Proportion of students at the end of lower secondary education achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in reading, very poor socioeconomic background, both sexes (%) by country
February 2026 Data Release
Countries reporting
49
Highest
77.1%
Hong Kong, China
Lowest
11.5%
Jordan
Median
51.3%
Years covered
23
2000–2022
Data points
353
What the numbers show
Proportion of students at the end of lower secondary education achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in reading, very poor socioeconomic background, both sexes (%) is currently reported for 49 countries. The highest value is 77.1% in Hong Kong, China; the lowest is 11.5% in Jordan.
The median across all reporting countries is 51.3%, and the mean is 48.2%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 7.
Over the past decade 9 countries rose and 40 fell. The largest increase was in Uruguay (up 39.6%), and the largest decrease in Jordan (down 69.4%).
Proportion of students at the end of lower secondary education: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hong Kong, China | 77.1% | 2022 | down 13.1% | falling |
| 2 | Ireland | 74.2% | 2022 | down 7.5% | flat |
| 3 | Singapore | 72.0% | 2022 | down 10.1% | flat |
| 4 | United States of America | 67.3% | 2022 | down 8.6% | rising |
| 5 | Russian Federation | 66.8% | 2018 | up 17.6% | rising |
| 6 | Republic of Korea | 65.9% | 2022 | down 24.4% | falling |
| 7 | Türkiye | 64.3% | 2022 | down 4.0% | rising |
| 8 | Portugal | 63.6% | 2022 | down 1.7% | rising |
| 9 | Croatia | 63.0% | 2022 | down 11.4% | flat |
| 10 | New Zealand | 62.0% | 2022 | down 9.4% | falling |
| 11 | Canada | 61.9% | 2022 | down 25.5% | falling |
| 12 | Italy | 61.8% | 2022 | down 8.6% | flat |
| 13 | Poland | 60.8% | 2022 | down 24.4% | flat |
| 14 | Latvia | 60.7% | 2022 | down 12.8% | flat |
| 15 | Spain | 59.6% | 2022 | down 11.5% | flat |
| 16 | Germany | 59.3% | 2022 | down 19.0% | rising |
| 17 | Finland | 58.8% | 2022 | down 27.5% | falling |
| 18 | Australia | 56.5% | 2022 | down 24.6% | falling |
| 19 | Lithuania | 56.0% | 2022 | down 12.4% | flat |
| 20 | Chile | 53.8% | 2022 | up 23.1% | rising |
| 21 | Czechia | 52.8% | 2022 | down 24.7% | falling |
| 22 | Luxembourg | 52.3% | 2018 | up 4.4% | rising |
| 23 | Denmark | 52.1% | 2022 | down 28.6% | falling |
| 24 | Belgium | 51.7% | 2022 | down 25.9% | falling |
| 25 | France | 51.3% | 2022 | down 20.4% | falling |
| 26 | Austria | 49.2% | 2022 | down 1.6% | falling |
| 27 | Slovenia | 48.8% | 2022 | down 24.6% | falling |
| 28 | Sweden | 48.8% | 2022 | down 24.5% | falling |
| 29 | Uruguay | 47.1% | 2022 | up 39.6% | rising |
| 30 | Greece | 45.1% | 2022 | down 27.2% | falling |
| 31 | Hungary | 44.7% | 2022 | down 23.1% | falling |
| 32 | Norway | 43.8% | 2022 | down 42.7% | falling |
| 33 | Mexico | 40.6% | 2022 | up 0.1% | rising |
| 33 | Netherlands | 40.6% | 2022 | down 45.9% | falling |
| 35 | Brazil | 39.1% | 2022 | up 24.3% | rising |
| 36 | Slovakia | 38.4% | 2022 | down 8.1% | falling |
| 37 | Israel | 38.4% | 2022 | down 37.0% | flat |
| 38 | Iceland | 37.6% | 2022 | down 46.3% | falling |
| 39 | Colombia | 35.6% | 2022 | up 25.9% | rising |
| 40 | Romania | 35.6% | 2022 | down 16.3% | rising |
| 41 | Argentina | 32.1% | 2022 | up 17.1% | flat |
| 42 | Qatar | 28.4% | 2022 | up 13.5% | rising |
| 43 | United Arab Emirates | 27.9% | 2022 | down 41.6% | falling |
| 44 | Thailand | 24.8% | 2022 | down 56.2% | falling |
| 45 | Bulgaria | 21.5% | 2022 | down 34.2% | falling |
| 46 | Albania | 20.4% | 2022 | down 57.8% | rising |
| 47 | Indonesia | 20.0% | 2022 | down 43.8% | flat |
| 48 | Tunisia | 16.0% | 2015 | down 41.5% | flat |
| 49 | Jordan | 11.5% | 2022 | down 69.4% | falling |
About this data
February 2026 Data Release