Switzerland remained above the OECD average in science, mathematics and reading in PISA 2025. Across Switzerland’s own historical series, mathematics and reading reached their lowest observed PISA scores in 2025, while science stayed close to its 2022 level and has been broadly stable over the latest decade.
Switzerland’s PISA 2025 scores
The latest mean scores, the matching OECD averages and the official 2022–2025 score changes.
OECD reports Switzerland’s 2022–2025 science change as −1 point from unrounded estimates. The displayed cycle means are 503 and 501, so subtracting the rounded figures directly can produce −2. For cycle-to-cycle change, the OECD-published change estimate is the appropriate figure.
The latest results place Switzerland above the OECD average in all three core domains. The distance from the OECD average is much larger in mathematics than in reading. Science sits between the two. The OECD also reports that the −1 science movement from 2022 was not statistically significant, while mathematics and reading were lower than in 2022.
The 2000–2025 record shows two declines and one steadier series
Switzerland has participated in PISA since 2000, but the comparable trend does not begin in the same year for every subject.
Swiss PISA mean scores across assessment cycles
Reading from 2000, mathematics from 2003 and science from 2006.
The vertical scale runs from 450 to 550 to keep the full Swiss series visible without using a very narrow score range. Missing early mathematics and science points reflect the official trend starting years, not missing Swiss participation.
- Mathematics rose from 527 in 2003 to 534 in 2009, then moved down in every later cycle shown, reaching 499 in 2025.
- Reading reached 509 in 2012 and then fell to 470 by 2025. Its 39-point distance from the 2012 high is the largest peak-to-2025 change among Switzerland’s three core PISA series.
- Science also sits below its earlier high, but its recent pattern is flatter. OECD describes Switzerland’s 2015–2025 science performance as stable.
Switzerland PISA scores by cycle
All comparable core-domain mean scores reported for Switzerland from the first PISA cycle through PISA 2025.
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
| PISA cycle | Mathematics | Reading | Science |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | — | 494 | — |
| 2003 | 527 | 499 | — |
| 2006 | 530 | 499 | 512 |
| 2009 | 534 | 501 | 517 |
| 2012 | 531 | 509 | 515 |
| 2015 | 521 | 492 | 506 |
| 2018 | 515 | 484 | 495 |
| 2022 | 508 | 483 | 503 |
| 2025 | 499 | 470 | 501 |
An em dash means the comparable subject trend had not yet been established. Reading comparisons begin in 2000, mathematics in 2003 and science in 2006.
Mathematics and reading are much farther from their earlier Swiss peaks
Peak-to-2025 and first-to-2025 changes are calculated from OECD-published cycle means.
| Domain | First comparable score | Highest observed score | 2025 | Peak to 2025 | First to 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 527 in 2003 | 534 in 2009 | 499 | −35 | −28 |
| Reading | 494 in 2000 | 509 in 2012 | 470 | −39 | −24 |
| Science | 512 in 2006 | 517 in 2009 | 501 | −16 | −11 |
These are descriptive differences calculated from the displayed OECD mean scores. They are not separate OECD trend indicators.
Mathematics has the clearest repeated downward sequence after 2009: 534, 531, 521, 515, 508 and 499. Reading followed a different path, holding near 500 through 2009, reaching 509 in 2012, then falling across each later cycle. Science declined from 517 in 2009 to 495 in 2018, recovered to 503 in 2022 and was 501 in 2025.
The latest Swiss result is strong relative to the OECD, but weaker relative to Switzerland’s own past
OECD reports PISA 2025 as Switzerland’s lowest observed result in mathematics and reading. Those two scores still remain above their 2025 OECD averages. The two comparisons answer different questions: one measures Switzerland against the OECD benchmark in the same cycle, while the other follows Switzerland across its own historical series.
Switzerland’s gap above the OECD average changed little from 2022 to 2025
Falling national scores did not translate into a similarly large loss relative to the OECD mean because OECD averages also moved lower.
Difference from the OECD average: 2022 and 2025
Positive values show how many score points Switzerland’s published mean was above the OECD average in the same cycle.
Gaps are calculated from OECD-published rounded mean scores. They are descriptive benchmark differences, not statistical ranks.
Using published rounded means, the mathematics gap was +36 points in both 2022 and 2025. Reading moved from +7 to +9 and science from +18 to +19. Switzerland therefore lost points in the latest cycle without losing much ground against the moving OECD benchmark.
