Table 602.50.

Average reading literacy scores of 15-year-old students and percentage attaining reading literacy proficiency levels, by country or other education system: 2015

[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Country or other education system	Average reading literacy score1			Percentage attaining reading literacy proficiency levels2
				Below level 2												At level 2			At level 3			At level 4			At or above level 5
				Total below level 2			Below level 1b			At level 1b			At level 1a												Total at or above level 5			At level 5			At level 6
1	2			3			4			5			6			7			8			9			10			11			12
OECD average3	493		(0.5)	20.1		(0.17)	1.3		(0.04)	5.2		(0.09)	13.6		(0.13)	23.2		(0.15)	27.9		(0.15)	20.5		(0.14)	8.3		(0.11)	7.2		(0.09)	1.1		(0.04)
Australia	503		(1.7)	18.1		(0.55)	1.2		(0.16)	4.8		(0.24)	12.0		(0.47)	21.4		(0.63)	27.5		(0.58)	22.0		(0.58)	11.0		(0.51)	9.0		(0.46)	2.0		(0.20)
Austria	485		(2.8)	22.5		(1.04)	1.7		(0.25)	6.5		(0.67)	14.3		(0.76)	23.5		(0.86)	27.0		(1.07)	19.7		(0.74)	7.2		(0.57)	6.4		(0.52)	0.8		(0.18)
Belgium	499		(2.4)	19.5		(0.90)	1.0		(0.20)	5.3		(0.39)	13.2		(0.62)	21.1		(0.68)	26.8		(0.77)	23.2		(0.68)	9.3		(0.56)	8.4		(0.50)	1.0		(0.16)
Canada	527		(2.3)	10.7		(0.63)	0.4		(0.10)	2.1		(0.26)	8.2		(0.46)	19.0		(0.55)	29.7		(0.69)	26.6		(0.68)	14.0		(0.74)	11.6		(0.58)	2.4		(0.29)
Chile	459		(2.6)	28.4		(1.16)	1.3		(0.29)	7.4		(0.59)	19.8		(0.86)	29.9		(1.22)	27.0		(0.89)	12.4		(0.78)	2.3		(0.29)	2.2		(0.28)	0.1	!	(0.05)
Czech Republic	487		(2.6)	22.0		(1.10)	1.3		(0.28)	6.0		(0.62)	14.7		(0.69)	23.3		(0.80)	27.5		(1.01)	19.3		(0.90)	7.9		(0.55)	6.9		(0.49)	1.0		(0.16)
Denmark	500		(2.5)	15.0		(0.81)	0.5		(0.14)	3.3		(0.35)	11.2		(0.65)	24.1		(0.84)	32.4		(0.76)	22.0		(0.85)	6.5		(0.61)	5.9		(0.56)	0.6	!	(0.17)
Estonia	519		(2.2)	10.6		(0.72)	‡		(†)	2.1		(0.31)	8.4		(0.66)	21.6		(0.73)	31.4		(0.86)	25.4		(0.95)	11.0		(0.65)	9.7		(0.61)	1.4		(0.24)
Finland	526		(2.5)	11.1		(0.75)	0.6		(0.15)	2.6		(0.31)	7.8		(0.52)	17.6		(0.77)	29.7		(0.91)	27.9		(0.96)	13.7		(0.72)	11.7		(0.62)	2.0		(0.26)
France	499		(2.5)	21.5		(0.91)	2.3		(0.43)	6.5		(0.57)	12.7		(0.52)	19.0		(0.80)	24.5		(0.91)	22.5		(0.79)	12.5		(0.74)	10.5		(0.68)	2.0		(0.23)
Germany	509		(3.0)	16.2		(0.93)	0.9		(0.20)	4.1		(0.46)	11.2		(0.69)	21.0		(0.97)	27.6		(0.91)	23.5		(0.85)	11.7		(0.70)	9.7		(0.65)	1.9		(0.29)
Greece	467		(4.3)	27.3		(1.79)	2.3		(0.51)	7.8		(0.96)	17.2		(0.96)	25.3		(0.97)	27.2		(1.08)	16.1		(0.92)	4.0		(0.47)	3.8		(0.45)	0.3	!	(0.09)
