Ranked: The World’s Best Countries at Reading in 2026

Which Countries Have the Highest Reading Scores?

Reading performance is declining across many OECD countries, raising concerns about how well students can interpret and evaluate information in an increasingly digital environment.

This visualization ranks 40 countries and economies by their average reading scores in the 2025 PISA assessment, with results published in September 2026.

Conducted by the OECD, PISA measures how well 15-year-olds can apply their knowledge and skills to real-world problems. The 2025 assessment included more than 760,000 students representing roughly 33 million 15-year-olds.

Asian Education Systems Lead the Ranking

Singapore ranks first globally in PISA reading. Its literacy curriculum takes a highly structured approach, combining guided reading, discussion, and targeted support for weaker readers from primary school onward.

The country’s English curriculum also emphasizes higher-order skills such as inference, evaluating arguments, identifying evidence, and critically interpreting information across different types of texts.

China, Taiwan, Japan, Macao, and Korea complete the top six, underscoring the strong showing by Asian education systems.

Rank	Country	Average Reading PISA Score
1	Singapore	535
2	China	527
3	Taiwan	508
4	Japan	503
5	Macao	501
5	Korea	501
7	Ireland	500
8	Estonia	499
9	New Zealand	497
10	United Kingdom	494
11	Australia	491
12	Canada	490
12	United States	490
14	Poland	482
15	Hong Kong	480
16	Finland	474
16	Italy	474
18	Türkiye	472
19	Switzerland	470
20	Czechia	468
21	Austria	467
22	Belgium	466
22	Sweden	466
24	Germany	465
25	Lithuania	464
26	Portugal	462
27	Denmark	460
28	France	456
29	Croatia	453
29	Norway	453
31	Hungary	452
32	Spain	451
33	Slovakia	448
34	Slovenia	445
35	Luxembourg	443
36	Netherlands	441
37	Chile	436
37	Israel	436
39	United Arab Emirates	433
40	Latvia	430

Ireland Leads Europe

Ireland has the highest reading score among European countries in the dataset, at 500 points. Estonia follows closely at 499, while the United Kingdom rounds out Europe’s top three at 494.

Several major European economies sit much closer to the OECD average of 461. Germany scores 465, while France and Spain come in below the average at 456 and 451, respectively.

North America’s two entries are tied at 490. That puts both the United States and Canada behind the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and Estonia, but 29 points above the OECD average.

Recent research shows that reading for pleasure is declining in the U.S., with just 16.1% of Americans ages 15 and older reading for leisure on an average day in 2025, down from 27% in 2005.

Reading Scores Are Falling

Reading performance has declined significantly across OECD countries over the past decade. Average reading scores fell from 489 points in 2015 to 461 in 2025, a 28-point drop and a steeper decline than in math or science over the same period.

The OECD notes that strong reading skills are increasingly important for finding, evaluating, interpreting, and reflecting on information in a digital environment.

It also reports that weakening reading performance predates the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries, while increased digitalization, longer screen time, and declining reading for enjoyment have coincided with weaker outcomes.

As AI makes information easier to generate and access, the ability to critically evaluate what we read may become even more important.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Countries by Education Spending as % of GDP on Voronoi.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-best-countries-at-reading-in-2026/