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Digest of Education Statistics
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Table 602.70. Average science literacy scores of 15-year-old students and percentage attaining science literacy proficiency levels, by country or other education system: 2018
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Country or other education
system
Average
science
literacy
score1
Percentage attaining science 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 489   (0.4) 22.0   (0.16) 0.7   (0.03) 5.2   (0.08) 16.0   (0.13) 25.8   (0.14) 27.4   (0.15) 18.1   (0.13) 6.8   (0.09) 5.9   (0.08) 0.8   (0.03)
Australia 503   (1.8) 18.9   (0.61) 0.6   (0.10) 4.5   (0.28) 13.7   (0.48) 23.0   (0.56) 27.5   (0.60) 21.2   (0.57) 9.5   (0.54) 7.9   (0.40) 1.6   (0.22)
Austria 490   (2.8) 21.9   (1.04) 0.6   (0.16) 4.8   (0.47) 16.5   (0.91) 25.0   (0.85) 27.6   (0.77) 19.2   (0.82) 6.3   (0.57) 5.8   (0.56) 0.5   (0.12)
Belgium 499   (2.2) 20.0   (0.86) 0.6   (0.15) 5.3   (0.48) 14.2   (0.63) 22.2   (0.75) 28.4   (0.80) 21.3   (0.69) 8.0   (0.46) 7.3   (0.41) 0.7   (0.15)
Canada 518   (2.2) 13.4   (0.55) 0.4   (0.07) 2.6   (0.20) 10.5   (0.43) 22.4   (0.57) 29.3   (0.63) 23.5   (0.66) 11.3   (0.58) 9.5   (0.46) 1.8   (0.23)
Chile 444   (2.4) 35.3   (1.23) 1.0   (0.21) 8.8   (0.67) 25.5   (1.00) 33.1   (0.98) 22.6   (0.96) 7.9   (0.56) 1.0   (0.18) 1.0   (0.18) # !! (†)

Colombia4
413   (3.1) 50.4   (1.68) 2.1   (0.33) 15.3   (1.12) 33.0   (1.07) 29.6   (1.21) 15.4   (0.84) 4.2   (0.44) 0.4   (0.11) 0.4   (0.11) # !! (†)
Czech Republic 497   (2.5) 18.8   (1.05) 0.4 ! (0.13) 3.9   (0.45) 14.5   (0.82) 25.9   (0.97) 28.7   (0.96) 19.1   (0.84) 7.5   (0.52) 6.6   (0.48) 1.0   (0.18)
Denmark 493   (1.9) 18.7   (0.74) 0.7   (0.17) 4.1   (0.34) 13.9   (0.60) 26.6   (0.70) 30.1   (0.92) 19.1   (0.81) 5.5   (0.49) 5.0   (0.48) 0.5 ! (0.16)
Estonia 530   (1.9) 8.8   (0.61) 0.1 !! (0.06) 1.1   (0.21) 7.5   (0.55) 21.5   (0.74) 32.1   (0.90) 25.4   (0.83) 12.2   (0.55) 10.2   (0.53) 2.0   (0.24)
Finland 522   (2.5) 12.9   (0.71) 0.4   (0.12) 2.8   (0.33) 9.7   (0.55) 21.1   (0.71) 28.9   (0.84) 24.9   (0.83) 12.3   (0.68) 10.5   (0.62) 1.8   (0.34)

