Science literacy statistics from the OECD’s PISA 2022 assessment show substantial differences in student performance. The OECD mean science score was 485 points, while the gap between the highest- and lowest-performing OECD countries reached 137 points. Across all participating education systems, that gap widened to 214 points.
Table of contents
- What PISA 2022 measured
- OECD science proficiency levels
- How countries compared
- Top and lower score groups
- Students reaching baseline proficiency
- United States and selected country results
What PISA 2022 measured
PISA 2022 reports science literacy through a common score scale and six science proficiency levels, plus performance below Level 1b. The results describe what 15-year-old students could demonstrate in science during the 2022 assessment period. The figures below refer to national, economy-wide, or OECD averages as identified by the OECD source.
The OECD countries’ mean science score was 485 points in PISA 2022, according to the OECD Science literacy page. This average provides a reference point for interpreting country results, but it does not mean that every participating student performed near 485 points. The distribution across proficiency levels shows why a single mean should be read alongside percentages.
The OECD also reported that 76% of students across OECD countries scored at Level 2 or above. In the same assessment, 24% were classified as low performers in science. The OECD Science literacy page reported that the performance difference between disadvantaged and advantaged students was more than five times larger for below-Level-2 science performance across OECD countries. That comparison identifies a major equity dimension in the overall science literacy picture.
OECD science proficiency levels
The OECD distribution gives a detailed view of how students were spread across the science scale. In PISA 2022, 17% of OECD students scored at Level 1a, 6% scored at Level 1b, and 1% scored below Level 1b. Together, these results describe the lower end of the scale and correspond to the reported 24% low-performer share.
At the middle levels, 25% of OECD students scored at Level 2 and 26% scored at Level 3. Level 4 included 17% of students. At the upper end, 6% scored at Level 5 and 1% scored at Level 6. The OECD reported that approximately 7% of students attained Level 5 or 6, a combined top-performer measure.
The distribution can be read as a progression from basic to advanced performance:
- 1% scored below Level 1b.
- 6% scored at Level 1b.
- 17% scored at Level 1a.
- 25% scored at Level 2.
- 26% scored at Level 3.
- 17% scored at Level 4.
- 6% scored at Level 5.
- 1% scored at Level 6.
These percentages are reported for OECD students in PISA 2022 by the OECD publication “PISA 2022: What can students do in mathematics, reading and science?” They show that the largest individual group was Level 3 at 26%, followed by Level 2 at 25%. The top two levels together represented about 7% of OECD students, while the lower-performing levels below Level 2 represented 24%.
How countries compared
The highest science score listed in the OECD’s PISA 2022 Insights and Interpretations was Singapore’s 561 points. Japan followed with 547, while Macao (China) scored 543. Chinese Taipei scored 537, Korea scored 528, and Estonia scored 526.
The next group included Hong Kong (China) at 520, Canada at 515, Finland at 511, Australia at 507, New Zealand at 504, and Ireland at 504. Switzerland scored 503, while Slovenia and the United Kingdom each scored 500. The United States and Poland each scored 499, followed by the Czech Republic at 498.
The remaining listed results were Latvia at 494, Denmark at 494, Sweden at 494, Germany at 492, Austria at 491, Belgium at 491, the Netherlands at 488, France at 487, Hungary at 486, Spain at 485, Lithuania at 484, Portugal at 484, Croatia at 483, Norway at 478, Italy at 477, Türkiye at 476, and Viet Nam at 472.
| Selected PISA 2022 result | Science score |
|---|---|
| Singapore | 561 |
| Japan | 547 |
| Macao (China) | 543 |
| Estonia | 526 |
| Canada | 515 |
| Finland | 511 |
| Australia | 507 |
| United Kingdom | 500 |
| United States | 499 |
| France | 487 |
| Hungary | 486 |
| Spain | 485 |
| Norway | 478 |
| Türkiye | 476 |
| Viet Nam | 472 |
The OECD reported that the science performance gap between the highest- and lowest-performing OECD countries was 137 score points. Across all education systems in PISA 2022, the difference between the highest and lowest performers was 214 points. Those are separate comparisons: the first is limited to OECD countries, while the second covers all education systems included in the stated OECD comparison.
