Average IQ by Country 2026

Average IQ (IIT)

100

102

104

106

108

South Korea

106.43

Country	Average IQ (IIT) 2024↓	Average IQ (Lynn/Becker) 2019	Data Source (Lynn/Becker) 2019	ICI Grade 2017	ICI Score 2017
China	107.19	104.10	T	B	47.3
Taiwan	107.10	106.47	T	B	45.7
Hong Kong	107.06	105.37	T	B+	51.2
Macau	106.73	99.82	E
South Korea	106.43	102.35	T	A-	56.4
Japan	106.40	106.48	T	A-	58.9
Iran	106.30	80.01	T	C-	25.5
Singapore	105.14	105.89	T	A	63.6
Russia	103.16	96.29	T	B	46.6
Mongolia	102.86	91.03	T	C-	27.4
Armenia	102.58	88.82	E	C-	29.6
Australia	102.57	99.24	T	A	64.0
Spain	102.30	93.90	T	B	49.8
New Zealand	102.08	98.57	T	A-	57.3
Sri Lanka	102.02	86.62	T	D+	23.2
Slovenia	101.96	98.60	T	B+	51.5
Canada	101.65	99.52	T	A	61.2
Thailand	101.52	88.87	T	C-	29.2
Belarus	101.47	101.60	T
France	101.42	96.69	T	A-	56.7
Serbia	100.86	89.60	T	C+	35.2
Italy	100.84	94.23	T	B	48.0
Switzerland	100.75	99.24	T	A	61.6
Georgia	100.59	84.50	E	C	31.5
Malaysia	100.48	87.58	T	C+	35.5
Finland	100.30	101.20	T	A	60.5
Vietnam	100.12	89.53	T	C-	25.1
Belgium	100.11	97.49	T	A-	58.7
Greece	100.07	90.77	T	B-	40.1
Luxembourg	100.00	99.87	E	B+	53.8
Iceland	99.99	98.26	T	B+	52.0
Slovakia	99.76	96.32	T	B-	43.6
United States	99.74	97.43	T	A+	74.9
Czechia	99.73	94.92	T	B+	51.8
Netherlands	99.72	100.74	T	A-	58.7
United Kingdom	99.68	99.12	T	A	64.2
Austria	99.65	98.38	T	A-	58.7
Germany	99.64	100.74	T	A	64.2
Hungary	99.46	99.24	T	B	50.0
Lebanon	99.39	81.70	T	D	19.8
Estonia	99.39	100.72	T	B	49.5
Peru	99.37	81.44	T	C-	28.0
Poland	99.35	96.35	T	B	45.6
Portugal	99.34	92.77	T	B-	44.8
Malta	99.19	91.27	T	B-	40.8
Croatia	99.17	95.75	T	C+	38.5
India	99.08	76.24	T	C-	29.4
Turkey	99.07	86.80	T	C	33.4
Israel	99.07	92.43	T	B+	50.1
Latvia	98.84	94.79	T	B	45.8
Azerbaijan	98.71	84.81	E	C-	28.6
Lithuania	98.67	95.89	T	B	46.3
Montenegro	98.65	85.78	E	C	34.6
Norway	98.52	97.13	T	B+	55.0
Cyprus	98.51	93.39	T	C+	38.5
Sweden	98.49	97.00	T	A	61.6
Ireland	98.32	95.13	T	B+	53.6
Brunei	98.14	87.58	E
Denmark	97.94	97.83	T	A	60.3
Bulgaria	97.79	90.99	T	B-	43.3
Bosnia and Herzegovina	97.62	88.54	T	C-	25.8
North Macedonia	97.59	81.91	E	C-	28.3
Tunisia	97.51	79.22	E	D+	24.8
Myanmar	97.37	91.18	E
Moldova	97.32	89.98	E	C	31.5
Egypt	97.21	76.32	T	D+	21.6
Albania	97.19	81.75	E	D+	23.4
Kazakhstan	97.17	88.89	T	C+	35.1
Nepal	97.07	42.99	T	D	18.3
Algeria	97.01	76.00	E	D	19.1
Mauritius	96.89	86.56	T	C	31.7
United Arab Emirates	96.80	82.05	T	C+	35.9
Uzbekistan	96.79	89.01	T
Morocco	96.78	67.03	T	D+	22.6
Jordan	96.71	80.70	T	C-	26.0
Philippines	96.66	81.64	T	C-	26.6
Bangladesh	96.46	74.33	T	D	16.9
Romania	96.31	86.88	T	C+	39.4
Cuba	96.02	83.90	T
Mexico	95.51	87.73	T	C	30.7
Ukraine	95.38	90.07	T	C+	38.3
Chile	95.38	87.89	T	C+	37.8
Ethiopia	95.09	68.42	T	D-	10.3
Kuwait	95.02	78.64	T	C-	29.8
Uruguay	95.01	87.59	E	C+	37.9
