Determining which countries are the world’s smartest is challenging due to the large number of variables that might be evaluated.
- Is the most intelligent country the one with the most educated citizens?
- Perhaps the world’s brightest countries would be those with the highest average IQ score across the country?
- Or is the most intelligent country the one with the biggest proportion of exceptionally intelligent people?
- Could it even be the country with the most Nobel laureates?
- Standardized test scores could also be used to determine which countries are the smartest—if only it were possible to develop and administer a single standardized test that accurately measured every aspect of intelligence in every person in every culture (and speaking every language) in every country.
Any attempt to come up with a single clear-and-simple answer is certain to fail. In spite of this, population and intelligence experts are coming up with new methods and approaches that get them ever closer to a realistic ranking of the world’s smartest countries.
- Richard Lynn, a British psychologist, conducts some of the most well-known and extensively reported studies on global intelligence. As part of a 2019 research project titled The Intelligence of Nations, Lynn and partner David Becker assessed the average IQ of inhabitants in 132 countries and computed predicted scores for the remaining 70. As you can see, the first on the list is (scroll to the table at the bottom of the page for the rest).
Top 10 Smartest Countries in the World According to IQ – Ulster Institute 2022:*
- Japan – 106.49
- Taiwan – 106.47
- Singapore – 105.89
- Hong Kong (China) – 105.37
- China – 104.10
- South Korea – 102.35
- Belarus – 101.60
- Finland – 101.20
- Liechtenstein – 101.07
- Netherlands & Germany (tie) – 100.74
It would be foolish to overlook the fact that Lynn’s studies, while possibly the most exhaustive accessible, frequently generate substantial dispute. Some critics object to Lynn’s methods for estimating when hard data is lacking. Others accuse Lynn, an avowed eugenicist, of utilizing his research to bolster scientifically incorrect hypotheses promoting white supremacist ideologies.
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The Education-Intelligence Connection
Education and intelligence are inextricably related, as a more robust educational system over time tends to develop a more intellectual populace. With this in mind, some studies compare intellect using the educational rankings of other countries. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued its triennial PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) results in 2018, comparing the reading, mathematics, and science test scores of over 600,000 pupils in 79 nations. The top ten are listed below.
The OECD PISA 2018 rankings of the world’s top 10 most intelligent countries:
- China – 555, 591, 590
- Singapore – 549, 569, 551
- Macau (China) – 525, 558, 544
- Hong Kong (China) – 524, 551, 517
- Estonia – 523, 523, 530
- Canada – 520, 512, 518
- Finland – 520, 507, 522
- Ireland – 518, 500, 496
- Korea – 514, 526, 519
- Poland – 512, 516, 511
OECD data, including adult education level, ranked Canada as the most intellectual country in the world, according to another study. Second place went to Japan, while third place went to Israel. Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and Finland round up the top five.
For example, the 2017 Intelligence Capital Index (ICI) used a variety of factors to determine not only which countries had the smartest citizens, but also which countries were most likely to use their citizens’ intelligence to “expand the frontier of knowledge and/or introduce the technologies of the knowledge economy… Big Data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, etc..”
The United States was the only country to achieve an A+ ranking in the ICI survey. The United Kingdom came in second, with Germany coming in third. On the ICI’s list of the world’s most advanced economies are Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, Finland, and Denmark.
