LAST UPDATE | 2 hrs ago

A MAJOR GLOBAL study has found that Irish teenagers are ranked top in the EU for reading, third for science and fourth for maths.

That’s according to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which is a project of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

PISA traditionally takes place every three years (but is now moving to a four-year cycle) and aims to measure how well 15-year-old students are performing in three core domains – science, reading and mathematics.

It also tests an “innovative domain”, which in 2025 was computational problem-solving.

PISA is based on a representative sample of 15-year-old students in each of the participating countries. Over 760,000 students around the world took part in the latest PISA.

The main study was administered in 172 schools in Ireland between March and April, with 6,356 students participating.

The number of participating countries rose from 32 in 2000 to 91 for 2025, making it one of the largest studies of its kind.  

When it comes to reading, Ireland ranks seventh among the 91 countries analysed, third among OECD countries and top in the EU. That ranking of seventh is down from fourth overall for reading in 2019. 

There are 38 OECD countries which span the world, from North America and South America to Europe and Asia-Pacific.

In mathematics, Ireland is 14^th overall but fourth among the 27 EU member states and ninth among OECD countries. This is compared to 2019 when Ireland tanked 17th overall. 

And while students are assessed on each core domain in each cycle, one domain features as the “major” domain and this was science in 2025. 

Students completed additional questions in science compared to reading or mathematics, and this provides deeper detail within that domain.

When it comes to science, Ireland is 15^th among the 91 countries surveyed, third in the EU and 11^th in the OECD.

The Department of Education said the findings show that Ireland is “significantly above the EU and OECD countries in all three core domains”.

Meanwhile, declines were observed across all three core domains in the OECD and EU, including in Ireland, but to a lesser extent here.

Elsewhere, the Department said across all three core domains, Ireland has a smaller proportion of “lower-achieving” students than both the OECD and EU average, as well as a higher proportion of “higher-achieving” students in reading and science.

In maths, Ireland has a similar proportion of higher-achieving students to the OECD and EU average.

Minister for Education and Youth Hildegarde Naughton said the results “show that Ireland continues to perform strongly on the international stage”.

She added that Ireland has “maintained its position among the leading performers internationally” and that this “demonstrates the strength, resilience and quality of our education system”.

Naughton added that the reading performance “remains a significant success story” and that Ireland “must continue to promote literacy, foster a love of reading and support strong reading habits both in our schools and in our homes”.

She also described the “stability of our science results” as “encouraging” and said that it “reflects the positive impact of sustained investment”.

Naughton, however, noted that there is a “trend of decline” both in Ireland and internationally.

“We must carefully examine these findings and continue to strengthen our efforts to improve numeracy outcomes for all learners,” said Naughton.

She also commended Irish students for “performing strongly in computational problem-solving”.

“These skills will be increasingly important as young people navigate a rapidly changing, technology-driven world,” she added.

Meanwhile, Naughton congratulated students, teachers, school leaders, parents and wider school communities for their “dedication and commitment”.

“These results are a testament to their hard work and to the ambition we share for every young person in Ireland.”