria 429 (6.7) 436 (6.0) 432 (5.0) 409 (5.8) 457 (5.0) 428 (5.9) 439 (4.0) 441 (4.0) 440 (4.8) 442 (4.3) 439 (5.9) 446 (4.8) 446 (4.4) 438 (5.3) 454 (4.4)
Chinese Taipei (†) 523 (3.0) 497 (2.5) 485 (3.7) 510 (3.4) (†) 560 (3.3) 542 (3.0) 545 (4.7) 539 (4.1) (†) 523 (2.3) 532 (2.7) 535 (4.1) 530 (3.8)
Colombia 413 (3.7) 403 (3.4) 425 (2.9) 417 (3.6) 432 (3.2) 381 (3.2) 376 (2.9) 390 (2.3) 395 (3.3) 384 (2.4) 402 (3.6) 399 (3.1) 416 (2.4) 421 (3.1) 411 (2.4)
Connecticut2  (USA) (†) 521 (6.5) (†) (†) (†) (†) 506 (6.2) (†) (†) (†) (†) 521 (5.7) (†) (†) (†)
Costa Rica (†) 441 (3.5) 427 (2.6) 420 (3.1) 435 (2.9) (†) 407 (3.0) 400 (2.5) 408 (2.8) 392 (3.0) (†) 429 (2.9) 420 (2.1) 429 (2.5) 411 (2.2)
                                                             
Croatia 476 (2.9) 485 (3.3) 487 (2.7) 473 (3.3) 500 (3.0) 460 (3.1) 471 (3.5) 464 (2.8) 471 (3.7) 458 (3.4) 486 (2.8) 491 (3.1) 475 (2.5) 478 (3.2) 473 (2.8)
Cyprus (†) 449 (1.2) 443 (1.7) 417 (2.0) 469 (2.1) (†) 440 (1.1) 437 (1.7) 435 (2.1) 440 (2.2) (†) 438 (1.2) 433 (1.4) 424 (1.7) 441 (1.9)
Dominican Republic (†) (†) 358 (3.1) 342 (3.5) 373 (3.1) (†) (†) 328 (2.7) 326 (3.2) 330 (2.8) (†) (†) 332 (2.6) 332 (3.2) 331 (2.6)
Florida2  (USA) (†) 492 (6.1) (†) (†) (†) (†) 467 (5.8) (†) (†) (†) (†) 485 (6.4) (†) (†) (†)
Georgia (†) (†) 401 (3.0) 374 (4.1) 432 (2.8) (†) (†) 404 (2.8) 398 (3.9) 411 (2.5) (†) (†) 411 (2.4) 403 (3.3) 420 (2.3)
                                                             
Hong Kong (China) 533 (2.1) 545 (2.8) 527 (2.7) 513 (3.4) 541 (3.6) 555 (2.7) 561 (3.2) 548 (3.0) 549 (3.6) 547 (4.3) 549 (2.8) 555 (2.6) 523 (2.5) 523 (3.1) 524 (3.4)
Indonesia 402 (3.7) 396 (4.2) 397 (2.9) 386 (3.4) 409 (3.3) 371 (3.7) 375 (4.0) 386 (3.1) 385 (3.5) 387 (3.7) 383 (3.8) 382 (3.8) 403 (2.6) 401 (3.0) 405 (2.8)
Jordan 405 (3.3) 399 (3.6) 408 (2.9) 372 (4.3) 444 (3.4) 387 (3.7) 386 (3.1) 380 (2.7) 373 (4.0) 387 (3.6) 415 (3.5) 409 (3.1) 409 (2.7) 389 (3.9) 428 (3.6)
Kosovo (†) (†) 347 (1.6) 329 (2.2) 365 (2.0) (†) (†) 362 (1.6) 366 (2.2) 357 (2.1) (†) (†) 378 (1.7) 374 (2.0) 383 (2.1)
Lebanon (†) (†) 347 (4.4) 339 (5.4) 353 (4.7) (†) (†) 396 (3.7) 408 (4.4) 386 (3.9) (†) (†) 386 (3.4) 388 (4.0) 386 (3.7)
                                                             
Liechtenstein 499 (2.8) 516 (4.1) (†) (†) (†) 536 (4.1) 535 (4.0) (†) (†) (†) 520 (3.4) 525 (3.5) (†) (†) (†)
Lithuania 468 (2.4) 477 (2.5) 472 (2.7) 453 (3.1) 492 (3.0) 477 (2.6) 479 (2.6) 478 (2.3) 478 (2.8) 479 (2.5) 491 (2.9) 496 (2.6) 475 (2.7) 472 (3.3) 479 (2.8)
Macao (China) 487 (0.9) 509 (0.9) 509 (1.3) 493 (1.9) 525 (1.6) 525 (0.9) 538 (1.0) 544 (1.1) 540 (1.7) 548 (1.5) 511 (1.0) 521 (0.8) 529 (1.1) 525 (1.5) 532 (1.5)
Macedonia, Republic of (†) (†) 352 (1.4) 330 (2.3) 376 (1.8) (†) (†) 371 (1.3) 368 (2.2) 375 (1.8) (†) (†) 384 (1.2) 374 (1.6) 394 (1.8)
Malta (†) (†) 447 (1.8) 426 (2.7) 468 (2.2) (†) (†) 479 (1.7) 477 (2.4) 481 (2.4) (†) (†) 465 (1.6) 460 (2.5) 470 (2.2)
                                                             