Hungary	470		(2.7)	27.5		(1.12)	1.4		(0.29)	8.1		(0.78)	18.0		(0.92)	24.5		(0.85)	27.0		(1.01)	16.8		(0.75)	4.3		(0.45)	3.9		(0.40)	0.4	!	(0.11)
Iceland	482		(2.0)	22.1		(0.98)	1.8		(0.32)	6.0		(0.52)	14.3		(0.90)	26.0		(1.09)	27.3		(0.93)	18.0		(0.75)	6.6		(0.60)	5.8		(0.54)	0.8	!	(0.24)
Ireland	521		(2.5)	10.2		(0.80)	‡		(†)	1.7		(0.30)	8.3		(0.67)	21.0		(0.87)	31.8		(1.06)	26.4		(0.78)	10.7		(0.65)	9.4		(0.58)	1.3		(0.23)
Israel	479		(3.8)	26.6		(1.25)	3.3		(0.47)	8.1		(0.65)	15.2		(0.83)	21.7		(0.97)	24.0		(0.85)	18.5		(0.89)	9.2		(0.74)	7.7		(0.64)	1.4		(0.25)
Italy	485		(2.7)	21.0		(1.03)	1.0		(0.24)	5.4		(0.45)	14.5		(0.77)	25.4		(0.95)	28.8		(0.81)	19.2		(0.86)	5.7		(0.48)	5.1		(0.41)	0.6		(0.15)
Japan	516		(3.2)	12.9		(0.98)	0.6		(0.18)	3.0		(0.40)	9.2		(0.67)	19.8		(0.92)	30.5		(0.87)	26.0		(1.02)	10.8		(0.90)	9.5		(0.81)	1.3		(0.25)
Korea, Republic of	517		(3.5)	13.7		(0.98)	0.7		(0.19)	3.4		(0.48)	9.5		(0.72)	19.3		(0.95)	28.9		(1.03)	25.5		(1.16)	12.7		(0.96)	10.8		(0.83)	1.9		(0.31)
Latvia	488		(1.8)	17.7		(0.93)	0.4	!	(0.17)	3.8		(0.40)	13.4		(0.78)	27.2		(0.83)	32.1		(0.88)	18.7		(0.82)	4.3		(0.47)	4.0		(0.44)	0.3	!	(0.13)
Luxembourg	481		(1.4)	25.6		(0.58)	1.9		(0.28)	7.8		(0.49)	15.9		(0.67)	22.0		(0.84)	24.7		(0.65)	19.4		(0.73)	8.1		(0.45)	7.0		(0.39)	1.2		(0.19)
Mexico	423		(2.6)	41.7		(1.28)	2.0		(0.29)	11.4		(0.79)	28.4		(0.90)	34.2		(1.00)	19.5		(0.91)	4.2		(0.51)	0.3	!	(0.12)	0.3	!	(0.12)	‡		(†)
Netherlands	503		(2.4)	18.1		(1.03)	1.1		(0.20)	4.4		(0.45)	12.6		(0.80)	21.8		(0.88)	26.6		(1.05)	22.7		(0.79)	10.9		(0.63)	9.5		(0.58)	1.4		(0.28)
New Zealand	509		(2.4)	17.3		(0.85)	1.0		(0.18)	4.8		(0.55)	11.5		(0.71)	20.6		(0.74)	26.5		(0.93)	22.0		(0.91)	13.6		(0.87)	11.0		(0.73)	2.6		(0.37)
Norway	513		(2.5)	14.9		(0.82)	0.8		(0.18)	3.6		(0.39)	10.6		(0.60)	20.4		(0.74)	28.5		(0.79)	23.9		(0.83)	12.2		(0.67)	10.1		(0.61)	2.1		(0.36)
Poland	506		(2.5)	14.4		(0.78)	0.5	!	(0.17)	3.2		(0.41)	10.8		(0.64)	22.5		(0.84)	31.4		(0.82)	23.5		(0.88)	8.2		(0.70)	7.5		(0.63)	0.7		(0.20)
Portugal	498		(2.7)	17.2		(0.88)	0.6		(0.13)	3.9		(0.39)	12.7		(0.67)	23.2		(0.83)	30.2		(0.92)	21.9		(0.98)	7.5		(0.58)	6.9		(0.59)	0.6		(0.18)
Slovak Republic	453		(2.8)	32.1		(1.14)	4.4		(0.53)	9.4		(0.57)	18.3		(0.79)	25.7		(0.78)	24.8		(0.88)	14.0		(0.65)	3.5		(0.40)	3.2		(0.37)	0.2	!	(0.11)
Slovenia	505		(1.5)	15.1		(0.58)	0.5		(0.10)	3.4		(0.34)	11.2		(0.52)	22.5		(0.90)	30.3		(0.89)	23.1		(0.78)	8.9		(0.68)	8.0		(0.68)	1.0	!	(0.36)
Spain	496		(2.4)	16.2		(0.85)	0.7		(0.16)	3.5		(0.37)	12.0		(0.69)	24.4		(0.80)	32.3		(0.97)	21.6		(0.85)	5.5		(0.53)	5.1		(0.51)	0.4		(0.10)