Ecuador	95.00	78.26	T	C-	25.3
Kyrgyzstan	94.85	79.09	T	C-	27.2
Madagascar	94.80	76.79	E	D-	9.0
Qatar	94.77	80.78	T	C	31.3
Argentina	94.39	86.63	T	B-	40.5
Costa Rica	94.15	88.34	T	C	32.4
South Africa	94.11	68.87	T	C	33.0
Oman	94.08	78.70	T	C-	27.1
Bahrain	94.04	83.60	T	C-	29.6
Iraq	93.99	89.28	T
Cambodia	93.97	99.75	T	D	16.1
Saudi Arabia	93.95	76.36	T	C	30.2
Tajikistan	93.55	87.71	T	D+	23.1
Pakistan	93.25	80.00	T	D	19.6
Indonesia	93.18	78.49	T	D+	23.7
Colombia	93.17	83.13	T	C-	27.9
Yemen	93.03	62.86	T
Brazil	92.92	83.38	T	C+	36.2
Bolivia	92.76	76.53	T	D+	22.3
Laos	92.05	80.99	T	D	18.8
Nigeria	91.35	67.76	T	D-	13.9
Guatemala	91.29	47.72	T	D+	22.8
Kenya	91.22	75.20	T	D	19.3
El Salvador	91.07	69.63	E	D+	21.7
Venezuela	91.02	82.99	T	C-	26.8
Puerto Rico	90.94	81.99	T
Paraguay	90.76	84.04	E	D+	24.5
Honduras	90.53	62.16	E	D+	20.2
Palestine	90.49	77.69	T
Ghana	90.25	58.16	T	D	17.4
Zimbabwe	90.21	74.01	T	D-	11.7
Dominican Republic	90.06	82.05	T	D+	23.9
Cameroon	89.94	67.76	E	D	17.8
Togo	89.94	59.83	E
Uganda	89.89	76.42	T	D-	12.4
Tanzania	89.40	74.95	T	D-	14.4
Nicaragua	88.70	52.69	T	D+	22.5
Ivory Coast	88.42	58.16	E
Senegal	88.27	77.37	E	D-	13.2
DR Congo	88.01	64.92	T
Mozambique	87.81	72.50	E	D-	10.9
Benin	86.88	69.71	E	D-	12.8
Angola	85.33	75.10	T
Gabon	85.08	62.97	E
Sudan		78.87	T
Afghanistan		82.12	E
Niger		70.82	E
North Korea		98.82	E
Syria		74.41	T
Mali		59.76	T	D-	9.9
Burkina Faso		73.80	T
Malawi		69.70	T	D-	10.7
Zambia		68.43	E	D	18.9
Chad		78.87	E	D-	10.3
Somalia		67.67	T
Guinea		53.48	E	D-	6.8
Rwanda		69.95	E	D-	9.9
Burundi		72.09	E	D-	8.8
South Sudan		58.61	T
Haiti		82.10	T
Papua New Guinea		78.49	E
Sierra Leone		45.07	T
Turkmenistan		85.86	E
Libya		80.92	T
Republic of the Congo		62.97	T
Liberia		45.07	E
Central African Republic		62.55	E
Mauritania		59.76	E	D-	11.6
Panama		79.00	E	C-	28.8
Eritrea		68.77	T
Namibia		66.19	T	D	18.9
Gambia		52.68	T
Jamaica		75.08	T	C-	26.7
Botswana		69.45	T	D+	23.9
Lesotho		68.87	E	D	16.1
Eswatini		68.87	E
Djibouti		68.41	E
Fiji		83.96	E
Comoros		77.07	E
Solomon Islands		83.96	E
Guyana		83.23	E
Bhutan		87.94	E
Suriname		90.29	E
Maldives		80.54	E
Cape Verde		52.50	E
Belize		62.55	E
Bahamas		86.99	T
Vanuatu		93.92	E
New Caledonia		93.92	E
Barbados		91.60	T
Sao Tome and Principe		65.22	E
Samoa		83.96	E
Saint Lucia		73.68	E
Kiribati		83.96	E
Seychelles		78.76	T
Grenada		79.34	E
Micronesia		83.96	E
Tonga		83.96	E
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines		63.42	T
Antigua and Barbuda		70.48	E
Andorra		95.20	E
Cayman Islands		82.24	E
Dominica		66.03	T
Bermuda		93.48	T
Greenland		98.89	T
Turks and Caicos Islands		84.29	E
Saint Kitts and Nevis		70.48	E
Northern Mariana Islands		81.36	E
Liechtenstein		101.07	E
British Virgin Islands		76.69	E
Marshall Islands		83.96	T
Cook Islands		83.96	E

