Best education system in the world: PISA 2022

Singapore has the best school results in the world on PISA 2022, the OECD survey, with 575 in mathematics, 543 in reading and 561 in science, ahead of Macao, Taiwan and Japan. Among countries in the strict sense, Japan and South Korea follow. No official ranking of the "best education system" exists, however: PISA tests 15-year-olds on what they can apply, which leaves out universities, wellbeing, inequality and the cost of study. The OECD average is 472 in mathematics, 476 in reading and 485 in science. The next round, 2025, is not the one read here: these figures date from 2022 and were published in December 2023. The tool below shows that a country's rank changes with the subject that matters to you.

Rank of United States out of 78

18

PISA score of United States, gap to the OECD and leading country
Score489
Gap to the OECD average+12
First on this measureSingapore
How we calculate

PISA 2022 ranking by country

PISA 2022 ranking, top 30 countries
Rank, countryMathsReadingScience
1. Singapore575543561
2. Macao552510543
3. Taiwan547515537
4. Japan536516547
5. South Korea527515528
6. Hong Kong540500520
7. Estonia510511526
8. Canada497507515
9. Ireland492516504
10. Switzerland508483503
11. Australia487498507
12. Finland484490511
13. New Zealand479501504
14. United Kingdom489494500
15. Poland489489499
16. Czechia487489498
17. Denmark489489494
18. United States465504499
19. Sweden482487494
20. Belgium489479491
21. Austria487480491
22. Slovenia485469500
23. Latvia483475494
24. Germany475480492
25. Netherlands493459488
26. France474474487
27. Portugal472477484
28. Spain473474485
29. Hungary473473486
30. Lithuania475472484
Show the full ranking
PISA 2022 ranking, the remaining countries
31. Italy471482477
32. Norway468477478
33. Croatia463475483
34. Israel458474465
35. Türkiye453456476
36. Malta466445466
37. Slovakia464447462
38. Iceland459436447
39. Serbia440440447
40. Brunei442429446
41. Greece430438441
42. Chile412448444
43. Romania428428428
44. United Arab Emirates431417432
45. Uruguay409430435
46. Qatar414419432
47. Bulgaria417404421
48. Moldova414411417
49. Kazakhstan425386423
50. Mexico395415410
51. Mongolia425378412
52. Montenegro406405403
53. Malaysia409388416
54. Costa Rica385415411
55. Cyprus418381411
56. Peru391408408
57. Colombia383409411
58. Brazil379410403
59. Jamaica377410403
60. Argentina378401406
61. Thailand394379409
62. Saudi Arabia389383390
63. Georgia390374384
64. Panama357392388
65. North Macedonia389359380
66. Indonesia366359383
67. Albania368358376
68. Guatemala344374373
69. Palestine366349369
70. El Salvador343365373
71. Paraguay338373368
72. Jordan361342375
73. Morocco365339365
74. Philippines355347356
75. Uzbekistan364336355
76. Kosovo355342357
77. Dominican Republic339351360
78. Cambodia336329347

Rank calculated by this site on the average of the three subjects: the OECD publishes none. Table I.1, OECD, 2023. Left out: Baku (Azerbaijan) and the Ukrainian regions, which do not represent the whole country. OECD average: 472, 476, 485.

What PISA does not say

PISA ranks neither teachers, nor curricula, nor any one school. First in mathematics is Singapore, in reading Singapore and in science Singapore. Several entries are not whole countries but economies or cities, such as Macao or Hong Kong. Elsewhere, the sample may have missed the survey's standards: the OECD flags this for Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, among others. The United States ranks 18 on the average of the three subjects, the United Kingdom 14.

For a family moving abroad

A national average guarantees nothing about one school, and a foreign family often goes through an international school, whose fees appear on this site's country pages. The last thing to weigh is the tax that funds public schools: a better PISA rank does not necessarily follow high tax.

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Questions

Which country has the best education system?

No official index settles it. On what 15-year-olds have learned, Singapore comes first in PISA 2022, averaging 560 across the three subjects. Other measures, such as access to higher education or student wellbeing, would give another order. That is why this page shows all three subjects rather than a single verdict.

Where do the UK and the US rank on PISA?

The United Kingdom scores 489 in mathematics, 494 in reading and 500 in science in 2022, rank 14 of 78 on the average of the three. The United States scores 465, 504 and 499, rank 18. Gaps of a few points between neighbours are not always significant, as the OECD points out.

How often does the PISA ranking come out?

In principle every three years, with a one-year delay caused by the pandemic: the 2022 round followed the 2018 one. The OECD has launched a 2025 survey. This page rests on the 2022 table, and it shows no projection or estimate for rounds it has not read.

Sources

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Figures 2026, checked on