France
493   (2.2) 20.5   (0.77) 0.6   (0.17) 5.0   (0.42) 14.9   (0.75) 24.6   (0.89) 28.3   (0.75) 20.0   (0.88) 6.6   (0.54) 5.9   (0.50) 0.6   (0.14)
Germany 503   (2.9) 19.6   (0.98) 0.8   (0.21) 5.0   (0.52) 13.8   (0.74) 22.0   (0.95) 26.9   (0.93) 21.5   (0.99) 10.0   (0.63) 8.5   (0.58) 1.5   (0.21)
Greece 452   (3.1) 31.7   (1.47) 1.2   (0.28) 8.1   (0.75) 22.4   (0.96) 31.6   (0.93) 26.0   (1.03) 9.3   (0.65) 1.3   (0.24) 1.3   (0.23) # !! (†)
Hungary 481   (2.3) 24.1   (0.91) 0.6 ! (0.22) 5.7   (0.58) 17.8   (0.86) 26.1   (0.96) 28.1   (0.86) 17.0   (0.74) 4.7   (0.54) 4.3   (0.49) 0.4   (0.11)
Iceland 475   (1.8) 25.0   (0.90) 0.5 ! (0.17) 5.9   (0.51) 18.6   (0.83) 28.3   (0.93) 27.7   (0.97) 15.2   (0.84) 3.8   (0.38) 3.6   (0.39) 0.2 !! (0.12)

Ireland
496   (2.2) 17.0   (0.81) 0.3 ! (0.11) 3.3   (0.35) 13.4   (0.69) 26.9   (0.90) 31.3   (0.85) 19.0   (0.70) 5.8   (0.56) 5.4   (0.51) 0.5 ! (0.18)
Israel 462   (3.6) 33.1   (1.40) 3.2   (0.44) 10.7   (0.74) 19.2   (0.90) 23.1   (0.87) 22.9   (0.83) 15.1   (0.78) 5.8   (0.51) 5.2   (0.43) 0.7   (0.14)
Italy 468   (2.4) 25.9   (1.04) 1.1   (0.23) 6.6   (0.55) 18.2   (0.88) 30.2   (1.00) 27.8   (1.09) 13.4   (0.73) 2.7   (0.40) 2.6   (0.37) 0.2 ! (0.07)
Japan 529   (2.6) 10.8   (0.77) 0.2 ! (0.07) 1.8   (0.26) 8.9   (0.62) 19.9   (0.78) 29.7   (1.05) 26.5   (0.94) 13.1   (0.87) 11.4   (0.70) 1.6   (0.28)
Korea, Republic of 519   (2.8) 14.2   (0.83) 0.5   (0.13) 3.1   (0.35) 10.6   (0.66) 21.0   (0.79) 28.6   (0.95) 24.5   (0.91) 11.8   (0.82) 10.0   (0.65) 1.8   (0.32)

Latvia
487   (1.8) 18.5   (0.79) 0.3 ! (0.10) 3.4   (0.37) 14.8   (0.68) 29.5   (0.81) 31.5   (1.09) 16.8   (0.76) 3.7   (0.38) 3.5   (0.39) 0.3 ! (0.11)
Lithuania 482   (1.6) 22.2   (0.85) 0.5 ! (0.16) 4.7   (0.40) 17.0   (0.75) 28.4   (0.83) 28.7   (0.77) 16.3   (0.60) 4.4   (0.33) 4.0   (0.34) 0.5   (0.11)
Luxembourg 477   (1.2) 26.8   (0.58) 0.8   (0.17) 6.8   (0.40) 19.2   (0.63) 25.7   (0.81) 25.6   (0.76) 16.6   (0.58) 5.4   (0.50) 4.9   (0.51) 0.5 ! (0.16)
Mexico4 419   (2.6) 46.8   (1.43) 1.0   (0.26) 11.6   (0.97) 34.2   (1.27) 33.9   (0.93) 15.5   (0.87) 3.5   (0.47) 0.3 ! (0.10) 0.3 ! (0.10) #   (†)
Netherlands5 503   (2.8) 20.0   (1.14) 0.9   (0.25) 4.8   (0.51) 14.4   (0.82) 22.4   (0.83) 24.9   (1.09) 22.1   (1.03) 10.6   (0.75) 9.1   (0.68) 1.5   (0.25)