Top and lower score groups
The international distribution of proficiency levels shows that high average scores were not universal. In seven countries and economies, fewer than 15% of students performed below baseline science proficiency. At the other end, in 30 countries and economies, at least 30% of students performed at Level 1a.
Level 1b was also concentrated in some systems. At least 20% of students performed at Level 1b in 18 countries and economies. By contrast, at least 80% of students scored at Level 2 or above in 17 countries and economies. In 10 countries and economies, fewer than 30% reached baseline science proficiency at Level 2.
The top-performance figures were more limited. In 14 countries and economies, the share of science top performers was higher than 10%. Across the full set of 81 countries or economies, the share scoring at Level 5 was lower than 5% in 54. The share scoring at Level 6 was no higher than 1% in 60 of the 81 countries or economies.
These figures distinguish broad baseline proficiency from advanced science performance. A system can have a substantial share of students reaching Level 2 or above while still having a much smaller share at Levels 5 and 6. The OECD’s reported percentages therefore support separate questions about minimum proficiency, middle-level attainment, and advanced performance.
Students reaching baseline proficiency
Country notes from the OECD provide another way to compare science literacy: the percentage of students attaining Level 2 or higher. Singapore and Japan each recorded 92% at this threshold. Estonia recorded 90%, while Australia and the United Kingdom each recorded 80%.
Viet Nam recorded 79%, and the United States recorded 78%. France recorded 76%, Türkiye recorded 75%, and Norway recorded 72%. The OECD’s United States country note also reported that 11% of students were top performers at science Level 5 or 6.
The same threshold was reached by 47% of students in Peru, 45% in Brazil, and 38% in Panama. These percentages are country-specific PISA 2022 results from OECD country notes and should not be treated as estimates for other years or as population-wide measures of all ages.
| Country or economy | Students at Level 2 or above |
|---|---|
| Singapore | 92% |
| Japan | 92% |
| Estonia | 90% |
| Australia | 80% |
| United Kingdom | 80% |
| Viet Nam | 79% |
| United States | 78% |
| France | 76% |
| Türkiye | 75% |
| Norway | 72% |
| Peru | 47% |
| Brazil | 45% |
| Panama | 38% |
The OECD mean of 76% at Level 2 or above provides context for these country notes. Singapore and Japan were 16 percentage points above that mean, while Panama was 38 percentage points below it. These differences are direct comparisons of reported shares; they do not establish why countries performed differently.
United States and selected country results
The United States scored 499 points in science, according to the OECD PISA 2022 Insights and Interpretations. Its country note reported that 78% of students reached Level 2 or higher and 11% were top performers at Levels 5 or 6. The United States result therefore combines a score close to the OECD mean with a country-note measure for baseline and advanced attainment.
Japan scored 547 points and had 92% of students at Level 2 or above. Estonia scored 526 points and had 90% at that threshold. Australia scored 507 points, with 80% reaching Level 2 or above, and the United Kingdom scored 500 points with the same 80% share.
Several European results sat close to the OECD mean score of 485. Spain scored 485, Hungary scored 486, France scored 487, and the Netherlands scored 488. Germany scored 492, while Latvia, Denmark, and Sweden each scored 494. The country-note data separately reported 76% of students in France at Level 2 or above and 72% in Norway.
The country results also show why score rankings and proficiency shares answer different questions. A score is a position on the PISA science scale, while the Level 2-or-above percentage describes the proportion reaching the OECD’s baseline proficiency threshold. The OECD’s PISA 2022 publications report both measures so readers can examine average performance and the spread of student attainment.
Reading these science literacy statistics
The PISA 2022 evidence supports three distinct observations. First, the OECD science mean was 485 points and 76% of OECD students reached Level 2 or above. Second, performance was distributed unevenly, with 24% of OECD students classified as low performers and about 7% reaching Levels 5 or 6. Third, national results varied widely, from Singapore’s 561 points to Viet Nam’s 472 among the listed scores, while the OECD reported an even wider 214-point gap across all education systems.
These statistics describe the 2022 assessment period and the geographies specified by each OECD publication or country note. They are not forecasts, and they do not independently establish causes of differences between students or education systems. Their value is in making the scale of science literacy performance visible through comparable scores, proficiency levels, and country-specific percentages.