Singapore averaged 543 points in PISA 2022 reading, 67 points above the OECD average of 476 and higher than every other participating system, based on OECD data. Cambodia sits at the other end at 329. This post covers the top and bottom of the reading table, the countries that improved between 2018 and 2022, and the gender gap, ahead of the PISA 2025 release expected in late 2026.

Reading Proficiency by Country

543Singapore’s mean PISA 2022 reading score, the highest of all participating systems (OECD average: 476).

329Cambodia’s mean reading score, the lowest published in PISA 2022.

89% vs 8%Share of students at reading Level 2 or higher ranged from 89% in Singapore to 8% in Cambodia.

24 pointsGirls outscored boys in reading on average across OECD countries in PISA 2022.

−10 pointsDrop in the OECD average reading score from 2018 to 2022; no prior cycle-to-cycle change exceeded 5 points.

81Countries and economies with published PISA 2022 results, the latest completed cycle.

Which Country Has the Highest Reading Proficiency?

Singapore scored 543 in PISA 2022 reading and outperformed every other participating country and economy at a statistically significant level, per the OECD. Ireland and Japan tie for second at 516, a 27-point gap to the leader.

The United States scored 504 in reading against 465 in mathematics, a wider subject split than most high-income systems, based on the NCES summary of PISA 2022. Canada, at 507, posts the highest reading score among the larger English-speaking countries; where English fits into schooling worldwide is covered in these English language statistics.

Rank	Country/Economy	Reading Score (PISA 2022)
1	Singapore	543
2	Ireland	516
2	Japan	516
4	Korea	515
4	Chinese Taipei	515
6	Estonia	511
7	Macao (China)	510
8	Canada	507
9	United States	504
10	New Zealand	501

Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database; NCES, Highlights of PISA 2022 U.S. Results, 2022 assessment.

Behind Singapore, Ireland performed as well as Estonia, Japan, Korea and Chinese Taipei and better than 75 other systems, per the OECD’s PISA 2022 Volume I report. Since PISA tests reading in the language of instruction, multilingual school systems face a different task than monolingual ones; the global spread of instruction languages appears in this most common languages data.

Reading Proficiency by Country: The Bottom of the Scale

Cambodian 15-year-olds averaged 329 points in PISA 2022 reading, 147 points below the OECD average. Some 8% of students in Cambodia reached Level 2 or higher, against an OECD average of 74%, per the OECD country note.

At Level 2, students can identify the main idea in a text of moderate length and find information based on explicit criteria. In Cambodia, almost no students scored at Level 5 or higher, against an OECD average of 7%, based on the same country note.

Indonesia averaged 359 points, with 25% of its students at Level 2 or higher, per OECD Education GPS and the Indonesia country note. Cambodia, Guatemala, Paraguay and Viet Nam sat a paper-based version of the 2022 test, a detail the OECD flags in Volume I.

Students at Reading Level 2 or Higher, PISA 2022

Country/Economy	Level 2 or Higher	Mean Reading Score
Singapore	89%	543
Viet Nam	77%	—
OECD average	74%	476
Thailand	35%	—
Indonesia	25%	359
Cambodia	8%	329

Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Country Notes and PISA 2022 Database, 2022 assessment.

Which Countries Improved Their PISA Reading Scores?

The OECD average reading score fell 10 points between 2018 and 2022; no change between consecutive PISA assessments up to 2018 had ever exceeded 5 points in reading, per the OECD. The organization’s trend analysis places the start of the decline well before the pandemic.

Brunei Darussalam recorded the largest reading gain, rising from 408 in 2018 to 429 in 2022, based on WorldScorecard’s compilation of OECD data. Panama went from 377 to 392, and Japan from 504 to 516.

Japan’s gain moved it into a tie for second worldwide. Only four countries and economies improved between 2018 and 2022 in all three subjects: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic and Chinese Taipei, per OECD Education GPS.

PISA Reading Score Changes, 2018 to 2022

Country	2018	2022	Change
Brunei Darussalam	408	429	+21
Panama	377	392	+15
Japan	504	516	+12
OECD average	486	476	−10

Source: OECD, PISA 2018 and PISA 2022 Databases; WorldScorecard compilation of OECD data.

Weak school outcomes push part of the demand for out-of-school practice toward apps; usage and revenue figures for that category sit in these language learning apps statistics, with platform-level detail in the Duolingo user and revenue data.

Reading Proficiency Gender Gap by Country

Girls outperformed boys in reading by 24 score points on average across OECD countries in PISA 2022, while boys led girls in mathematics by 9 points, per OECD Education GPS. The reading gap runs in the same direction at both ends of the score table.

In Japan, boys averaged 508 and girls 524. In Estonia, boys averaged 498 and girls 525, and in Cambodia boys averaged 318 against 338 for girls, all from OECD Education GPS country profiles for the 2022 assessment.

Home language environment shapes individual reading outcomes too; the state-by-state picture inside one top-10 country appears in this bilingualism rates by US state breakdown.

What Comes Next for Reading Proficiency Rankings

PISA 2025 was administered across 91 countries and economies, and the OECD is expected to publish country-level results in late 2026. Until then, PISA 2022 remains the latest completed cycle behind every ranking.

Three verified numbers frame the current picture: 543 at the top, 476 for the OECD average, and 8% of Cambodian students at basic proficiency. Readers weighing how hard specific languages are to learn from an English base can compare classroom-hour benchmarks in the FSI language difficulty rankings, and learner-count rankings in the most learned foreign languages data.

FAQs

Which country ranks first in reading proficiency on PISA?

Singapore ranks first with a mean reading score of 543 in PISA 2022, against an OECD average of 476. Ireland and Japan tie for second at 516, per the OECD PISA 2022 Database.

Which country has the lowest PISA reading score?

Cambodia posted the lowest published PISA 2022 reading score at 329. Some 8% of Cambodian students reached Level 2 or higher, against an OECD average of 74%, per the OECD country note.

Is the United States good at reading, as Reddit threads often ask?

Yes, relative to the OECD. The US scored 504 in PISA 2022 reading, above the 476 OECD average and inside the top 10, per NCES. Its mathematics score was 465.

Why do Reddit discussions say PISA rankings can mislead?

PISA reports mathematics, reading and science separately, and the OECD publishes no combined overall score. A country can rank high in one subject and lower in another, as the US split of 504 reading versus 465 math shows.

Did reading scores improve or decline in the latest PISA cycle?

The OECD average reading score fell 10 points between 2018 and 2022. Brunei Darussalam (+21), Panama (+15) and Japan (+12) recorded the largest reading gains, based on OECD data.