Smartest Countries 2025

Average IQ

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Average IQ 2019

1.	Japan	106.48
2.	Taiwan	106.47
3.	Singapore	105.89
4.	Hong Kong	105.37
5.	China	104.1
6.	South Korea	102.35
7.	Belarus	101.6
8.	Finland	101.2
9.	Liechtenstein	101.07
10.	Germany	100.74
11.	Netherlands	100.74
12.	Estonia	100.72
13.	Luxembourg	99.87
14.	Macau	99.82
15.	Cambodia	99.75
16.	Canada	99.52
17.	Australia	99.24
18.	Hungary	99.24
19.	Switzerland	99.24
20.	United Kingdom	99.12
21.	Greenland	98.89
22.	North Korea	98.82
23.	Slovenia	98.6
24.	New Zealand	98.57
25.	Austria	98.38
26.	Iceland	98.26
27.	Denmark	97.83
28.	Belgium	97.49
29.	United States	97.43
30.	Norway	97.13
31.	Sweden	97
32.	France	96.69
33.	Poland	96.35
34.	Slovakia	96.32
35.	Russia	96.29
36.	Lithuania	95.89
37.	Croatia	95.75
38.	Andorra	95.2
39.	Ireland	95.13
40.	Czech Republic	94.92
41.	Latvia	94.79
42.	Italy	94.23
43.	Vanuatu	93.92
44.	New Caledonia	93.92
45.	Spain	93.9
46.	Bermuda	93.48
47.	Cyprus	93.39
48.	Portugal	92.77
49.	Israel	92.43
50.	Barbados	91.6
51.	Malta	91.27
52.	Myanmar	91.18
53.	Mongolia	91.03
54.	Bulgaria	90.99
55.	Greece	90.77
56.	Suriname	90.29
57.	Ukraine	90.07
58.	Moldova	89.98
59.	Serbia	89.6
60.	Vietnam	89.53
61.	Iraq	89.28
62.	Uzbekistan	89.01
63.	Kazakhstan	88.89
64.	Thailand	88.87
65.	Armenia	88.82
66.	Bosnia and Herzegovina	88.54
67.	Costa Rica	88.34
68.	Bhutan	87.94
69.	Chile	87.89
70.	Mexico	87.73
71.	Tajikistan	87.71
72.	Uruguay	87.59
73.	Malaysia	87.58
74.	Brunei	87.58
75.	Bahamas	86.99
76.	Romania	86.88
77.	Turkey	86.8
78.	Argentina	86.63
79.	Sri Lanka	86.62
80.	Mauritius	86.56
81.	Turkmenistan	85.86
82.	Montenegro	85.78
83.	Trinidad and Tobago	85.63
84.	Azerbaijan	84.81
85.	Georgia	84.5
86.	Turks and Caicos Islands	84.29
87.	Paraguay	84.04
88.	Fiji	83.96
89.	Solomon Islands	83.96
90.	Samoa	83.96
91.	Kiribati	83.96
92.	Micronesia	83.96
93.	Tonga	83.96
94.	Marshall Islands	83.96
95.	Cook Islands	83.96
96.	Cuba	83.9
97.	Bahrain	83.6
98.	Brazil	83.38
99.	Guyana	83.23
100.	Colombia	83.13
101.	Venezuela	82.99
102.	Cayman Islands	82.24
103.	Afghanistan	82.12
104.	Haiti	82.1
105.	Dominican Republic	82.05
106.	United Arab Emirates	82.05
107.	Puerto Rico	81.99
108.	North Macedonia	81.91
109.	Albania	81.75
110.	Lebanon	81.7
111.	Philippines	81.64
112.	Peru	81.44
113.	Northern Mariana Islands	81.36
114.	Laos	80.99
115.	Libya	80.92
116.	Qatar	80.78
117.	Jordan	80.7
118.	Maldives	80.54
119.	Iran	80.01
120.	Pakistan	80
121.	Grenada	79.34
122.	Tunisia	79.22
123.	Kyrgyzstan	79.09
124.	Panama	79
125.	Sudan	78.87
126.	Chad	78.87
127.	Seychelles	78.76
128.	Oman	78.7
129.	Kuwait	78.64
130.	Indonesia	78.49
131.	Papua New Guinea	78.49
132.	Timor Leste	78.49
133.	Ecuador	78.26
134.	Palestine	77.69
135.	Senegal	77.37
136.	Comoros	77.07
137.	Madagascar	76.79
138.	British Virgin Islands	76.69
139.	Bolivia	76.53
140.	Uganda	76.42
141.	Saudi Arabia	76.36
142.	Egypt	76.32
143.	India	76.24
144.	Algeria	76
145.	Kenya	75.2
146.	Angola	75.1
147.	Jamaica	75.08
148.	Tanzania	74.95
149.	Syria	74.41
150.	Bangladesh	74.33
151.	Zimbabwe	74.01
152.	Burkina Faso	73.8
153.	Saint Lucia	73.68
154.	Mozambique	72.5
155.	Burundi	72.09
156.	Niger	70.82
157.	Antigua and Barbuda	70.48
158.	Saint Kitts and Nevis	70.48
159.	Rwanda	69.95
160.	Benin	69.71
161.	Malawi	69.7
162.	El Salvador	69.63
163.	Botswana	69.45
164.	South Africa	68.87
165.	Lesotho	68.87
166.	Eswatini	68.87
167.	Eritrea	68.77
168.	Zambia	68.43
169.	Ethiopia	68.42
170.	Djibouti	68.41
171.	Nigeria	67.76
172.	Cameroon	67.76
173.	Somalia	67.67
174.	Morocco	67.03
175.	Namibia	66.19
176.	Dominica	66.03
177.	Sao Tome and Principe	65.22
178.	DR Congo	64.92
179.	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	63.42
180.	Republic of the Congo	62.97
181.	Gabon	62.97
182.	Yemen	62.86
183.	Central African Republic	62.55
184.	Belize	62.55
185.	Honduras	62.16
186.	Togo	59.83
187.	Mali	59.76
188.	Mauritania	59.76
189.	South Sudan	58.61
190.	Ghana	58.16
191.	Ivory Coast	58.16
192.	Guinea	53.48
193.	Nicaragua	52.69
194.	Gambia	52.68
195.	Cape Verde	52.5
196.	Guatemala	47.72
197.	Sierra Leone	45.07
198.	Liberia	45.07
199.	Nepal	42.99

