US fails to make top 25 in global math rankings as China takes No. 1 spot; Asian education systems dominate, claiming seven out of top 10 spots

Recent global rankings in mathematics have not been kind to the US. With China topping the global math rankings announced in 2026, the US has missed out on making it into the top 25. This is an example of how American students lag behind the best mathematics students in the world. The rankings are based on a Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

The latest PISA study of 2025 (Volume I), which was published September 2026, examined the performance of 15 year olds. The PISA evaluates the competencies of the students in the subjects of mathematics, reading and science. However, unlike any other test, the mathematics part of the test assesses the efficiency of the students in real-world problem solving.

Over 760,000 students from 91 different countries and economies have been tested through PISA 2025. Altogether, these students constitute an estimated 33 million 15-year-olds worldwide, providing researchers with a comprehensive view of the performance levels of youth in various education systems.


However, it should be pointed out that China’s ranking at the top is not everything. Most of the education systems in Asia take the top ranks, occupying seven out of ten positions in the ranking list. The findings further confirm the trend observed in international testing programs in which several East Asian education systems score outstanding results in mathematics.

CHINA LEADS AS ASIAN EDUCATION SYSTEMS DOMINATE

China leads the 2026 ranking with an average score of 612, followed by Singapore with 563. Macao takes third place with 549, while Chinese Taipei is fourth with 546 points. Japan (525), Korea (522) and Hong Kong (522) also feature among the top 10, meaning Asian education systems account for seven of the first 10 positions. Estonia (508), Switzerland (499) and the United Kingdom (488) complete the top 10.

A strong performance by the Asians is not something new. According to the OECD findings in PISA 2022, six East Asian school systems – Singapore, Macao, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea – performed better than all the other participating nations in math. Singapore scored 575 points in the test.

US SITS OUTSIDE TOP 25

The United States comes in at No. 27 in the 2026 ranking, putting it well behind the leading Asian systems and several European countries. Previous OECD research also provides context for America’s math challenge.

According to the PISA 2022 study, 66% of US students got Level 2 proficiency in math subjects while the OECD average was 69%. Only 7% of US students attained high levels of proficiency, whereas in Singapore, Chinese Taipei, and Macao, the percentages were 41%, 32%, and 29%, respectively. These numbers suggest that the problem is not only whether the United States will rank well in league tables but also whether sufficient numbers of students acquire strong mathematics skills.

While international rankings should not be treated as a complete measure of any country’s education system, they offer a useful idea of how students perform under comparable testing conditions. For the US, the latest results once again put mathematics education under the microscope. For Asia, meanwhile, seven places inside the global top 10 underline just how firmly the region remains positioned among the world’s strongest performers.