Creativity is an important trait that supports achievements and innovation. However, educational systems may differ in their ability to foster it. In particular, institutional contexts such as post-communist heritage or EU membership may influence creative thinking. Using PISA 2022 data, this paper investigates the association between institutional context and creativity in post-communist countries and EU countries, employing propensity score matching and path analysis. The aim is to disentangle the effect of institutional context on creativity, after accounting for its impact on educational quality and availability of learning resources. The results show that students in countries with a post-communist heritage show lower average creativity than students in countries with no such heritage; on the other hand, students in EU countries show higher average creativity. Moreover, institutional context has a direct association with creativity, even after accounting for its indirect influence on educational quality and socioeconomic background. This suggests that institutional features can influence student creativity directly, and not just through improved achievements or socioeconomic status.