Significant debate and controversy exist as to whether an accurate method of comparing national IQs exists at all. Mith many reputable experts argue that even the most objective IQ test is biased toward concepts common in developed Western nations’ educational systems. Such tests, therefore, are ineffective at measuring intelligence in other regions, such as much of Africa and Asia.
Data from International IQ Test (IIT) are based on data from 1,352,763 participants worldwide who took the same IQ test on the website in 2024.
Substantial research on the subject of national IQs was conducted by psychologist Richard Lynn (1930-2023), working alongside the late Tatu Vanhanen (1929-2015) or, for 2019’s The Intelligence of Nations, with David Becker.
Becker’s estimates are categorized by source. T = value is based upon actual test results from said country. E = value is a best-guess estimate based upon measured values of nearby countries.
Becker’s contributions were highly controversial. He promoted the theory that specific races and genders are genetically predisposed to be more intelligent than others, and both his methology and his objectivity were often called into question. However, his work brought attention to the field and he is frequently (if often grudgingly) considered a pioneer in the field of national intelligence.
The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a triennial survey of 15-year-old students around the world that measures students’ ability to recall learned knowledge and apply it in new settings both in and out of school. PISA results were most recently released in 2022.
The Intelligence Capital Index (ICI) was created by economist Kai L. Chan and most recently updated in 2017.

Snapshot

IQ scores, indicative of educational quality and resources in regions, are based on standard tests adjusted by national academic assessments and data quality considerations.
While IQ is a common measure of intelligence, other metrics include academic test scores, the Intelligence Capital Index, and the number of Nobel Prizes won.
Only Singapore and Finland appear consistently across all three ranking lists presented in the article, validating these countries’ rankings but also indicating the diversity of factors considered in measuring average IQ globally.

Intelligence quotient (IQ) is a measure of human intelligence. People who want to have their IQ measured take standardized tests and receive a score that ranks their intelligence level. The higher one’s IQ score, the more intelligent that person is considered to be.

IQ and Education: Two Sides of the Same Coin

IQ scores typically reflect the quality of education and resources available to people in their local geographic regions. Areas of the world with lower IQ scores are typically poorer and less developed, particularly in the area of education, compared to countries with higher IQ scores. Many researchers also use IQ to determine the smartest countries in the world. The IQ map above shades each country depending on how high the average IQ score in it is.

Which Country Has the Highest Average IQ?

According to a 2019 study by researchers Richard Lynn and David Becker at the Ulster Institute, the highest average IQ scores in the world belong to the Japanese, with the citizens of Taiwan and Singapore close behind. The top 10 list appears below, and the full rankings appear in the table further down this page.

Top 10 Countries with the Highest Average IQ - Ulster Institute 2019

It bears mentioning that Lynn’s studies, while comprehensive, tend to spark considerable debate.

As the data demonstrates, average IQ scores vary widely across the globe. Some researchers divide the world’s countries into ranked categories based on their average IQ scores. These averages were obtained by starting with the country’s average score in standard IQ tests (a common starting point), then fine-tuning those scores with additional measurements, such as national math, reading, and science assessments, while also factoring in the overall quality of the data.

Other Methods of Measuring Intelligence

However, it’s important to remember that IQ isn’t the only way to measure intelligence. There are many different ways to seek out the smartest countries in the world, and many of them have nothing to do with average IQ. For instance, it is possible to evaluate a country’s academic test scores, likelihood of “expanding the frontier of knowledge” and introducing new data technologies, or even the number of Nobel Prizes won.

Average IQ by Country 2026

China

Taiwan

Hong Kong

Macau