New Zealand
508   (2.1) 18.0   (0.78) 0.6   (0.15) 4.3   (0.43) 13.1   (0.60) 22.0   (0.64) 26.8   (0.72) 21.8   (0.67) 11.3   (0.60) 9.5   (0.58) 1.8   (0.27)
Norway 490   (2.3) 20.8   (0.95) 1.1   (0.21) 5.7   (0.41) 14.1   (0.79) 25.0   (0.89) 28.6   (0.74) 18.7   (0.72) 6.8   (0.48) 6.1   (0.47) 0.7   (0.13)
Poland 511   (2.6) 13.8   (0.78) 0.2 !! (0.11) 2.5   (0.34) 11.1   (0.67) 24.9   (0.84) 30.0   (0.97) 22.0   (0.81) 9.3   (0.81) 8.1   (0.71) 1.2   (0.25)
Portugal6 492   (2.8) 19.6   (1.03) 0.4   (0.13) 4.4   (0.62) 14.7   (0.87) 26.2   (0.94) 29.4   (1.01) 19.2   (0.86) 5.6   (0.57) 5.1   (0.53) 0.5 ! (0.15)
Slovak Republic 464   (2.3) 29.3   (1.01) 1.4   (0.25) 7.9   (0.59) 19.9   (0.74) 28.5   (0.88) 25.3   (0.76) 13.2   (0.63) 3.7   (0.38) 3.4   (0.33) 0.3 ! (0.11)

Slovenia
507   (1.3) 14.6   (0.65) 0.2 ! (0.10) 2.5   (0.29) 11.9   (0.58) 24.6   (0.79) 31.8   (1.00) 21.8   (0.87) 7.3   (0.59) 6.7   (0.55) 0.6   (0.17)
Spain7 483   (1.6) 21.3   (0.65) 0.6   (0.10) 4.5   (0.28) 16.2   (0.54) 28.4   (0.50) 29.4   (0.51) 16.8   (0.44) 4.2   (0.27) 3.9   (0.24) 0.3   (0.07)
Sweden 499   (3.1) 19.0   (1.06) 0.6   (0.16) 4.6   (0.52) 13.8   (0.74) 24.0   (0.69) 28.0   (0.85) 20.7   (0.93) 8.3   (0.56) 7.3   (0.52) 1.0   (0.18)
Switzerland 495   (3.0) 20.2   (0.98) 0.4 ! (0.14) 4.6   (0.48) 15.2   (0.75) 24.9   (0.87) 27.8   (0.94) 19.3   (1.02) 7.8   (0.74) 6.9   (0.69) 0.9   (0.17)
Turkey4 468   (2.0) 25.2   (1.06) 0.3 ! (0.12) 4.7   (0.45) 20.1   (0.81) 32.8   (0.95) 27.3   (1.02) 12.3   (0.67) 2.5   (0.46) 2.3   (0.44) 0.1 !! (0.07)

United Kingdom
505   (2.6) 17.4   (0.93) 0.6   (0.15) 3.9   (0.41) 12.9   (0.65) 24.0   (0.82) 28.1   (0.76) 20.8   (0.74) 9.7   (0.61) 8.2   (0.55) 1.5   (0.22)
United States5 502   (3.3) 18.6   (1.16) 0.5 ! (0.18) 4.4   (0.54) 13.7   (0.82) 23.6   (0.86) 27.5   (0.92) 21.1   (0.93) 9.1   (0.74) 7.9   (0.73) 1.3   (0.22)

Non-OECD education systems
                                                                 
Albania 417   (2.0) 47.0   (1.26) 1.5   (0.24) 11.7   (0.65) 33.7   (1.00) 34.8   (1.06) 15.1   (0.70) 2.9   (0.31) 0.2 ! (0.07) 0.2 ! (0.07) # !! (†)
Argentina 404   (2.9) 53.5   (1.42) 4.9   (0.56) 18.2   (0.96) 30.4   (1.08) 27.0   (0.94) 15.0   (0.75) 4.1   (0.41) 0.5   (0.13) 0.5   (0.12) # !! (†)
Baku (Azerbaijan)8 398   (2.4) 57.8   (1.24) 2.5   (0.30) 17.3   (0.97) 38.0   (1.02) 29.9   (0.85) 10.3   (0.75) 1.8   (0.43) 0.1 ! (0.05) 0.1 ! (0.05) #   (†)
Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu,
     Zhejiang (China)
590   (2.7) 2.1   (0.34) # !! (†) 0.3 ! (0.10) 1.8   (0.28) 8.4   (0.63) 23.4   (0.91) 34.6   (1.03) 31.5   (1.35) 24.3   (1.07) 7.2   (0.70)
Belarus 471   (2.4) 24.2   (1.17) 0.5 ! (0.18) 5.0   (0.51) 18.7   (0.88) 31.3   (0.85) 28.8   (0.85) 13.1   (0.81) 2.6   (0.41) 2.5   (0.38) 0.1 !! (0.07)

Bosnia and Herzegovina
398   (2.7) 56.8   (1.56) 2.9   (0.41) 18.2   (0.94) 35.6   (1.01) 29.4   (1.19) 11.7   (0.87) 1.9   (0.28) 0.1 !! (0.07) 0.1 !! (0.07) #   (†)
Brazil4 404   (2.1) 55.4   (0.98) 4.0   (0.40) 19.9   (0.69) 31.4   (0.82) 25.3   (0.69) 13.9   (0.67) 4.6   (0.42) 0.8   (0.16) 0.8   (0.15) # !! (†)
Brunei Darussalam 431   (1.2) 45.7   (0.63) 1.9   (0.28) 14.2   (0.65) 29.7   (0.77) 25.5   (0.53) 17.4   (0.49) 9.0   (0.39) 2.3   (0.28) 2.1   (0.25) 0.1 !! (0.08)
Bulgaria4 424   (3.6) 46.5   (1.61) 3.0   (0.50) 15.3   (1.01) 28.3   (0.92) 26.7   (1.11) 17.9   (0.87) 7.4   (0.64) 1.5   (0.34) 1.4   (0.32) 0.1 !! (0.06)
Chinese Taipei 516   (2.9) 15.1   (0.78) 0.7   (0.17) 3.3   (0.33) 11.2   (0.63) 21.1   (0.86) 28.5   (0.94) 23.5   (0.80) 11.7   (0.88) 10.0   (0.77) 1.6   (0.30)

Costa Rica4
416   (3.3) 47.8   (1.76) 1.3   (0.30) 12.0   (0.84) 34.5   (1.24) 34.4   (1.15) 14.9   (1.20) 2.8   (0.58) 0.1 !! (0.06) 0.1 !! (0.06) #   (†)
Croatia 472   (2.8) 25.4   (1.23) 0.6   (0.18) 5.6   (0.52) 19.1   (0.85) 30.0   (0.84) 26.9   (0.91) 14.2   (0.74) 3.6   (0.39) 3.3   (0.39) 0.3 ! (0.12)
Cyprus 439   (1.4) 39.0   (0.96) 2.0   (0.35) 11.9   (0.64) 25.0   (0.85) 28.9   (1.01) 21.4   (0.67) 9.1   (0.43) 1.6   (0.22) 1.5   (0.22) 0.1 ! (0.05)
Dominican Republic4 336   (2.5) 84.8   (1.14) 13.6   (1.01) 39.6   (1.29) 31.6   (1.31) 12.3   (0.89) 2.6   (0.42) 0.3 ! (0.12) # !! (†) # !! (†) #   (†)
Georgia 383   (2.3) 64.4   (1.20) 5.8   (0.54) 22.9   (0.94) 35.7   (0.90) 24.3   (0.93) 9.5   (0.63) 1.7   (0.28) 0.1 ! (0.05) 0.1 ! (0.05) #   (†)