This year’s top ten countries with the highest intelligence capital index-2017
- United States – 74.88 (A+)
- United Kingdom – 64.19 (A)
- Germany – 64.18 (A)
- Australia – 63.96 (A)
- Singapore – 63.60 (A)
- Sweden – 61.58 (A)
- Switzerland – 61.57 (A)
- Canada – 61.15 (A)
- Finland – 60.45 (A)
- Denmark – 60.25 (A)
List of top 10 countries in terms of average
IQs
- Japan (106.48)
- Taiwan (106.47)
- Singapore (105.89)
- Hong Kong (105.37)
- China (104.1)
- South Korea (102.35)
- Belarus (101.6)
- Finland (101.2)
- Liechtenstein (101.07)
- Germany (100.74)
Country
IQ
2022 Population
Japan 106.48 125,584,838
Taiwan 106.47 23,888,595
Singapore 105.89 5,943,546
Hong Kong 105.37 7,604,299
China 104.1 1,448,471,400
South Korea 102.35 51,329,899
Belarus 101.6 9,432,800
Finland 101.2 5,554,960
Liechtenstein 101.07 38,387
Netherlands 100.74 17,211,447
Germany 100.74 83,883,596
Estonia 100.72 1,321,910
Luxembourg 99.87 642,371
Macau 99.82 667,490
Cambodia 99.75 17,168,639
Canada 99.52 38,388,419
Switzerland 99.24 8,773,637
Hungary 99.24 9,606,259
Australia 99.24 26,068,792
United Kingdom 99.12 68,497,907
Greenland 98.89 56,973
North Korea 98.82 25,990,679
Slovenia 98.6 2,078,034
New Zealand 98.57 4,898,203
Austria 98.38 9,066,710
Iceland 98.26 345,393
Denmark 97.83 5,834,950
Belgium 97.49 11,668,278
United States 97.43 334,805,269
Norway 97.13 5,511,370
Sweden 97 10,218,971
France 96.69 65,584,518
Poland 96.35 37,739,785
Slovakia 96.32 5,460,193
Russia 96.29 145,805,947
Lithuania 95.89 2,661,708
Croatia 95.75 4,059,286
Andorra 95.2 77,463
Ireland 95.13 5,020,199
Czech Republic 94.92 10,736,784
Latvia 94.79 1,848,837
Italy 94.23 60,262,770
New Caledonia 93.92 290,915
Vanuatu 93.92 321,832
Spain 93.9 46,719,142
Bermuda 93.48 61,939
Cyprus 93.39 1,223,387
Portugal 92.77 10,140,570
Israel 92.43 8,922,892
Barbados 91.6 288,023
Malta 91.27 444,033
Myanmar 91.18 55,227,143
Mongolia 91.03 3,378,078
Bulgaria 90.99 6,844,597
Greece 90.77 10,316,637
Suriname 90.29 596,831
Ukraine 90.07 43,192,122
Moldova 89.98 4,013,171
Serbia 89.6 8,653,016
Vietnam 89.53 98,953,541
Iraq 89.28 42,164,965
Uzbekistan 89.01 34,382,084
Kazakhstan 88.89 19,205,043
Thailand 88.87 70,078,203
Armenia 88.82 2,971,966
Bosnia And Herzegovina 88.54 3,249,317
Costa Rica 88.34 5,182,354
Bhutan 87.94 787,941
Chile 87.89 19,250,195
Mexico 87.73 131,562,772
Tajikistan 87.71 9,957,464
Uruguay 87.59 3,496,016
Brunei 87.58 445,431
Malaysia 87.58 33,181,072
Bahamas 86.99 400,516
Romania 86.88 19,031,335
Turkey 86.8 85,561,976
Argentina 86.63 46,010,234
Sri Lanka 86.62 21,575,842
Mauritius 86.56 1,274,727
Turkmenistan 85.86 6,201,943
Montenegro 85.78 627,950
Trinidad And Tobago 85.63 1,406,585
Azerbaijan 84.81 10,300,205
Georgia 84.5 3,968,738
Turks And Caicos Islands 84.29 39,741
Paraguay 84.04 7,305,843
Cook Islands 83.96 17,571
Marshall Islands 83.96 60,057
