TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Singapore students lead in reading skills among 91 countries participating in PISA assessments, according to The Straits Times. Meanwhile, the country emerged second for mathematics and science performance, trailing just behind China.
Considered the world's most influential measure of educational performance, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) gauges the performance of 15-year-old students in their ability to apply reading, mathematics, and science knowledge and skills to real-life situations.
The 2025 assessment, published earlier this month, was participated in by more than 760,000 students across 91 countries, including 38 member countries of the OECD. Rather than evaluating on school subjects, the assessment is designed to measure students' problem-solving skills, DW noted.
Reading Scores on a Downward Slope
Reading skills saw the most significant drop in the past decade, with OECD countries recording a 28-point decrease while other participating countries declined by 16 points. The performance peaked around 2012, The Straits Times noted.
Meanwhile, last year, reading scores fell by 25 points across the OECD, a group of high-income countries in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
The study points out that 20 score points are equivalent to a year of learning, DW reported, meaning that most of the students were performing at the 14-year-old level.
PISA saw a rise in "hasty readers," or students who rush through texts and give quick but false answers, in the past decade. It also reported that the declining performance predates the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries. On the other hand, the rampant digitalization, longer screen time, and less reading for enjoyment coincided with the weaker outcomes.
Reading scores only improved in five countries: Qatar with 11 points, Brunei Darussalam with 18 points, Cambodia, with 26 points, the Philippines with 27 points, and the largest jump recorded, Zambia with 50 points. It is worth noting that the education systems in these countries remain below OECD average.
Which Countries Are the Best at Reading?
According to Visual Capitalist, here are the top 10 countries with best reading skills as measured by PISA:
1. Singapore (535 in average reading PISA score)
2. China (527)
3. Taiwan (508)
4. Japan (503)
5. Macao (501)
6. South Korea (501)
7. Ireland (500)
8. Estonia (499)
9. New Zealand (497)
10. United Kingdom
OECD average: 461
Singapore tops the lead in PISA reading score points with 535, several points above second-place China. Visual Capitalist hails Singapore's literacy curriculum as "highly structured," combining guided reading, discussion, and targeted support for weaker readers since primary school. Singapore is the only Southeast Asian country in the top 10.
Citing The Straits Times, OECD's director for education and skills Andreas Schleicher said reading is Singapore's "great strength," referring to it as "the mother of all skills."
Asia overall dominates the top 10 list for countries with the best reading skills, logging six out of ten countries, with Macao and South Korea tying at 501 score points.
In Europe, Ireland leads with 500 points. European countries sit closer to the OECD average, with Germany scoring 465, France at 456, and Spain at 451.
How Do the US and Canada Compare to Other OECD Countries
Both the United States and Canada sit at 12th place, tying at 490 score points. While out of the top 10, the two North American countries still log above-OECD average scores, albeit behind the UK, Australia, Ireland, and Estonia.
Visual Capitalist also points to recent research that reading for enjoyment has been declining in the US between 2005 and 2025. Only 16.1% of those age 15 and up in the US read for leisure on an average day, compared to 27% in 2005.
Where Indonesia Sits at the Table
Indonesia's reading performance is far below the OECD average at 365, but up 6 points from the 2022 assessments.
According to the country's education ministry, Indonesia records a relatively stable educational performance amidst a global slump, with rising performance in reading and science skills. The ministry also cites OECD data, which shows that 15-year-olds in Indonesia possess one of the highest curiosity levels among other countries.
Even so, Indonesia sits at the bottom of the ranking among Southeast Asian countries, just above Cambodia with 347 score points. In comparison, Brunei records 426 points—closer to the OECD average—while Malaysia records 393 points, Thailand ties Vietnam with 392 points, and the Philippines records 367 points.
Read: Top 10 Countries With the Best Math Skills in 2026
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