Do you know which are the smartest countries with the highest average IQ in the world in 2017? Let’s find out!
How is the IQ of one country or nation even measured, you may wonder? Researchers usually take part of the population as an experimental base (as they cannot approach all the people) and calculate its average IQ. In this particular matter, IQ is usually measured by using logical and mathematical reasoning tests. You have done those tests at least once in your life during primary or high school, or sometimes even as a job prerequisite, right? On individual level or in a smaller group it is quite easier to get to know one’s IQ. However, even in that case, there are lots of factors that can influence defining and measuring intelligence. First of all, some people can get anxious and nervous once they are aware that somebody is testing them, what, in addition, can result in low score on such tests. That don’t make them stupid, but the test can show so. Another point is that the test results can depend on one’s mood, as well. If you had an awful day, and you are entirely out of focus, the test may show bad results. Therefore, IQ tests shouldn’t be taken as the only parameters of somebody’s intelligence. The same counts for the countries.
Sangoiri/Shutterstock.com
There are many opinions on which are the smartest countries in the world, and sometimes the rankings are based on unreliable presumptions. For example, there is a widespread belief that the dumbest country in the world is America. As for the most intelligent race in the world – the title goes to Asian people. However, there is a small number of studies regarding IQ by country or race. One of them is about race differences in IQ, and although it’s very interesting, for our list, we needed the more extensive study. Nevertheless, many out there are definitely interested to know more about average IQ by race. Fortunately, we have found the IQ esearch+ conducted by Richard Lynn, a British Professor of Psychology, and Tatu Vanhanen, a Finnish Professor of Political Science. They measured IQ in more than 80 countries from the year 2002 up to 2006. For example, they measured the average IQ of India that is 82 what puts this country in 25th place (in their rankings). The main purpose of their research was to see if differences in national income are correlated with differences in the average national intelligence quotient (IQ). We also wrote about this same topic, but without this research included a couple of years ago in the article about countries with the highest average IQ in the world – in case you want to make a comparison of the results.
As there are no recent studies similar to the one conducted from 2002 to 2006, we consulted PISA‘s (Program for International Student Assessment) research regarding top performers in science, reading, and mathematics as those are the leading parameters of IQ tests as well. This research was conducted in the 2015, and since those were the freshest data we used them. By combining the results of both studies, we got the list of smartest countries in the world! Our ranking goes from the least smart country to the smartest one. However, if you are eager to find out the opposite, check out the list of dumbest countries in the world. Now let’s see our list of smartest countries with the highest average IQ in the world in 2017.
