The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which compares the performance of 15-year-old students around the world, has released its 2025 results. More than 760,000 students across 91 countries and economies took part.
In Hong Kong, the assessment involved 6,445 students from 230 secondary schools, with results covering three core subjects and an innovative digital-learning domain.
Hong Kong Places Among The Top In PISA Core Subjects
Among the three traditional OECD subjects, Hong Kong scored 522 in mathematics (rank 6th), 480 in reading (rank 15th) and 496 in science (rank 17th), all above the averages.
However, performance was lower than in PISA 2022, with scores falling by 19 points in mathematics, 20 in reading and 25 in science. The OECD says Hong Kong’s 2025 results were its lowest recorded in all three core subjects, reinforcing a downward trend that began after 2012.
Hong Kong Ranks 6th In Computational Problem Solving
This year’s innovative domain, Learning in the Digital World, assesses how students build knowledge and solve problems using computational tools.
Hong Kong scored 545 in computational problem solving, compared with an OECD average of 500, placing it 6th on the rankings. Around 42.9% of Hong Kong students reached the two highest proficiency levels. The Education Bureau described Hong Kong as one of the top-performing education systems globally in the new domain.
Socio-Economic Background Had A Smaller Impact In Hong Kong
The report also says Hong Kong showed a smaller gap between students from different socio-economic backgrounds, with socio-economic status explained around 6% of the difference in science scores in Hong Kong, compared with the average of about 12%.
Around 15% of disadvantaged students in Hong Kong were also considered academically resilient, meaning they still performed among the strongest students in the city.
East Asian Economies Dominate The Rankings
East Asian education systems again occupied many of the leading positions. China B-S-J-Z (), representing Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, recorded the highest scores in mathematics and science, while Singapore led reading.
Macao, Chinese Taipei, Japan and Korea also performed strongly. In computational problem solving, Macao scored 572, Singapore 563, B-S-J-Z (China) 560, Japan 557 and Chinese Taipei 551, all ahead of Hong Kong’s 545. The OECD notes that most participating Chinese jurisdictions, alongside Singapore, Japan, Korea and Chinese Taipei, ranked among the strongest systems across the traditional core subjects.
The Next PISA Assessment Will Be In 2029
PISA has traditionally taken place every three years, but this will change after 2025. The next assessment will be held in 2029, with reading as the main subject. It will also introduce a new area called Media and Artificial Intelligence Literacy, looking at how students understand digital information and AI.
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