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

How Countries Compare on Science Scores in 2026

How do science skills compare around the world?

This graphic ranks participating countries and economies by the average science scores of 15-year-old students in the latest PISA 2025 study, published in September 2026.

PISA assesses students in mathematics, reading, and science. Its science assessment goes beyond recalling facts, testing how well students can explain scientific phenomena, evaluate investigations and evidence, and assess scientific information for decision-making.

More than 760,000 students took part in PISA 2025 across 91 countries and economies, representing roughly 33 million 15-year-olds worldwide.

China in this ranking represents the participating jurisdictions of Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang.

Asia Dominates the Top of the Ranking

Behind China and Singapore, Macao, Taiwan, and Japan round out the top five, while South Korea ranks seventh.

Estonia is the only European country among the top seven, with an average science score of 527.

Rank	Country	Average PISA score (Science)	Region
1	China	597	Asia
2	Singapore	560	Asia
3	Macao	541	Asia
4	Taiwan	540	Asia
5	Japan	538	Asia
6	Estonia	527	Europe
7	Korea	526	Asia
8	UK	511	Europe
9	Canada	510	North America
10	New Zealand	509	Oceania
10	Australia	509	Oceania
12	Finland	504	Europe
13	United States	502	North America
14	Switzerland	501	Europe
15	Ireland	500	Europe
16	Austria	497	Europe
17	Hong Kong	496	Asia
18	Poland	495	Europe
19	Türkiye	494	Asia
20	Czechia	490	Europe
20	Belgium	490	Europe
22	Lithuania	488	Europe
23	Germany	486	Europe
24	Netherlands	485	Europe
24	Sweden	485	Europe
26	Slovenia	484	Europe
27	France	483	Europe
27	Italy	483	Europe
29	OECD average	482	—
29	Portugal	482	Europe
31	Hungary	480	Europe
32	Denmark	478	Europe
33	Spain	477	Europe
34	Croatia	476	Europe
35	Slovakia	475	Europe
36	Luxembourg	474	Europe
37	Norway	470	Europe
38	Latvia	468	Europe
39	United Arab Emirates	458	Asia
40	Vietnam	457	Asia
41	Malta	453	Europe

What Stands Out About Asia’s Top Performers?

Several of the highest-scoring Asian education systems combine strong academic expectations with learning environments that support consistent performance. China, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea all ranked well above the OECD average in science while also performing strongly in mathematics and reading.

One factor may be fewer classroom distractions. In China, Japan, and South Korea, fewer than 10% of students said classmates were distracted by digital devices during most or every science lesson, compared with 28% across OECD countries. The OECD also found that schools with clear rules around smartphone use generally reported less digital distraction.

These systems also produce a larger share of students with advanced skills. In Singapore, for example, 26% of students reached the top two proficiency levels in science, compared with just 7% across OECD countries.

Some high-performing Asian systems also combine strong results with relatively small links between students’ socioeconomic backgrounds and their science performance, suggesting that their results are not driven solely by affluent students.

Outside school, intensive tutoring and strong academic expectations are also common in parts of East Asia. However, PISA does not isolate these factors as the cause of the region’s higher scores, making it difficult to attribute the performance gap to any single practice.

U.S. Scores Above the OECD Average

The United States scores 502, compared with the OECD average of 482.

Canada ranks ninth at 510, while Australia and New Zealand each score 509.

Together, these English-speaking countries fall within a relatively narrow eight-point range, though all remain below the highest-scoring Asian education systems.

Estonia Leads Europe

Estonia ranks sixth overall with an average science score of 527, making it the highest-scoring European country in the dataset.

The United Kingdom follows among European countries at 511, while Finland scores 504 and Switzerland 501.

Farther down the ranking, many large European economies sit close to the OECD average of 482, including Germany at 486, France and Italy at 483, and Spain at 477.

The OECD notes that several small score differences are not statistically significant, meaning nearby positions in the ranking should not always be interpreted as meaningful performance gaps.

More broadly, PISA 2025 found that roughly three-quarters of students across OECD countries reached at least baseline proficiency in science.

At the same time, the OECD average science score fell to its lowest level recorded in the assessment, continuing a broader decline in student performance.

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