Cyprus ranks last in EU in PISA 2025 student assessment results

Cypriot 15-year-olds have recorded significantly low performance in the OECD’s PISA 2025 international assessment. According to data presented on September 25, 2026, by Education Minister Athena Michaelidou, Cyprus ranks last among EU member states in Natural Sciences (411 points) and Reading Comprehension (379 points), and second to last in Mathematics. Notably, 43% of students failed to meet basic skill requirements across these subjects, nearly double the 21% average observed across the European Union.

A significant factor identified by the Ministry is a lack of student engagement with the assessment. Data indicates that 24.9% of participants spent fewer than 10 seconds on their answers, frequently providing incorrect responses or leaving questions blank at twice the rate of their EU peers. While officials emphasized that this behavioral trend does not fully explain the low scores, it remains a critical parameter for analysis.

The Ministry of Education is currently exploring strategies to improve student motivation and engagement ahead of the next PISA testing cycle in 2028. Minister Michaelidou acknowledged the results as consistently low, highlighting an urgent need to address both academic performance and the perception of the assessment among the student body.