Sweden	500		(3.5)	18.4		(1.09)	1.5		(0.28)	4.8		(0.46)	12.2		(0.84)	21.7		(0.84)	27.5		(0.77)	22.5		(0.98)	10.0		(0.79)	8.5		(0.74)	1.5		(0.28)
Switzerland	492		(3.0)	20.0		(1.10)	1.2		(0.26)	5.2		(0.56)	13.5		(0.74)	23.2		(0.87)	28.1		(0.96)	20.9		(0.94)	7.8		(0.65)	6.9		(0.60)	0.9		(0.20)
Turkey	428		(4.0)	40.0		(2.00)	2.3		(0.32)	10.9		(0.96)	26.8		(1.38)	32.6		(1.48)	21.1		(1.41)	5.7		(0.88)	0.6	!	(0.23)	0.6	!	(0.22)	‡		(†)
United Kingdom	498		(2.8)	17.9		(0.86)	0.8		(0.16)	4.0		(0.37)	13.1		(0.70)	24.3		(0.85)	28.4		(0.73)	20.3		(0.75)	9.2		(0.64)	7.7		(0.51)	1.5		(0.22)
United States	497		(3.4)	19.0		(1.14)	1.1		(0.24)	4.8		(0.53)	13.0		(0.77)	22.9		(0.90)	28.0		(0.95)	20.5		(0.87)	9.6		(0.74)	8.2		(0.64)	1.4		(0.23)
Non-OECD education systems
Albania	405		(4.1)	50.3		(1.92)	7.4		(0.70)	15.9		(1.06)	27.0		(1.25)	27.3		(1.08)	16.3		(1.05)	5.1		(0.68)	1.0		(0.23)	0.9		(0.21)	‡		(†)
Algeria	350		(3.0)	79.0		(1.55)	11.0		(1.02)	31.2		(1.17)	36.8		(1.20)	17.0		(1.23)	3.7		(0.55)	0.3	!	(0.12)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	#		(†)
Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu,        Guangdong (China)	494		(5.1)	21.9		(1.51)	2.1		(0.44)	6.2		(0.64)	13.5		(0.84)	20.9		(1.06)	25.4		(1.11)	20.9		(1.19)	10.9		(1.29)	9.1		(0.97)	1.8		(0.45)
Brazil.	407		(2.8)	51.0		(1.13)	7.1		(0.47)	17.4		(0.65)	26.5		(0.61)	25.0		(0.66)	16.2		(0.57)	6.4		(0.46)	1.4		(0.25)	1.3		(0.21)	‡		(†)
Buenos Aires (Argentina)	475		(7.2)	21.8		(2.29)	1.5	!	(0.54)	5.8		(1.09)	14.5		(1.66)	28.2		(2.10)	30.1		(1.98)	16.2		(2.03)	3.8		(1.09)	3.5		(1.00)	0.3	!	(0.21)
Bulgaria	432		(5.0)	41.5		(1.99)	7.7		(0.93)	14.3		(1.16)	19.5		(0.98)	22.0		(1.04)	21.2		(1.26)	11.7		(0.97)	3.6		(0.47)	3.2		(0.40)	0.4	!	(0.13)
Chinese Taipei	497		(2.5)	17.2		(0.82)	1.0		(0.16)	4.4		(0.37)	11.8		(0.59)	22.4		(0.77)	31.3		(1.00)	22.1		(0.86)	6.9		(0.77)	6.3		(0.66)	0.6		(0.19)
Colombia	425		(2.9)	42.8		(1.49)	3.2		(0.47)	13.6		(1.00)	26.1		(0.95)	29.2		(0.92)	19.9		(0.93)	7.0		(0.51)	1.0		(0.16)	0.9		(0.17)	‡		(†)
Costa Rica	427		(2.6)	40.3		(1.44)	1.7		(0.28)	10.3		(0.72)	28.3		(1.00)	34.6		(1.04)	19.2		(1.05)	5.2		(0.57)	0.7		(0.18)	0.6		(0.17)	‡		(†)
Croatia	487		(2.7)	19.9		(1.14)	0.6		(0.14)	4.5		(0.45)	14.8		(0.86)	26.6		(0.91)	28.6		(0.99)	19.0		(0.93)	5.9		(0.54)	5.4		(0.55)	0.5		(0.14)
Cyprus	443		(1.7)	35.6		(0.85)	4.4		(0.38)	11.4		(0.56)	19.8		(0.96)	27.0		(0.73)	23.0		(0.84)	11.3		(0.58)	3.1		(0.34)	2.8		(0.33)	0.2	!	(0.09)
Dominican Republic	358		(3.1)	72.1		(1.46)	13.1		(1.06)	28.2		(1.24)	30.8		(1.23)	19.5		(1.06)	7.0		(0.72)	1.3		(0.29)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	#		(†)
