Developed in the early 20th century as a way to assess human intelligence, IQ scores have long been used for educational placement, assessment of intellectual disability, and evaluating job applicants. Though IQ scores have been questioned as an accurate measure of intelligence in recent years, the practice remains very much in use. The Ulster Institute for Social Research is at the forefront of this area of study and has compiled a range of information from different countries around the world to calculate their average IQ. For reference, an IQ of 90 is considered to be of average intelligence.
These are the world's top 30 smartest countries:
- Japan - Average IQ: 106.48
- Taiwan - Average IQ: 106.47
- Singapore - Average IQ: 105.89
- Hong Kong - Average IQ: 105.37
- China - Average IQ: 104.1
- South Korea - Average IQ: 102.35
- Belarus - Average IQ: 101.6
- Finland - Average IQ: 101.2
- Liechtenstein - Average IQ: 101.07
- Germany - Average IQ: 100.74
- Netherlands - Average IQ: 100.74
- Estonia - Average IQ: 100.72
- Luxembourg - Average IQ: 99.87
- Macao - Average IQ: 99.82
- Cambodia - Average IQ: 99.75
- Canada - Average IQ: 99.52
- Australia - Average IQ: 99.24
- Hungary - Average IQ: 99.24
- Switzerland - Average IQ: 99.24
- United Kingdom - Average IQ: 99.12
- Greenland - Average IQ: 98.89
- North Korea - Average IQ: 98.82
- Slovenia - Average IQ: 98.6
- New Zealand - Average IQ: 98.57
- Austria - Average IQ: 98.38
- Iceland - Average IQ: 98.26
- Denmark - Average IQ: 97.83
- Belgium - Average IQ: 97.49
- United States - Average IQ: 97.43
- Norway - Average IQ: 97.13
