Average TOEIC Listening and Reading Scores

Sorted by Age, Gender, Country, and Education

Person taking an English grammar test

Lamaip / Getty Images

If you've taken the TOEIC listening and reading exam, or the Test of English for International Communication, then you know how nerve-racking it can be to wait for your scores. This important examination of English skills is often used by potential employers to determine whether your level of communication is sufficient for employment, so you probably don't need to be told to take your results very seriously once you get them back.

Understanding Your Score

Unfortunately, knowing your scores won't always help you understand your chances of being hired. Even though many businesses and institutions have minimum TOEIC scores or proficiency levels that they require before giving you an interview, these levels are not the same across the board. Depending on where you have applied and for what positions, you may find that different institutions require very different base scores.

Of course, there are a number of factors at play that affect your performance and your likelihood of being hired. These include age, gender, educational background, college major (if applicable), English-speaking experience, vocational industry, type of job, and even the amount of time you spent studying for the test. Most hiring managers take these factors into account when interviewing and do not hire based on TOEIC scores alone.

Find out How You Compare

Wondering where you stand with the scores you've earned and how your performance compares with the standard? Look no further: here are the average 2018 TOEIC scores sorted by age, gender, country of birth, and education level of test-takers (some of the most important factors).

Though these averages won't tell you your own areas of strength and weakness, they might help you see your relative position among other test-takers more clearly. These listening and reading data sets were obtained from the 2018 TOEIC report on test-takers worldwide.

Remember that the highest possible score on each exam is 495. Anything over 450 is generally considered excellent and indicates no real area of weakness in using and understanding the English language. You'll also notice that, across the board, reading scores are lower than listening scores.

Average TOEIC Scores by Age

In this set of TOEIC listening and reading scores by age, you will notice that test-takers between the ages of 26 and 30 tend to perform best on this test with an average listening score of 351 and a reading score of 292. Across all countries, this accounts for 15% of test-takers.

Mean Performance by Demographic Categories: Age
Age % of Test Takers Average Listening Score Average Reading Score
Under 20 23.1 283 218
21-25 39.0 335 274
26-30 15.0 351 292
31-35 7.5 329 272
36-40 5.3 316 262
41-45 4.1 308 256
Over 45 6.0 300 248

Average TOEIC Scores by Gender

According to 2018 data, more men took the TOEIC standardized tests than women. Women outperformed men on the listening test by a mean of 21 points and on the reading test by a mean of nine points.

Mean Performance by Demographic Categories: Gender
Gender % of Test Takers Listening Reading
Female 46.1 332 266
Male 53.9 311 257

Average TOEIC Scores by Country of Birth

The following chart shows the mean reading and listening scores by the test-taker country of birth. You'll notice that these data are quite spread out and scores are largely influenced by the prominence of English in each country.

Mean Performance by Native Country
Country Listening Reading
Albania 255 218
Algeria 353 305
Argentina 369 338
Belgium 401 373
Benin 286 260
Brazil 333 295
Cameroon 338 294
Canada 460 411
Chile 356 317
China 302 277
Colombia 326 295
Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) 320 286
Czech Republic 420 392
El Salvador 306 266
France 380 344
Gabon 330 277
Germany 428 370
Greece 349 281
Guadeloupe 320 272
Hong Kong 308 232
India 333 275
Indonesia 266 198
Italy 393 374
Japan 290 229
Jordan 369 301
Korea (ROK) 369 304
Lebanon 417 369
Macao 284 206
Madagascar 368 328
Martinique 306 262
Malaysia 360 289
Mexico 305 263
Mongolia 277 202
Morocco  386 333
Peru 357 318
Philippines 390 337
Poland 329 272
Portugal 378 330
Réunion 330 287
Russia 367 317
Senegal 344 294
Spain 366 346
Taiwan 305 249
Thailand 277 201
Tunisia 384 335
Turkey 346 279
Vietnam 282 251

Average TOEIC Scores by Level of Education

Nearly half of TOEIC test-takers in 2018 were either in college on their way to earning undergraduate degrees at four-year universities or had already obtained their Bachelor's degrees. By highest level of education, here are average TOEIC scores.

Mean Performance by Demographic Categories: Education
Level of Education % of Test Takers Listening Reading
Graduate school 11.6 361 316
Undergraduate college 49.9 340 281
Junior high school 0.5 304 225
High school 7.0 281 221
Elementary school 0.2 311 250
Community college 22.6 273 211
Language institution 1.4 275 191
Vocational school after high school 4.0 270 198
Vocational school 2.8 256 178
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Your Citation
Roell, Kelly. "Average TOEIC Listening and Reading Scores." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/average-toeic-scores-by-age-gender-country-and-education-3211524. Roell, Kelly. (2023, April 5). Average TOEIC Listening and Reading Scores. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/average-toeic-scores-by-age-gender-country-and-education-3211524 Roell, Kelly. "Average TOEIC Listening and Reading Scores." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/average-toeic-scores-by-age-gender-country-and-education-3211524 (accessed March 28, 2024).