Tonga 83.96 107,749
Micronesia 83.96 117,489
Kiribati 83.96 123,419
Samoa 83.96 202,239
Solomon Islands 83.96 721,159
Fiji 83.96 909,466
Cuba 83.9 11,305,652
Bahrain 83.6 1,783,983
Brazil 83.38 215,353,593
Guyana 83.23 794,045
Colombia 83.13 51,512,762
Venezuela 82.99 29,266,991
Cayman Islands 82.24 67,277
Afghanistan 82.12 40,754,388
Haiti 82.1 11,680,283
United Arab Emirates 82.05 10,081,785
Dominican Republic 82.05 11,056,370
Puerto Rico 81.99 2,829,812
North Macedonia 81.91 2,081,304
Albania 81.75 2,866,374
Lebanon 81.7 6,684,849
Philippines 81.64 112,508,994
Peru 81.44 33,684,208
Northern Mariana Islands 81.36 58,269
Laos 80.99 7,481,023
Libya 80.92 7,040,745
Qatar 80.78 2,979,915
Jordan 80.7 10,300,869
Maldives 80.54 540,985
Iran 80.01 86,022,837
Pakistan 80 229,488,994
Grenada 79.34 113,475
Tunisia 79.22 12,046,656
Kyrgyzstan 79.09 6,728,271
Panama 79 4,446,964
Chad 78.87 17,413,580
Sudan 78.87 45,992,020
Seychelles 78.76 99,426
Oman 78.7 5,323,993
Kuwait 78.64 4,380,326
Timor Leste 78.49 1,369,429
Papua New Guinea 78.49 9,292,169
Indonesia 78.49 279,134,505
Ecuador 78.26 18,113,361
Palestine 77.69 5,345,541
Senegal 77.37 17,653,671
Comoros 77.07 907,419
Madagascar 76.79 29,178,077
British Virgin Islands 76.69 30,596
Bolivia 76.53 11,992,656
Uganda 76.42 48,432,863
Saudi Arabia 76.36 35,844,909
Egypt 76.32 106,156,692
India 76.24 1,406,631,776
Algeria 76 45,350,148
Kenya 75.2 56,215,221
Angola 75.1 35,027,343
Jamaica 75.08 2,985,094
Tanzania 74.95 63,298,550
Syria 74.41 19,364,809
Bangladesh 74.33 167,885,689
Zimbabwe 74.01 15,331,428
Burkina Faso 73.8 22,102,838
Saint Lucia 73.68 185,113
Mozambique 72.5 33,089,461
Burundi 72.09 12,624,840
Niger 70.82 26,083,660
Saint Kitts And Nevis 70.48 53,871
Antigua And Barbuda 70.48 99,509
Rwanda 69.95 13,600,464
Benin 69.71 12,784,726
Malawi 69.7 20,180,839
El Salvador 69.63 6,550,389
Botswana 69.45 2,441,162
Eswatini 68.87 1,184,817
Lesotho 68.87 2,175,699
South Africa 68.87 60,756,135
Eritrea 68.77 3,662,244
Zambia 68.43 19,470,234
Ethiopia 68.42 120,812,698
Djibouti 68.41 1,016,097
Cameroon 67.76 27,911,548
Nigeria 67.76 216,746,934
Somalia 67.67 16,841,795
Morocco 67.03 37,772,756
Namibia 66.19 2,633,874
Dominica 66.03 72,344
Sao Tome And Principe 65.22 227,679
DR Congo 64.92 95,240,792
Saint Vincent And the Grenadines 63.42 111,551
Gabon 62.97 2,331,533
Republic of the Congo 62.97 5,797,805
Yemen 62.86 31,154,867
Belize 62.55 412,190
Central African Republic 62.55 5,016,678
Honduras 62.16 10,221,247
Togo 59.83 8,680,837
Mauritania 59.76 4,901,981
Mali 59.76 21,473,764
South Sudan 58.61 11,618,511
Ivory Coast 58.16 27,742,298
Ghana 58.16 32,395,450
Guinea 53.48 13,865,691
Nicaragua 52.69 6,779,100
Gambia 52.68 2,558,482
Cape Verde 52.5 567,678
Guatemala 47.72 18,584,039
Liberia 45.07 5,305,117
Sierra Leone 45.07 8,306,436
Nepal 42.99 30,225,582
