UIS · Minimum Proficiency in Mathematics, End of Primary
Maths proficiency at the end of primary by country
What share of pupils reach a minimum level in mathematics by the end of primary school?
Of the 121 countries compared in the 2023 edition, South Korea had the highest reading, 93.42%, and Chad had the lowest reading, 1.80%. In the middle country the figure was 38.90%. 11 readings from before 2013 are listed but not compared.
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Part ofEducation & Knowledge
Maths proficiency at the end of primary · the 2023 edition
Context statistic
Highest of 121South Korea
93.42%01the 2023 edition · values only
Who leads
The three countries at the highest end of 121 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 2.0, greyscale
2Photo: Khairul Nizam . · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
3Photo: Lukas from Munich, Germany derivative work: Inkey · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
Lowest in the 2023 edition
Chad1.80%
Dominican Republic2.10%
Côte d’Ivoire2.60%
Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
Highest on each continent
- Africa
Mauritius59.00% - Americas
United States67.84% - AsiaSouth Korea93.42%
- Europe
Russia90.89% - Oceania
Palau91.73% - Every region
02Every measured country
Maths proficiency at the end of primary on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a higher value — the better end.
- 1.80–16.00%
- 16.60–29.70%
- 30.90–56.49%
- 56.72–73.06%
- 73.78–93.42%
- Hatched: a reading from before 2013, listed but not compared (11)
- No reading in the 2023 edition
- Europe
73.06%
the middle country, of 29 measured · 49 members
Russia90.89%
Bosnia and Herzegovina37.59%Highest and lowest reading in Europe.
- Oceania
62.92%
the middle country, of 13 measured · 21 members
Palau91.73%
Marshall Islands38.13%Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.
- Asia
45.97%
the middle country, of 28 measured · 52 members
South Korea93.42%
Laos7.90%Highest and lowest reading in Asia.
- Americas
18.65%
the middle country, of 20 measured · 48 members
United States67.84%Dominican Republic2.10%Highest and lowest reading in Americas.
- Africa
18.00%
the middle country, of 31 measured · 55 members
Mauritius59.00%Chad1.80%Highest and lowest reading in Africa.
- Every region
22 sub-regions, highest middle country first
- Eastern Europe
77.89%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 10 members
Russia90.89%
Hungary70.90%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Northern Europe
77.45%
the middle country, of 6 measured · 13 members
Lithuania86.55%
Norway62.73%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Europe.
- Western Europe
74.88%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 9 members
Austria83.55%
France56.33%Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.
- Southern Europe
69.08%
the middle country, of 11 measured · 17 members
Serbia73.78%Bosnia and Herzegovina37.59%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.
- Western Asia
46.46%
the middle country, of 13 measured · 19 members
Türkiye78.64%
Kuwait22.05%Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.
- Southern Africa
29.70%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Eswatini37.40%
Namibia17.40%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Africa.
- South America
22.90%
the middle country, of 9 measured · 12 members
Chile44.30%
Paraguay5.60%Highest and lowest reading in South America.
- Eastern Africa
18.00%
the middle country, of 11 measured · 19 members
Mauritius59.00%
Malawi4.10%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.
- South-eastern Asia
17.77%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 11 members
Singapore92.69%Laos7.90%Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Western Africa
13.66%
the middle country, of 8 measured · 16 members
Senegal27.20%Côte d’Ivoire2.60%Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.
- Middle Africa
7.70%
the middle country, of 5 measured · 9 members
Gabon22.90%Chad1.80%Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.
- Central America
7.60%
the middle country, of 7 measured · 8 members
Mexico38.00%
Nicaragua3.10%Highest and lowest reading in Central America.
- Australia and New Zealand
2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
Australia64.10%
New Zealand56.72%Highest and lowest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Caribbean
2 of 24 measured — too few for a middle: Cuba, Dominican Republic.
Cuba20.70%Dominican Republic2.10%Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.
- Central Asia
2 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan.
Kazakhstan56.49%
Uzbekistan34.96%Highest and lowest reading in Central Asia.
- Eastern Asia
3 of 8 measured — too few for a middle: Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea.
South Korea93.42%
Macau90.34%Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Melanesia
3 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands.
Solomon Islands86.35%
Papua New Guinea55.35%Highest and lowest reading in Melanesia.
- Micronesia
4 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau.
Palau91.73%Marshall Islands38.13%Highest and lowest reading in Micronesia.
- Northern Africa
2 of 6 measured — too few for a middle: Egypt, Morocco.