Massachusetts2  (USA) (†) 527 (6.1) 527 (6.0) 518 (5.9) 536 (7.3) (†) 514 (6.2) 500 (5.5) 505 (5.7) 496 (6.5) (†) 527 (6.0) 529 (6.6) 534 (6.5) 524 (7.9)
Moldova, Republic of (†) (†) 416 (2.5) 390 (2.7) 442 (3.0) (†) (†) 420 (2.5) 419 (2.9) 421 (3.1) (†) (†) 428 (2.0) 425 (2.4) 431 (2.4)
Montenegro, Republic of 408 (1.7) 422 (1.2) 427 (1.6) 410 (2.0) 444 (2.3) 403 (2.0) 410 (1.1) 418 (1.5) 418 (2.1) 418 (2.0) 401 (2.0) 410 (1.1) 411 (1.0) 409 (1.7) 414 (1.3)
North Carolina2  (USA) (†) (†) 500 (5.4) 487 (5.7) 513 (6.0) (†) (†) 471 (4.4) 474 (4.8) 468 (5.3) (†) (†) 502 (4.9) 503 (5.1) 502 (5.7)
Peru 370 (4.0) 384 (4.3) 398 (2.9) 394 (3.4) 401 (3.6) 365 (4.0) 368 (3.7) 387 (2.7) 391 (3.0) 382 (3.2) 369 (3.5) 373 (3.6) 397 (2.4) 402 (2.8) 392 (2.9)
                                                             
Puerto Rico2  (USA) (†) (†) 410 (7.1) 395 (8.3) 425 (7.0) (†) (†) 378 (5.6) 375 (6.8) 382 (5.2) (†) (†) 403 (6.1) 398 (7.5) 407 (5.9)
Qatar 372 (0.8) 388 (0.8) 402 (1.0) 376 (1.3) 429 (1.4) 368 (0.7) 376 (0.8) 402 (1.3) 397 (1.8) 408 (1.8) 379 (0.9) 384 (0.7) 418 (1.0) 406 (1.4) 429 (1.3)
Romania 424 (4.1) 438 (4.0) 434 (4.1) 425 (4.4) 442 (4.4) 427 (3.4) 445 (3.8) 444 (3.8) 444 (4.2) 444 (4.1) 428 (3.4) 439 (3.3) 435 (3.2) 432 (3.7) 438 (3.4)
Russian Federation 459 (3.3) 475 (3.0) 495 (3.1) 481 (3.4) 507 (3.5) 468 (3.3) 482 (3.0) 494 (3.1) 497 (4.0) 491 (3.2) 478 (3.3) 486 (2.9) 487 (2.9) 489 (3.6) 485 (3.1)
Serbia, Republic of 442 (2.4) 446 (3.4) (†) (†) (†) 442 (2.9) 449 (3.4) (†) (†) (†) 443 (2.4) 445 (3.4) (†) (†) (†)
                                                             
Shanghai (China) 556 (2.4) 570 (2.9) (†) (†) (†) 600 (2.8) 613 (3.3) (†) (†) (†) 575 (2.3) 580 (3.0) (†) (†) (†)
Singapore 526 (1.1) 542 (1.4) 535 (1.6) 525 (1.9) 546 (2.3) 562 (1.4) 573 (1.3) 564 (1.5) 564 (2.1) 564 (1.7) 542 (1.4) 551 (1.5) 556 (1.2) 559 (1.8) 552 (1.7)
Thailand 421 (2.6) 441 (3.1) 409 (3.3) 392 (4.3) 423 (3.2) 419 (3.2) 427 (3.4) 415 (3.0) 414 (3.7) 417 (3.4) 425 (3.0) 444 (2.9) 421 (2.8) 416 (3.6) 425 (2.9)
Trinidad and Tobago 416 (1.2) (†) 427 (1.5) 401 (2.1) 452 (2.2) 414 (1.3) (†) 417 (1.4) 408 (2.1) 426 (2.0) 410 (1.2) (†) 425 (1.4) 414 (2.1) 435 (1.9)
Tunisia 404 (2.9) 404 (4.5) 361 (3.1) 348 (3.9) 373 (3.0) 371 (3.0) 388 (3.9) 367 (3.0) 370 (3.4) 364 (3.2) 401 (2.7) 398 (3.5) 386 (2.1) 388 (2.4) 385 (2.2)
                                                             
United Arab Emirates (†) 442 (2.5) 434 (2.9) 408 (3.9) 458 (3.3) (†) 434 (2.4) 427 (2.4) 424 (3.9) 431 (2.9) (†) 448 (2.8) 437 (2.4) 424 (3.4) 449 (3.0)
Uruguay 426 (2.6) 411 (3.2) 437 (2.5) 424 (3.4) 448 (2.7) 427 (2.6) 409 (2.8) 418 (2.5) 425 (3.6) 412 (2.5) 427 (2.6) 416 (2.8) 435 (2.2) 440 (3.1) 431 (2.2)
Vietnam (†) 508 (4.4) 487 (3.7) 474 (4.0) 499 (3.8) (†) 511 (4.8) 495 (4.5) 493 (4.7) 496 (4.8) (†) 528 (4.3) 525 (3.9) 523 (4.0) 526 (4.2)
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
1 Refers to the mean of the data values for all Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, to which each country contributes equally regardless of the absolute size of the student population of each country.
2 Results are for public school students only.
NOTE: Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2009, 2012, and 2015. (This table was prepared January 2017.)

2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest