Average IQ by Country in 2025: Global Rankings

Explore average IQ scores across 150+ countries through comprehensive data from multiple international sources, revealing which nations rank highest in cognitive testing.

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When we started looking into average IQ scores by country, we were curious about the global patterns. What we found was more nuanced than expected. We've compiled scores from three major sources covering 150+ countries, combining traditional academic research with large-scale online testing data to show you how different nations compare.

How We Calculated Average IQ Scores Of Countries

The average IQ scores below come from several major datasets that approach the question of national intelligence in different ways.

The first is Lynn & Becker’s 2019 study, The Intelligence of Nations, which compiled results from 667 studies involving more than 617,000 participants. Their dataset covers 130 countries directly tested and estimates another 71 based on neighboring regions. While this remains one of the most comprehensive attempts to measure global IQ, it has faced criticism for uneven data quality and small, often unrepresentative samples in developing nations.

The second source is World Population Review’s 2024 compilation, which updates Lynn & Becker’s figures and supplements them with newer data, including online test results.

The third is the International IQ Test (IIT) Online Database, 2024, based on more than 1.3 million test-takers worldwide. These online scores provide a broad sample but come with a clear bias: participants are self-selected, typically better educated, and more motivated than the general population.

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Each source offers partial insight into national averages. Academic datasets use traditional psychometric testing but struggle with coverage and consistency, while large-scale online data reach more people but overrepresent internet-connected, test-savvy users.

Educational assessments such as OECD PISA (2022) and IEA TIMSS (2023), though not used directly in the table, help validate the overall trends through more rigorous, standardized sampling.

Average IQ Scores by Country (2025)
Country	Average IQ	Lynn/Becker 2019	WPR 2024	IIT Online 2024	Data Quality
China	107	104	104.1	107	High
Singapore	107	106	105.89	108	Very High
Japan	106	106	106.48	106	Very High
Taiwan	106	106	106.47	106	High
Hong Kong	106	105	105.37	106	High
Iran	104	84	–	106	Very Low
South Korea	103	102	102.35	103	Very High
Iceland	103	98	–	103	Low
Mongolia	103	91	–	103	Low
Armenia	103	92	–	103	Low
Belarus	102	102	101.6	–	Moderate
Estonia	102	99	–	99	High
Sri Lanka	102	87	–	102	Low
Finland	101	101	101.2	101	Very High
Germany	101	101	100.74	100	Very High
Netherlands	101	101	100.74	101	Very High
Switzerland	101	101	–	101	Very High
Tonga	101	–	–	–	Very Low
Georgia	101	94	–	101	Low
Bulgaria	101	93	–	102	Low
Austria	100	100	–	100	High
Canada	100	100	99.52	100	Very High
New Zealand	100	100	–	100	High
United Kingdom	100	100	99.12	100	Very High
Cambodia	100	100	–	–	Low
Australia	99	99	99.24	99	Very High
Belgium	99	99	–	99	High
Czech Republic	99	99	–	99	High
Poland	99	99	–	99	High
Norway	99	97	–	99	Moderate
Ireland	99	98	–	99	High
Hungary	99	98	–	100	High
Slovenia	99	–	–	102	Low
Luxembourg	98	97	–	98	Moderate
Croatia	98	97	–	99	Moderate
Azerbaijan	99	87	–	99	Low
Malta	99	94	–	99	Moderate
Cyprus	99	93	–	99	Moderate
Slovakia	99	98	–	–	Low
Italy	98	98	–	98	High
United States	98	97	97.43	98	Very High
Brunei	98	88	–	98	Low
Nepal	98	43	42.99	98	Very Low
Denmark	98	98	–	–	Moderate
Greenland	99	99	–	–	Low
Bosnia and Herzegovina	98	–	–	98	Low
Montenegro	99	–	–	99	Low
Albania	98	82	–	98	Low
North Macedonia	98	–	–	98	Low
France	97	97	96.69	97	Very High
Russia	97	97	96.29	96	High
Spain	97	97	–	97	High
Sweden	97	97	–	–	Moderate
Kazakhstan	97	88	–	97	Low
Latvia	97	97	–	99	Moderate
Lithuania	97	96	–	99	Moderate
Moldova	97	91	–	97	Low
Morocco	97	67	–	97	Very Low
Algeria	97	76	–	97	Very Low
Tunisia	98	79	–	98	Low
Egypt	97	82	–	97	Low
Uzbekistan	97	86	–	97	Low
Myanmar	97	91	–	97	Low
Mauritius	97	87	–	97	Low
Portugal	96	96	–	96	High
Vietnam	96	96	–	–	Moderate
Papua New Guinea	96	83	–	–	Low
Fiji	96	84	–	–	Low
Romania	96	90	–	96	Moderate
Argentina	95	95	–	95	High
Israel	95	95	92.43	95	High
Uruguay	95	95	–	95	Moderate
Ethiopia	96	68	–	96	Very Low
Madagascar	95	77	–	95	Low
Kyrgyzstan	95	86	–	95	Low
Ecuador	95	78	–	–	Low
Andorra	95	95	–	–	Low
Dominican Republic	95	82	–	–	Low
South Africa	94	72	–	94	Very Low
Serbia	94	91	–	–	Low
Jamaica	94	72	–	–	Low
Bolivia	94	77	–	–	Low
Tajikistan	94	86	–	94	Low
Iraq	94	89	–	95	Moderate
Greece	93	93	–	93	High
Malaysia	93	93	–	–	Moderate
El Salvador	93	70	–	–	Low
Chile	92	92	–	92	High
Ukraine	92	94	–	–	Low
Panama	92	82	–	–	Low
Puerto Rico	92	83	–	–	Low
Cambodia	92	100	–	92	Low
Guatemala	95	48	47.72	–	Very Low
Belize	91	63	–	–	Low
Venezuela	91	83	–	–	Low
Paraguay	91	84	–	–	Low
Nigeria	91	72	67.76	72	Very Low
Kenya	91	73	–	91	Low
Thailand	90	90	–	–	Moderate
Togo	90	60	–	–	Low
Cuba	90	84	–	–	Low
Ghana	90	72	–	90	Low
Uganda	90	76	–	90	Low
Tanzania	90	74	–	90	Low
Turkey	89	89	–	89	High
Democratic Republic of Congo	89	65	–	89	Very Low
Ivory Coast	89	58	–	89	Very Low
Senegal	88	77	–	88	Low
Philippines	88	88	–	–	Moderate
Mozambique	88	73	–	88	Low
Brazil	87	85	83.38	87	High
Indonesia	87	87	–	–	Moderate
Peru	87	87	–	87	High
Benin	87	70	–	87	Low
Colombia	86	86	–	86	High
Mexico	86	86	–	86	High
Angola	86	75	–	86	Low
Gabon	86	63	–	86	Very Low
Iran	84	84	–	84	Moderate
Laos	94	81	–	94	Low
India	82	79	76.24	82	Moderate
Pakistan	82	82	–	82	Low
Saudi Arabia	82	82	–	82	Low
Egypt	82	82	–	82	Moderate
Sri Lanka	81	81	–	81	Low
Bangladesh	79	79	–	79	Low
Tanzania	74	74	–	74	Low
Kenya	73	73	–	73	Low
Ghana	72	72	–	72	Low
Nigeria	72	72	67.76	72	Low
South Africa	72	72	–	72	Low
Zimbabwe	69	69	–	69	Low
Ethiopia	66	66	–	66	Low
Guatemala	48	48	47.72	–	Very Low
Liberia	45	45	45.07	–	Very Low
Sierra Leone	45	45	45.07	–	Very Low
Nepal	43	43	42.99	–	Very Low

