Search for specific education indicators by country, theme or level of education and compare the results using interactive charts and tables.

Base Theme

Survey of Adult Skills 2023 (PIAAC)
PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education
PISA 2022 Results (Volume II): Learning During - and From - Disruption
PISA 2022 Results (Volume III): Creative Minds, Creative Schools
PISA 2022 Results (Volume V): Learning Strategies and Attitudes for Life
PISA 2018 Results (Volume IV): Are Students Smart About Money?
PISA 2018 Results (Volume VI): Are Students Ready to Thrive in an Interconnected World?
PISA 2018: Are Students Ready To Take On Environmental Challenges?
Education at a Glance 2024 (EAG 2024): Highlights
EAG 2024, Chapter A: The output of educational institutions and the impact of learning
EAG 2024, Chapter B: Access to education, participation and progression
EAG 2024, Chapter C: Financial resources invested in education
EAG 2024, Chapter D: Teachers, learning environment and organisation of schools
TALIS 2018: Highlight indicators
TALIS 2018 (Volume I): Teachers and School Leaders as Lifelong Learners
TALIS 2018 (Volume II): Teachers and School Leaders as Valued Professionals
TALIS 2018 (results for primary and upper secondary)
TALIS 2018: Starting Strong Survey
Student outcomes
Collaborative Problem Solving
Adult competencies
Access & participation
Student mobility
Education attainment
Education system & governance
Financing education
Learning environment
Students' well-being
Equity
Gender
Digital divide
Special needs
Socio-economic status
Migrant background
Economic & social outcomes
Teachers & educators
Education leadership
Evaluation & quality assurance
Future of education and skills
Research & innovation
Early childhood education & care
Vocational education & training (VET)
Tertiary education
Impact of COVID-19 in education
Special needs
The term "special needs education" means different things in different countries. In some it covers only children with physical disabilities, while in others it includes a broader range of students covering, for instance, students facing learning difficulties or socio-economically disadvantaged students. In order to enable policy relevant international comparisons in this field, the OECD developed a tri-partite approach in which students are divided into three categories a) Disabilities : includes students with disabilities or impairments viewed in medical terms as organic disorders attributable to organic pathologies. The educational need is considered to arise primarily from problems attributable to these disabilities; b) Difficulties : covers students with behavioural or emotional disorders, or specific difficulties in learning; c) Disadvantages : comprises students with disadvantages arising from socio-economic, cultural, and/or linguistic factors.

  • In PISA 2003, only 1.37% of the PISA sample was classified as having special needs. On average, students with special needs scored fifty or more points below typical students in all three areas assessed in PISA: reading, mathematics and problem solving. Some students with special educational needs, however, scored at the highest levels in all three areas assessed.
  • Access to tertiary education for young students with disabilities, particularly those with an impairment (sensory, motor or mental) or psychological problems, continues to be more difficult than for other young adults. For example, while the general rate of entry to tertiary education in Ireland rose by 8% between 2000 and 2006, the country report states that the increase for disabled persons was merely 2.6%.
  • The OECD 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) showed that 23% of teachers across all sampled countries reported a high level of need for professional development geared towards teaching students with special needs, the highest of all professional development need areas.
  • Across TALIS countries, in classrooms with more students with special needs, teachers tend to report spending less time teaching.
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    Select OECD Countries

    Australia
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    Flemish Region (Belgium)
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    Belgium (excl. Flemish)
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    Alberta (Canada)
    Canadian provinces
    Chile
    Colombia
    Costa Rica
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    United Kingdom
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    OECD average

    Non-OECD Countries

    G20 average
    TALIS average
    TALIS avg. primary education
    TALIS avg. upper secondary education
    Albania
    Algeria
    Argentina
    Buenos Aires (Argentina)
    Baku (Azerbaijan)
    Bosnia and Herzegovina
    Brazil
    Brunei Darussalam
    Bulgaria
    Cambodia
    China
    B-S-J-Z (China)
    Hong Kong (China)
    Macao (China)
    Shanghai (China)
    Chinese Taipei
    Croatia
    Dominican Republic
    Ecuador
    El Salvador
    Georgia
    Guatemala
    India
    Indonesia
    Jamaica
    Jordan
    Kazakhstan
    Kosovo
    Lebanon
    North Macedonia
    Malaysia
    Malta
    Moldova
    Mongolia
    Montenegro
    Morocco
    Palestinian Authority
    Panama
    Paraguay
    Peru
    Philippines
    Qatar
    Romania
    Saudi Arabia
    Serbia
    Singapore
    South Africa
    Thailand
    Trinidad and Tobago
    Tunisia
    United Arab Emirates
    Abu Dhabi (UAE)
    Ukraine
    Uruguay
    Uzbekistan
    Viet Nam
    The data table will display up to four selected countries (unselect the OECD average to have one more).
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    Note: These values should be interpreted with care since they are influenced by countries' specific contexts and trade-offs. In education, there is often no simple most- or least-efficient model. For instance, the share of private expenditure in education must be read against other measures designed to mitigate inequities, such as loans and grants; longer learning time is an opportunity to convey more and better content to students, but may hinder investments in other important areas. If you want further information on the nature of different variables, please take the time to read the analysis and contextual information, available at the website for each publication.
    The OECD average includes only OECD countries which are listed here: http://www.oecd.org/about/membersandpartners/

    Reference years displayed in the Education GPS correspond to the most common year of reference among countries for which data is available on each variable. Data for the latest available year is preferred and some countries may have provided data refering to a more recent or late year. To know more about possible exceptions on data please click on the "Download Indicator" link on each variable. When a year of reference corresponds to a school year encompassing two years, the reference reads as follows: 2018 for school year 2017/2018.

    *TALIS averages are based on all countries participating in the TALIS survey, including partner countries and economies. This explains the difference between the OECD average and the TALIS average. Data from the TALIS survey and Education at a Glance (EAG) may differ. See Annex E of the TALIS technical report and Annex 3 of EAG 2021 for more details about the data collections.

    B-S-J-Z (China) refers to the four PISA-participating provinces/municipalities of the People's Republic of China: Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

    For additional notes, please refer to annexes in the list of links below the introductory text.