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Interactive Map
Intelligence Around the World
10 Smartest Countries
By Region
Table
Source

Intelligence Around the World

Intelligence quotient, or IQ as we often refer to it, provides a measure of human cognitive abilities in relation to one's age group. While IQ is by no means a comprehensive assessment of one's mental prowess or potential, it does offer an intriguing glimpse into intellectual capabilities at a national level. To gauge countries' intelligence, experts often utilize average national IQ scores. It's important to note, these scores aren't static but are subject to a variety of influences ranging from education systems, socio-economic factors, and even nutritional considerations.

From the rich trove of public data detailing average national IQs, we embark on an enlightening journey across the globe, exploring regions that lead the charts and those that fare relatively low.

Key findings from our data include:

East Asian countries dominate the high IQ bracket, with Japan leading the pack, exhibiting a remarkable average IQ of 106.48. They're closely followed by Taiwan and Singapore, with average IQs of 106.47 and 105.89 respectively.
European nations, particularly those from the north like Finland and Germany, also show high IQs, echoing a correlation between IQ and high quality of education and healthcare infrastructure prevalent in these regions.
The United States ranks well within the first third of the list, flaunting an average IQ score of 97.43. Given its diverse demographics and large population, this is a promising figure.
While consistent data for all African nations is sparse, both North African and Sub-Saharan countries show lower average IQ scores. For example, Ghana has an average IQ of 58.16. These relatively low scores could be attributed to numerous factors, such as a lack of access to quality education and poor nutrition during critical developmental years.
A fascinating observation from the data is the slight edge countries with smaller populations, like Liechtenstein, seem to have over giants like China and India. This could prompt a worthy discussion about the role of population size in national IQ averages.

10 Smartest Countries

The ten countries with the highest average IQ scores, according to public data, are Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Belarus, Finland, Netherlands, and Germany.

Japan leads the pack with an average IQ of 106.48. Closely following Japan is Taiwan, with an average IQ score of 106.47. Singapore checks in with an average IQ score of 105.89, and in fourth place is Hong Kong with 105.37. China's average IQ is recorded at 104.1, placing it fifth in the ranking. South Korea's average IQ score is 102.35, ranking it sixth highest globally. Following South Korea is Belarus, boasting an average IQ of 101.6. Finland is eighth in the lineup with an average IQ of 101.2, and the Netherlands and Germany both have an average IQ of 100.74, rounding out the list of the top ten countries.

Smartest Countries in the World:

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
Netherlands – 100.74
Germany – 100.74

By Region

Afghanistan

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Smartest Countries

Table of Contents

Intelligence Around the World

10 Smartest Countries

By Region

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahamas

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Barbados

Belarus

Belgium

Belize

Benin

Bermuda

Bhutan

Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana

Brazil

British Virgin Islands

Brunei

Bulgaria

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cambodia

Cameroon

Canada

Cape Verde

Cayman Islands

Central African Republic

Chad

Chile

China

Colombia

Comoros

Cook Islands

Costa Rica

Croatia

Cuba

Cyprus

Czech Republic

DR Congo

Denmark

Djibouti

Dominica

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Egypt

El Salvador

Eritrea

Estonia

Eswatini

Ethiopia

Fiji

Finland

France

Gabon

Gambia

Georgia

Germany

Ghana

Greece

Greenland

Grenada

Guatemala

Guinea

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras