China
Last updated July 15, 2026
Composite GEFRI Score
Innovation is strongest, but Governance and Access & Parity remain constraints
China demonstrates early-stage readiness to meet the challenges and opportunities of education in a rapidly changing world (58th percentile worldwide). Investments are generating initial gains, yet substantial gaps persist in several dimensions.
- Global percentile
- 58th
- Global rank
- #75
- Regional rank
- #15
- Viewing data for
Country profile
China remains in the emerging-readiness range, with progress visible but major gaps still limiting future readiness. Its strongest results are in Innovation (72, 93rd percentile).
Uneven scores across dimensions show where readiness conditions are less aligned. High internet adoption enables broad participation in digital learning and innovation. Strong tertiary enrollment expands future talent pipelines and strengthens national innovation potential.
Robust R&D investment supports a dynamic ecosystem for innovation and knowledge production. Regulatory quality falls short of global standards, signalling structural hurdles in policy execution. Girls outperform boys in secondary pathways, adding pressure to address male dropout risks.
Governance presents a near-term leapfrog opportunity: performance is just below the global average, backed by enough observed data to support forward planning.
Areas with room to grow: Infrastructure (65, 62nd percentile), Human Capital (56, 67th percentile), GEFRI Composite (56, 58th percentile), Governance (46, 50th percentile) and School Access and Gender Parity (40, 41st percentile). These dimensions sit close to global norms and could accelerate quickly with targeted investment.
Some indicators are imputed, so the profile should be read with moderate caution.
Key insights
Places 75th worldwide.
Holds a regional position of 15th within East Asia & Pacific.
Scores range from Innovation (71.8) to Access & Parity (39.9), reflecting variation across dimensions.
Leads regional peers most clearly in Innovation.
Regional peers: East Asia & Pacific
Composite GEFRI Score
| Global rank | Regional rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | Korea, Rep. | 77.90 |
| 3 | 2 | Hong Kong SAR, China | 77.59 |
| 4 | 3 | Singapore | 77.58 |
| 12 | 4 | Japan | 76.03 |
| 14 | 5 | Australia | 75.84 |
| 20 | 6 | New Zealand | 72.96 |
| 46 | 7 | Brunei Darussalam | 61.47 |
| — | — | NauruMicrostate | 60.97 |
| — | — | Northern Mariana IslandsMicrostate | 60.89 |
| 49 | 8 | Fiji | 60.57 |
| 50 | 9 | Thailand | 60.56 |
| — | — | GuamMicrostate | 59.78 |
| — | — | New CaledoniaMicrostate | 59.45 |
| — | — | PalauMicrostate | 59.12 |
| — | — | American SamoaMicrostate | 58.64 |
| 61 | 10 | Macao SAR, China | 58.41 |
| — | — | French PolynesiaMicrostate | 57.22 |
| 68 | 11 | Indonesia | 56.89 |
| 69 | 12 | Mongolia | 56.89 |
| 71 | 13 | Malaysia | 56.62 |
| 73 | 14 | Viet Nam | 55.90 |
| 75 | 15 | China | 55.59 |
| 87 | 16 | Philippines | 51.84 |
| — | — | SamoaMicrostate | 51.51 |
| — | — | TuvaluFCSMicrostate | 51.41 |
| — | — | TongaMicrostate | 48.23 |
| — | — | KiribatiFCSMicrostate | 46.37 |
| — | — | Marshall IslandsFCSMicrostate | 45.13 |
| — | — | Micronesia, Fed. Sts.FCSMicrostate | 41.97 |
| 112 | 17 | Vanuatu | 40.83 |
| 113 | 18 | Timor-LesteFCS | 40.80 |
| 115 | 19 | Korea, Dem. People's Rep. | 39.28 |
| 123 | 20 | Cambodia | 35.88 |
| 131 | 21 | Solomon IslandsFCS | 33.48 |
| 134 | 22 | Lao PDR | 32.64 |
| 147 | 23 | Papua New GuineaFCS | 27.72 |
| 151 | 24 | MyanmarFCS | 26.22 |