Georgia	401		(3.0)	51.7		(1.27)	9.5		(0.65)	16.4		(0.80)	25.8		(0.80)	25.4		(0.91)	16.1		(0.76)	5.7		(0.54)	1.1		(0.23)	1.1		(0.21)	‡		(†)
Hong Kong (China)	527		(2.7)	9.3		(0.76)	0.3	!	(0.12)	2.0		(0.28)	7.0		(0.61)	18.1		(0.93)	32.1		(1.07)	29.0		(0.97)	11.6		(0.86)	10.4		(0.82)	1.1		(0.21)
Indonesia	397		(2.9)	55.4		(1.49)	3.8		(0.65)	16.8		(1.07)	34.8		(1.05)	30.9		(1.13)	11.7		(0.78)	1.9		(0.32)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
Jordan	408		(2.9)	46.3		(1.40)	7.4		(0.70)	13.7		(0.76)	25.2		(0.92)	30.7		(0.76)	18.7		(0.94)	4.1		(0.39)	0.3	!	(0.10)	0.3	!	(0.10)	‡		(†)
Kosovo	347		(1.6)	76.9		(0.89)	14.6		(0.74)	28.0		(0.95)	34.2		(1.13)	19.4		(0.93)	3.6		(0.43)	‡		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)	#		(†)
Lebanon	347		(4.4)	70.4		(1.63)	24.1		(1.51)	24.5		(1.32)	21.7		(1.11)	15.8		(1.00)	9.4		(0.85)	3.6		(0.49)	0.8		(0.25)	0.7	!	(0.25)	‡		(†)
Lithuania	472		(2.7)	25.1		(0.93)	1.3		(0.24)	6.7		(0.51)	17.1		(0.72)	27.1		(0.81)	26.7		(0.91)	16.7		(0.90)	4.4		(0.51)	4.1		(0.46)	0.4	!	(0.11)
Macao (China)	509		(1.3)	11.7		(0.45)	0.3	!	(0.10)	2.1		(0.26)	9.3		(0.50)	23.1		(0.83)	34.2		(0.91)	24.4		(0.87)	6.7		(0.55)	6.2		(0.53)	0.5		(0.14)
Macedonia, Republic of	352		(1.4)	70.7		(0.73)	18.8		(0.68)	24.1		(0.82)	27.7		(0.91)	19.3		(0.76)	8.1		(0.56)	1.7		(0.24)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
Malta	447		(1.8)	35.6		(0.84)	7.5		(0.48)	11.1		(0.75)	17.0		(0.93)	22.5		(0.84)	22.5		(0.84)	13.9		(0.71)	5.6		(0.42)	4.7		(0.45)	0.9		(0.24)
Massachusetts4 (USA)	527		(6.0)	11.3		(1.28)	0.5	!	(0.22)	2.3		(0.52)	8.5		(1.15)	17.9		(1.56)	29.7		(1.58)	26.7		(1.78)	14.5		(1.63)	11.9		(1.51)	2.5		(0.61)
Moldova, Republic of	416		(2.5)	45.8		(1.14)	5.9		(0.47)	14.7		(0.68)	25.1		(0.92)	27.7		(0.85)	18.7		(0.76)	6.6		(0.56)	1.2		(0.23)	1.1		(0.21)	‡		(†)
Montenegro, Republic of	427		(1.6)	41.9		(0.73)	4.1		(0.32)	13.0		(0.66)	24.9		(0.81)	28.6		(0.74)	20.2		(0.58)	7.9		(0.45)	1.4		(0.28)	1.3		(0.27)	‡		(†)
North Carolina4 (USA)	500		(5.4)	18.0		(1.44)	0.6	!	(0.28)	3.8		(0.66)	13.6		(1.24)	23.4		(1.63)	28.0		(1.51)	21.0		(1.79)	9.6		(1.05)	8.5		(0.99)	1.2	!	(0.35)
Peru	398		(2.9)	53.9		(1.49)	6.4		(0.57)	19.2		(0.95)	28.3		(1.13)	27.3		(0.91)	15.0		(0.81)	3.5		(0.50)	0.3	!	(0.10)	0.3	!	(0.10)	‡		(†)
Puerto Rico (USA)	410		(7.1)	50.4		(3.21)	5.8		(1.37)	16.6		(2.25)	28.0		(1.84)	25.8		(1.97)	16.4		(1.83)	6.2		(1.23)	1.2	!	(0.39)	1.1	!	(0.38)	‡		(†)
