Literacy: Irish 15-year-olds have the fifth best literacy rates out of 27 countries, according to the OECD's Education at a Glance report.
Finland was the only European country to record better literacy rates.
These students scored almost two-thirds of a proficiency level above the OECD average.
Canada, New Zealand and Australia all recorded higher average scores than Ireland, while the UK was placed seventh.
Mexico recorded the lowest literacy skills, followed by Luxembourg.
Some 14 per cent of Irish students were able to successfully complete the most difficult reading tasks in the OECD programme for international student assessment. The average for OECD countries was 9 per cent.
Just 11 per cent of Irish students achieved scores in the lowest category, compared with an OECD average of 18 per cent.
However, the study also found that Irish students read for enjoyment less often than 15-year-old children in other OECD countries.
In particular, Irish boys were third from the bottom of the table for leisure reading, with only Belgium and Germany recording lower rates of leisure reading among 15-year-old boys.
Not surprisingly then, girls were found to be better readers than boys in every country surveyed.
In Ireland, 36 per cent of female students fell into the category of frequent and diverse readers, compared with 20 per cent of male students.
The OECD expressed concern at the underachievement of males in this area.
"Gender differences in student performance, as well as in attitudes towards and strategies for learning, therefore, need to receive close attention from policymakers if greater gender equity in educational outcomes is to be achieved," the report states.
It says that teachers must play a key role in this, as students' perceptions of what occupations lie ahead for them are often affected by their academic decisions and performances.
The study found that there was less variation in literacy skills between Irish schools than between schools in other OECD countries.
There was an 18 per cent variation between Irish schools, compared with an OECD average of 35 per cent.
In general, Irish secondary-school students achieved higher literacy rates than their counterparts in community and comprehensive schools. They, in turn, outperformed students in vocational schools.
Similarly, students in designated disadvantaged schools recorded lower average scores than other students.
However, the variation between schools was much greater in countries such as Austria and Germany, where students were separated into different academic and vocational tracks at an early age.