Egypt29.26%
Morocco21.68%Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
United States67.84%
Canada64.68%Highest and lowest reading in Northern America.
- Polynesia
4 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga, Tuvalu.
Niue81.95%
Tuvalu54.67%Highest and lowest reading in Polynesia.
- Southern Asia
2 of 9 measured — too few for a middle: Iran, Pakistan.
Iran31.16%
Pakistan17.10%Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.
03The whole field at once
The spread
121 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 38.90%; a quarter are above 70.01%, and a quarter below 18.00%. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 132 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first. No rank or position is shown: too many countries share the same value for an order to mean anything. The readings come from different assessments — TIMSS, and regional tests in Latin America, francophone and southern Africa, the Pacific and South-East Asia — each with its own benchmark and school grade, and UNESCO says results from different assessments cannot be compared directly. The assessment behind each row, and the grade it tested, is named beside it, and no position is derived. Readings more than ten years older than the edition are listed but not compared.
Showing 25 of 132 countries
Values for the 2023 edition.
05In this edition
Maths proficiency at the end of primary in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading
93.42%
Pupils at the end of primary reaching minimum proficiency in mathematics (%)
Lowest reading
1.80%
Pupils at the end of primary reaching minimum proficiency in mathematics (%)
06By sex
Inside the number
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) also publishes separate female and male readings. The gap between them, where both exist.
Of the 109 countries with both readings, the female reading is higher in 34, the male reading in 75. The widest gaps each way:
11 countries' readings are too old to compare and are left out; they are still listed under Every country.
07The measure
About maths proficiency at the end of primary
This is the share of pupils at the end of primary school who reach at least a minimum level in mathematics — SDG indicator 4.1.1, the measure the world’s education goal is scored on. It asks whether school has taught children basic numeracy, not only whether they attended.
What the number is: Pupils at the end of primary reaching minimum proficiency in mathematics (%).
08Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Education & Knowledge, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Moves with
Where maths proficiency at the end of primary is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Minimum Proficiency in Reading, End of PrimaryUIS · 113 countries in commonρ 0.85
- Researchers per Million InhabitantsUIS · 94 countries in commonρ 0.84
- Global Innovation IndexWorld Intellectual Property Organization · 103 countries in commonρ 0.83
Moves against
Where maths proficiency at the end of primary is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Learning PovertyWorld Bank Group and UNESCO Institute for Statistics · 95 countries in commonρ −0.88
- Coefficient of Human InequalityUNDP Human Development Report Office · 111 countries in commonρ −0.77
- Adolescent Birth Rate (Ages 15–19)UN DESA Population Division · 121 countries in commonρ −0.76
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 316 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
09Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
The data, edition by edition
The countries at either end
10Questions
Maths proficiency at the end of primary: questions and answers
Which country has the highest maths proficiency at the end of primary?
South Korea, at 93.42%, among the 121 countries compared in the 2023 edition.
Which country has the lowest maths proficiency at the end of primary?
Chad, at 1.80%, among the 121 countries compared in the 2023 edition.
How many countries does the Minimum Proficiency in Mathematics, End of Primary cover?
121 in the 2023 edition, and 132 at least once across all editions.
What is the world average maths proficiency at the end of primary?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 121 compared in the 2023 edition, the figure was 38.90%.
Is this UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)’s own ranking?
No ranking is shown. UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything, so none is derived.
How often is the Minimum Proficiency in Mathematics, End of Primary published?
This site holds one edition, describing 2023.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), under CC BY-SA 4.0. From the UNESCO Institute for Statistics data API (MATH.PRIMARY), latest available reading per country, with UIS’s own footnote naming the assessment. Female and male shares are stored beside the headline. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
11Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Minimum Proficiency in Mathematics, End of Primary — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
From the UNESCO Institute for Statistics data API (MATH.PRIMARY), latest available reading per country, with UIS’s own footnote naming the assessment. Female and male shares are stored beside the headline.
Newest edition
Report year 2023Data year not recorded
Cite the source as: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. UIS Data Browser. Montreal: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0, checked 2026-09-29.
How this page reads the numbers
- No rank or position is shown: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- The file gives each country’s most recent reading, so the rows are from different years. Readings from before 2013 are listed but left out of every comparison on this page.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- South Korea — Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Singapore — Khairul Nizam ., CC BY 2.0
- Palau — Lukas from Munich, Germany derivative work: Inkey, CC BY 2.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Maths proficiency at the end of primary by country: Minimum Proficiency in Mathematics, End of Primary, data from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/maths-proficiency-primary