Qatar	402		(1.0)	51.6		(0.49)	11.1		(0.32)	17.7		(0.44)	22.8		(0.61)	22.7		(0.50)	16.8		(0.49)	7.4		(0.33)	1.6		(0.17)	1.4		(0.16)	0.1	!	(0.04)
Romania	434		(4.1)	38.7		(1.86)	3.7		(0.55)	11.6		(0.88)	23.4		(1.19)	29.5		(1.18)	21.3		(1.23)	8.4		(0.85)	2.0		(0.39)	1.8		(0.37)	0.2	!	(0.07)
Russian Federation	495		(3.1)	16.2		(1.20)	0.3	!	(0.10)	3.2		(0.42)	12.8		(0.99)	27.1		(0.98)	30.7		(1.12)	19.3		(1.00)	6.6		(0.60)	5.9		(0.59)	0.8		(0.17)
Singapore	535		(1.6)	11.1		(0.52)	0.3	!	(0.12)	2.5		(0.24)	8.3		(0.42)	16.9		(0.54)	26.2		(0.74)	27.4		(0.73)	18.4		(0.70)	14.7		(0.66)	3.6		(0.35)
Thailand	409		(3.3)	50.0		(1.76)	2.8		(0.43)	15.1		(1.07)	32.1		(1.03)	31.1		(0.97)	15.0		(0.98)	3.7		(0.54)	0.3	!	(0.12)	0.3	!	(0.12)	#		(†)
Trinidad and Tobago	427		(1.5)	42.5		(0.90)	5.7		(0.52)	14.3		(0.67)	22.5		(0.85)	25.6		(1.00)	20.3		(0.88)	9.2		(0.63)	2.4		(0.30)	2.2		(0.30)	0.2	!	(0.09)
Tunisia	361		(3.1)	71.6		(1.28)	11.1		(1.13)	26.6		(1.08)	33.9		(1.17)	21.0		(1.10)	6.5		(0.59)	0.8		(0.22)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	#		(†)
United Arab Emirates	434		(2.9)	40.4		(1.20)	5.4		(0.44)	13.2		(0.65)	21.8		(0.67)	25.4		(0.63)	20.5		(0.79)	10.7		(0.60)	3.0		(0.35)	2.7		(0.31)	0.3		(0.08)
Uruguay	437		(2.5)	39.0		(1.11)	3.0		(0.33)	12.5		(0.74)	23.5		(0.84)	27.8		(0.81)	21.3		(0.84)	9.3		(0.58)	2.5		(0.40)	2.3		(0.37)	0.2	!	(0.09)
Vietnam	487		(3.7)	13.8		(1.45)	‡		(†)	1.7		(0.38)	12.1		(1.32)	32.5		(1.47)	35.2		(1.33)	15.8		(1.19)	2.7		(0.71)	2.5		(0.65)	‡		(†)

†Not applicable.

#Rounds to zero.

!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.

‡Reporting standards not met. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is 50 percent or greater.

1 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000.

2 To reach a particular proficiency level, a student must correctly answer a majority of items at that level. Students were classified into reading literacy levels according to their scores. Exact cut scores are as follows: below level 1b (a score less than 262.04); level 1b (a score of at least 262.04 but less than 334.75); level 1a (a score of at least 334.75 but less than 407.47); level 2 (a score of at least 407.47 but less than 480.18); level 3 (a score of at least 480.18 but less than 552.89); level 4 (a score of at least 552.89 but less than 625.61); level 5 (a score of at least 625.61 but less than 698.32); and level 6 (a score of at least 698.32).

3 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.

4 Results are for public school students only.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2015. (This table was prepared December 2016.)