Finland recorded mean scores of 504 in science, 474 in reading, and 469 in mathematics in PISA 2025. All three remained above the corresponding OECD averages, while the longer series shows a broad decline from Finland’s earlier PISA results.
Finland’s PISA 2025 Scores
Science was the major assessment domain in 2025; mathematics and reading were minor domains.
Finland and the OECD Average in 2025
Mean scores are reported separately for each PISA domain. The gap is calculated from OECD-published rounded means.
| Domain | Finland | OECD average | Finland minus OECD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Science | 504 | 482 | +22 |
| Reading | 474 | 461 | +13 |
| Mathematics | 469 | 463 | +6 |
Finland remained above the OECD average in all three core domains in 2025. The descriptive margin was widest in science and narrowest in mathematics; these point gaps should not be read as an overall PISA score or a combined rank.
Long-Term PISA Score Trends, 2000–2025
Finland participated in every PISA cycle from 2000 through 2025. For long-term comparisons, reading begins in 2000, mathematics in 2003, and science in 2006.
Finland’s Mean Scores Across Comparable PISA Cycles
The three domains share cycle labels, but their long-term comparable series begin in different years.
The vertical scale runs from 450 to 575 points so changes across cycles remain visible. Exact values appear in the table.
Finland PISA Mean Scores by Cycle
Official OECD mean scores for Finland. Blank cells mark years before the standard long-term comparison baseline for that domain.
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
| PISA cycle | Reading | Mathematics | Science |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 546 | — | — |
| 2003 | 543 | 544 | — |
| 2006 | 547 | 548 | 563 |
| 2009 | 536 | 541 | 554 |
| 2012 | 524 | 519 | 545 |
| 2015 | 526 | 511 | 531 |
| 2018 | 520 | 507 | 522 |
| 2022 | 490 | 484 | 511 |
| 2025 | 474 | 469 | 504 |
PISA is not annual. The sequence shown here contains Finland’s actual participation cycles. PISA 2022 was delayed from the originally planned 2021 administration.
- Reading fell by 72 points from 546 in 2000 to 474 in 2025.
- Mathematics fell by 75 points from 544 in 2003 to 469 in 2025.
- Science fell by 59 points from 563 in 2006 to 504 in 2025.
All three domains reached their highest reported mean in this comparable series in 2006. The path was not perfectly one-way—reading, for example, rose slightly from 2012 to 2015—but the longer direction after the mid-2000s is downward. These first-to-latest differences are arithmetic calculations from OECD-published rounded means, not OECD trend coefficients.
The Latest Cycle Extended the Reading and Mathematics Declines
The 2022–2025 movement should be read separately from the longer 25-year history.
Change From PISA 2022 to PISA 2025
Point changes are calculated as the 2025 mean minus the 2022 mean.
| Domain | 2022 | 2025 | Change | OECD interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science | 511 | 504 | −7 | About the same after accounting for statistical uncertainty |
| Reading | 490 | 474 | −16 | Lower than in 2022 |
| Mathematics | 484 | 469 | −15 | Lower than in 2022 |
The most recent movement was not identical across subjects. Reading and mathematics moved clearly lower between 2022 and 2025, while the seven-point science difference was treated by the OECD as statistically indistinguishable from the 2022 mean. That makes the latest cycle a continuation of the long-run decline in all three raw series, but with a different short-term statistical reading for science.
More Students Were Below Level 2 Than a Decade Earlier
Mean scores show the center of the distribution. Proficiency shares show how many students were above or below defined performance thresholds.
Increase in the Share Below Level 2, 2015–2025
OECD-reported percentage-point increase in Finland’s low-performing share.
Compared with 2015, Finland’s below-Level-2 share increased by 8 percentage points in science, 15 points in reading, and 17 points in mathematics.
PISA 2025 Proficiency Snapshot
Level 2 is the baseline proficiency threshold used in OECD reporting. Top performers are students at Levels 5 or 6, except reading where the country note reports Level 5 or higher.
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
| Domain | Finland at Level 2 or higher | OECD at Level 2 or higher | Finland top performers | OECD top performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Science | 81% | 74% | 11% | 7% |
| Mathematics | 69% | 65% | 7% | 8% |
| Reading | 74% | 69% | 6% | 6% |
Percentages are rounded to whole numbers in the OECD Finland country note.
Finland still had a larger share of students reaching at least Level 2 than the OECD average in each core domain in 2025. The decade comparison adds another layer: the share below that threshold increased most in mathematics, then reading, with a smaller increase in science.
How to Read Finland’s PISA Trend
- Mean score
- A country mean summarizes the score distribution of the assessed 15-year-old student population. It is not an individual student’s proficiency level and it should not be combined across subjects into an unofficial overall PISA score.
- Comparable starting years
- The long-term reading series begins in 2000, mathematics in 2003, and science in 2006. Earlier reported domain values are not used here as the baseline for standard long-term trend comparisons.
- Cycle timing
- PISA normally runs on a three-year cycle. The assessment planned for 2021 was postponed and reported as PISA 2022, which is why the interval from 2018 to 2022 is longer than usual.
- Statistical uncertainty
- PISA means are estimates based on samples. A visible point difference does not automatically mean two cycle estimates are statistically distinguishable. The OECD’s Finland note treats science in 2025 as about the same as in 2022 despite the rounded mean moving from 511 to 504.
- 2025 assessment emphasis
- Science was the major domain in PISA 2025. Reading and mathematics were also assessed and remain part of the published trend tables.
Data Sources and Measurement
Scores, proficiency shares, participation years, and trend statements use official OECD PISA material.
OECD — PISA 2025 Results (Volume I): Finland provides Finland’s 2025 score context, proficiency shares, 2022–2025 interpretation, and the change in low-performing shares since 2015.
OECD — Student Performance in PISA 2025 reports country means, OECD averages, short-term changes, and trend tables used to check the latest cycle.
OECD — PISA 2022 Overview of Performance Trends contains Finland’s official historical mean-score series through 2022; the 2025 values are taken from the newer PISA 2025 release.
OECD — PISA Participant: Finland lists Finland’s participation in 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2022, and 2025.
- All displayed scores are mean scores on the relevant PISA subject scale and are rounded to whole points in the cited OECD material.
- Calculated score gaps and first-to-latest changes use those rounded published means, so they are descriptive arithmetic rather than separate OECD indicators.
- The table does not assign ordinal ranks. Small differences between countries or cycles can fall within sampling uncertainty.
- Trend interpretation follows the domain-specific comparison windows used by the OECD: reading from 2000, mathematics from 2003, and science from 2006.