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What the Rankings Show

East Asian countries dominate the top spots. Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and South Korea all score between 102 and 108. Most Western European nations and North American countries fall in the 95-101 range. South America and Southeast Asia typically show scores from 80-95, while many African and South Asian nations score below 80 in traditional studies and are typically among the lowest IQ countries.

These gaps don't reflect fixed differences in human potential. Countries with better schools, nutrition, and healthcare consistently score higher. IQ scores have risen by 2-3 points per decade in developing nations as living conditions improve — a phenomenon researchers call the Flynn Effect.

What This Really Means

Image of a teacher, presenting the findings of average IQ by country. These rankings reflect current conditions, not permanent traits.

These rankings reflect current conditions, not permanent traits. A country scoring 85 today could score 95 in twenty years with better schools and nutrition. That's exactly what happened in many Asian countries between 1970 and 2000.

The scores also depend heavily on what you test and the IQ test types used. Traditional IQ tests favor certain types of thinking that Western schools emphasize. They measure pattern recognition, vocabulary, and problem-solving speed. These skills matter for school performance but don't capture every type of intelligence.

Countries at the bottom of these rankings face real challenges: inadequate schools, malnutrition, disease, and poverty. These obstacles hurt cognitive development. But they're obstacles to overcome, not permanent limits on what people can achieve.

Final Thoughts

The table above shows three numbers for most countries instead of one because no single "official" score exists. Different researchers, different methods, different results.

Check the data quality column before trusting any individual country's score. Countries marked "Very High" or "High" have consistent measurements across multiple sources. Anything marked "Low" or "Very Low" should be treated with skepticism; the underlying data simply isn't reliable enough.

Nepal's 55-point swing between sources isn't unique. It's just the most extreme example of how inconsistent this data really is.

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Yuri Sychov

Content Writer

Published 12 October 2025

Average IQ by Country in 2025: Global Rankings

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Yuri Sychov

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