Journalism of Courage
World’s best countries at maths in 2026: Seven Asian nations among top 10
World’s best countries at maths in 2026: Led by China, Asian nations swept the OECD’s global maths rankings as European and other Western countries struggled to keep pace.
China topped the top 10 list for the world's best countries in maths. (picture credit: unsplash)
World’s best countries at maths: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently released its annual assessment of how well 15-year-old students solve real-world and practical maths problems, with seven Asian nations making it into the top 10.
More than 760,000 students from over 91 countries participated in science, mathematics, and reading tests under the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2025, representing around 33 million 15-year-olds worldwide.
China topped the top 10 list, while Singapore, Macao, and Chinese Taipei scored the second, third, and fourth positions. Japan came fifth, while South Korea, Hong Kong, and Estonia ranked sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively. Switzerland ranked ninth, and the United Kingdom closed out the list.
Countries including Estonia, Japan, Korea, Macao (China), Chinese Taipei, and the United Kingdom were among the top 10 performing education systems. India did not participate in the PISA 2025 assessment.
The overall performance among OECD countries has declined. But there have been areas of improvement as well. OECD countries including Costa Rica, the Slovak Republic, Turkey, and the United Kingdom have seen a jump in their science scores since 2022.
One notable finding relates to the reading scores, which have significantly dropped in the past three years. These include scores related to evaluating information, making connections across multiple sources, and critical thinking. Hasty reading, where students read quickly but inaccurately, increased by 9 per cent between 2018 and 2025.
World’s best countries in maths 2026:
| Rank | Country |
| 1. | China |
| 2. | Singapore |
| 3. | Macao |
| 4. | Chinese Tapei |
| 5. | Japan |
| 6. | South Korea |
| 7. | Hong Kong |
| 8. | Estonia |
| 9. | Switzerland |
| 10. | United Kingdom |
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