Hong Kong (China)5
517   (2.5) 11.6   (0.76) 0.2 !! (0.11) 2.4   (0.31) 8.9   (0.65) 21.7   (0.76) 33.8   (0.89) 25.0   (0.95) 7.8   (0.69) 7.1   (0.60) 0.7   (0.18)
Indonesia 396   (2.4) 60.0   (1.48) 1.8   (0.31) 16.8   (0.98) 41.4   (1.12) 29.2   (1.20) 9.2   (0.82) 1.6   (0.34) 0.1 !! (0.05) 0.1 !! (0.04) # !! (†)
Jordan4 429   (2.9) 40.3   (1.38) 3.2   (0.44) 11.0   (0.78) 26.2   (0.90) 32.4   (1.02) 20.7   (0.88) 6.0   (0.51) 0.7   (0.17) 0.6   (0.17) # !! (†)
Kazakhstan 397   (1.7) 60.3   (0.97) 2.2   (0.28) 17.8   (0.74) 40.3   (0.79) 26.9   (0.84) 9.9   (0.46) 2.5   (0.30) 0.4   (0.09) 0.4   (0.09) # !! (†)
Kosovo 365   (1.2) 76.5   (0.73) 4.2   (0.42) 29.3   (0.86) 43.1   (0.97) 19.2   (0.74) 3.9   (0.35) 0.4 ! (0.12) # !! (†) # !! (†) #   (†)

Lebanon
384   (3.5) 62.3   (1.57) 8.9   (0.78) 23.6   (1.22) 29.7   (1.00) 21.8   (0.96) 11.8   (0.84) 3.6   (0.38) 0.5 ! (0.17) 0.5 ! (0.17) # !! (†)
Macao (China) 544   (1.5) 6.0   (0.55) 0.1 !! (0.07) 0.8   (0.18) 5.1   (0.52) 17.2   (0.72) 32.3   (0.97) 30.8   (0.89) 13.6   (0.55) 11.9   (0.58) 1.7   (0.30)
Malaysia4 438   (2.7) 36.6   (1.31) 0.7   (0.16) 8.3   (0.66) 27.6   (1.01) 35.9   (0.98) 21.5   (0.94) 5.4   (0.76) 0.6 ! (0.19) 0.6 ! (0.19) # !! (†)
Malta 457   (1.9) 33.5   (0.93) 3.4   (0.41) 10.8   (0.70) 19.4   (0.74) 24.9   (0.87) 23.7   (0.89) 13.5   (0.70) 4.4   (0.42) 3.9   (0.42) 0.5   (0.14)
Moldova, Republic of 428   (2.3) 42.6   (1.17) 2.4   (0.28) 12.7   (0.73) 27.4   (0.86) 29.7   (0.89) 20.2   (0.84) 6.6   (0.54) 0.9   (0.21) 0.8   (0.21) # !! (†)

Montenegro, Republic of
415   (1.3) 48.2   (0.73) 2.2   (0.32) 14.6   (0.57) 31.4   (0.79) 31.5   (0.70) 15.9   (0.59) 4.0   (0.33) 0.3 ! (0.11) 0.3 ! (0.11) # !! (†)
Morocco4 377   (3.0) 69.4   (1.82) 2.7   (0.38) 26.1   (1.45) 40.7   (1.12) 24.0   (1.36) 6.1   (0.63) 0.4 ! (0.14) # !! (†) # !! (†) #   (†)
North Macedonia 413   (1.4) 49.5   (0.78) 4.5   (0.39) 15.5   (0.62) 29.4   (0.78) 28.2   (0.86) 16.4   (0.68) 5.2   (0.44) 0.8   (0.17) 0.8   (0.17) # !! (†)
Panama4 365   (2.9) 71.3   (1.43) 10.5   (0.87) 27.3   (1.12) 33.5   (1.29) 19.7   (0.81) 7.4   (0.75) 1.5   (0.29) 0.1 !! (0.06) 0.1 !! (0.06) #   (†)
Peru4 404   (2.7) 54.5   (1.37) 2.7   (0.42) 17.3   (0.92) 34.5   (1.09) 29.0   (0.82) 13.2   (0.82) 3.1   (0.45) 0.2 !! (0.12) 0.2 !! (0.12) # !! (†)