The 2025 proficiency profile is strongest in mathematics
Mean scores and proficiency shares describe different parts of performance. Level 2 is the OECD baseline threshold; top performers are students at Level 5 or above.
Baseline and top-performing shares in PISA 2025
Switzerland compared with the OECD average in the same assessment cycle.
| Domain | Switzerland Level 2+ | OECD Level 2+ | Switzerland Level 5+ | OECD Level 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 77% | 65% | 15% | 8% |
| Reading | 71% | 69% | 7% | 6% |
| Science | 79% | 74% | 10% | 7% |
Percentages are rounded as reported in the OECD Switzerland country note. A system mean score should not be read as the proficiency level of an individual student.
Mathematics combines the widest Swiss advantage in mean score with the largest proficiency differences from the OECD average: 77% reached Level 2 or higher compared with 65% across OECD countries, and 15% were top performers compared with 8%. Reading is much closer to the OECD distribution, with only a two-percentage-point advantage at Level 2 or higher and a one-point advantage among top performers.
The proficiency trend points in the same direction as the mean-score trend for mathematics and reading. Compared with 2015, OECD reports that Switzerland’s share of students below Level 2 increased by 7 percentage points in mathematics and 9 percentage points in reading; the science share did not show a statistically significant change.
Performance gaps add context to the national averages
PISA 2025 also shows how performance differs within Switzerland rather than only where the national mean sits.
Socio-economic status accounted for about 14% of the variation in science performance in Switzerland, compared with about 12% across OECD countries. The science score difference between boys and girls was 5 points in favor of girls and was not statistically significant. These subgroup results do not change the national mean, but they show why one country-level score cannot describe the full performance distribution.
Why the three historical series start in different years
PISA first established the reading scale with reading as the major assessment domain in 2000. Mathematics received its first full assessment in 2003, and science in 2006. For that reason, a Switzerland page covering 2000–2025 can show reading from 2000, but it should not create mathematics data for 2000 or science data for 2000 and 2003.
PISA is cycle-based rather than annual. The relevant Swiss observations are 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2022 and 2025. The 2022 assessment followed 2018 because the cycle originally planned for 2021 was postponed by one year. PISA 2025 focused on science as the major domain, with mathematics and reading assessed as minor domains.
Historical comparisons also carry sampling and measurement uncertainty. OECD trend figures identify which earlier estimates are statistically distinguishable from the latest result rather than treating every one- or two-point difference as a real movement. Switzerland’s PISA 2025 data met the OECD quality standards for reporting.
What Switzerland’s 25-year PISA trend shows
Across the comparable record, mathematics and reading now sit well below their earlier Swiss peaks. Mathematics is 35 points below its 2009 high, while reading is 39 points below its 2012 high. Science is 16 points below its 2009 high, but its 2015–2025 pattern is much steadier than the other two domains.
In the 2025 cross-country comparison, Switzerland remained above the OECD average by 36 points in mathematics, 19 in science and 9 in reading using published rounded means. The longer trend therefore shows two distinct reference points: Switzerland remains above the current OECD average, while mathematics and reading are 35 and 39 points below their earlier Swiss cycle highs.
Data sources and measurement
OECD — PISA 2025 Results (Volume I): Switzerland. Principal source for 2025 science, mathematics and reading results, proficiency shares, recent score changes, socio-economic gaps and PISA 2025 reporting notes.
OECD — Overview of Performance Trends, PISA 2022 Results (Volume I). Source for Switzerland’s official historical mathematics, reading and science cycle means through 2022.
OECD — How Did Countries Perform in PISA 2022?. Source for the 2022 OECD mean scores used in the 2022-versus-2025 benchmark-gap comparison.
OECD — Long-term Trends in Performance and Equity in Education. Used for the comparable trend starting points: reading in 2000, mathematics in 2003 and science in 2006.
OECD Education GPS — Switzerland, Student Performance (PISA 2025). Used to cross-check 2025 means, OECD averages, gender differences, proficiency indicators and published cycle changes.
PISA mean scores are estimates derived from samples of 15-year-old students and are reported with statistical uncertainty. Score-point differences shown as calculations on this page use OECD-published rounded means unless an official OECD change estimate is explicitly identified.