Australia vs United States of America: Share of students achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education
Australia
78.8%
in 2022
United States of America
79.9%
in 2022
Australia rank
13th
United States of America rank
10th
Share of students achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education over time
- Australia
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 79.9% against 78.8% in Australia, a difference of 1.1%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 7 shared years of data; in 2000 it was Australia ahead.
Australia ranks 13th and United States of America ranks 10th of 59 countries.
Across the 3 decades both report, Australia averaged higher in 2 and United States of America in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 87.2% | 81.7% | 5.5% | Australia |
| 2010s | 82.7% | 81.7% | 1.0% | Australia |
| 2020s | 78.8% | 79.9% | 1.1% | United States of America |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of students achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education, Australia or United States of America?
- United States of America, at 79.9% against 78.8% in Australia as of 2022.
- What is the difference in share of students achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education between Australia and United States of America?
- 1.1%, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and United States of America?
- 7 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2022.
- How do Australia and United States of America rank globally for share of students achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education?
- Australia ranks 13th and United States of America ranks 10th of 59 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of students achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of students who achieve minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education. This data includes only students enrolled in school.