Philippines4
357   (3.2) 78.0   (1.48) 7.5   (0.78) 35.3   (1.37) 35.2   (1.15) 15.4   (0.82) 5.6   (0.73) 1.0   (0.29) 0.1 !! (0.05) 0.1 !! (0.05) #   (†)
Qatar 419   (0.9) 48.4   (0.50) 5.2   (0.32) 16.6   (0.44) 26.5   (0.56) 24.9   (0.47) 17.0   (0.39) 7.5   (0.29) 2.2   (0.18) 2.0   (0.18) 0.2   (0.06)
Romania4 426   (4.6) 43.9   (2.14) 2.9   (0.46) 13.1   (1.15) 28.0   (1.42) 29.8   (1.03) 18.9   (1.30) 6.4   (0.78) 1.0   (0.25) 0.9   (0.25) # !! (†)
Russian Federation 478   (2.9) 21.2   (1.20) 0.4 ! (0.16) 4.1   (0.47) 16.7   (0.86) 31.7   (0.93) 30.0   (0.94) 14.0   (0.77) 3.1   (0.38) 2.9   (0.36) 0.2 ! (0.08)
Saudi Arabia 386   (2.8) 62.3   (1.49) 4.9   (0.64) 21.7   (0.98) 35.6   (0.99) 26.6   (0.99) 9.6   (0.75) 1.5   (0.26) 0.1 !! (0.05) 0.1 !! (0.05) #   (†)

Serbia
440   (3.0) 38.3   (1.55) 1.9   (0.31) 11.1   (0.80) 25.3   (1.03) 29.9   (0.87) 21.1   (0.87) 9.1   (0.69) 1.6   (0.21) 1.5   (0.20) 0.1 ! (0.04)
Singapore 551   (1.5) 9.0   (0.45) 0.2 ! (0.06) 1.8   (0.21) 7.1   (0.42) 15.1   (0.69) 25.4   (0.73) 29.7   (0.74) 20.7   (0.60) 17.0   (0.55) 3.8   (0.30)
Thailand4 426   (3.2) 44.5   (1.52) 1.3   (0.27) 11.6   (0.82) 31.6   (1.14) 31.7   (0.91) 17.8   (1.02) 5.3   (0.71) 0.7   (0.16) 0.7   (0.16) # !! (†)
Ukraine 469   (3.3) 26.4   (1.39) 1.0   (0.21) 6.3   (0.65) 19.2   (0.94) 30.0   (1.10) 26.7   (1.13) 13.4   (0.80) 3.5   (0.51) 3.2   (0.45) 0.3 ! (0.13)
United Arab Emirates 434   (2.0) 42.8   (0.87) 3.7   (0.21) 14.4   (0.50) 24.7   (0.62) 25.6   (0.52) 19.2   (0.51) 9.5   (0.52) 2.9   (0.23) 2.6   (0.21) 0.3 ! (0.08)

Uruguay
426   (2.5) 43.9   (1.31) 2.1   (0.36) 13.2   (0.82) 28.6   (1.02) 30.6   (0.97) 18.7   (0.91) 6.1   (0.51) 0.7   (0.16) 0.7   (0.16) # !! (†)
Vietnam9 ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)
---Not available.
†Not applicable.
#Rounds to zero.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
!!Interpret data with caution. Estimate could be unstable because the standard error represents more than 50 percent of the estimate.
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 science literacy levels according to their scores. Exact cut scores are as follows: below level 1b (a score less than 260.54); level 1b (a score of at least 260.54 but less than 334.94); level 1a (a score of at least 334.94 but less than 409.54); level 2 (a score of at least 409.54 but less than 484.14); level 3 (a score of at least 484.14 but less than 558.73); level 4 (a score of at least 558.73 but less than 633.33); level 5 (a score of at least 633.33 but less than 707.93); and level 6 (a score of at least 707.93).
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 At least 50 percent but less than 75 percent of the 15-year-old population is covered by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) sample.
5 Did not meet 85 percent threshold for school participation. However, data are considered to be largely comparable with data from other countries or education systems.
6 Did not meet 80 percent threshold for student participation. However, data are considered to be largely comparable with data from other countries or education systems.
7 Although Spain's PISA 2018 data met international technical standards, its reading literacy data show unusual student response behaviors that prevent these data from being reported at this time.
8 Less than 50 percent of the 15-year-old population is covered by the PISA sample.
9 Although Vietnam participated in PISA 2018, technical problems with its data prevent results from being included in this table.
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), 2018. (This table was prepared December 2019.)

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