Hong Kong, China vs Korea: Share of students achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education
Hong Kong, China
82.5%
in 2022
Korea
85.3%
in 2022
Hong Kong, China rank
7th
Korea rank
6th
Share of students achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education over time
- Hong Kong, China
- Korea
How they compare
Korea currently reports 85.3% against 82.5% in Hong Kong, China, a difference of 2.8%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 8 shared years of data; in 2000 it was Korea ahead.
Hong Kong, China ranks 7th and Korea ranks 6th of 59 countries.
Across the 3 decades both report, Hong Kong, China averaged higher in 1 and Korea in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Hong Kong, China | Korea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 90.9% | 94.0% | 3.1% | Korea |
| 2010s | 90.4% | 87.9% | 2.6% | Hong Kong, China |
| 2020s | 82.5% | 85.3% | 2.8% | Korea |
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, Hong Kong, China or Korea?
- Korea, at 85.3% against 82.5% in Hong Kong, China as of 2022.
- What is the difference in share of students achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education between Hong Kong, China and Korea?
- 2.8%, with Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Hong Kong, China and Korea?
- 8 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2022.
- How do Hong Kong, China and Korea rank globally for share of students achieving minimum reading proficiency by the end of lower secondary education?
- Hong Kong, China ranks 7th and Korea ranks 6th 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.