Below is the average IQ by country, updated as of January 1, 2025. This study is based on data from 1,352,763 worldwide who took the same IQ test on this website in 2024. Countries shown in gray on the map were excluded due to insufficient data.
The average IQ by country appears to be generally higher in East Asia. It is close to the global average in Europe, Western Asia, Oceania, North America, and North Africa. Meanwhile, it tends to be below average in Central and Southern Africa, as well as Latin America.
Last update: 10/01/2025, after a reinforcement of filters to include only genuine results. Puerto Rico results were added to the United States (its sovereign country). Territories with significant participants are displayed in an additional table.
FAQ
What is the average IQ in the world?
The global average IQ is 100.
Why is the average IQ by country below 100 for most countries?
One of the main reasons for this is China, which alone represents about 18% of the world’s population. China balances out many countries with an average IQ below 100 due to its very high average IQ score (107.19) and its large population.
When considering the population of countries and their average IQs, the final result is an average IQ of 100 for the global population.
Why is there a difference in the average IQ by country?
Several factors can influence a country’s average IQ:
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Infectious Diseases: A 2010 study demonstrated that countries with high rates of infectious diseases generally have populations with lower average IQ scores. These diseases can negatively affect cognitive development. Africa is the continent most affected by infectious diseases.
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Dietary Habits: A 2024 study showed that children with good dietary habits have higher IQs than other children. Therefore, countries with good dietary habits (and less food poverty) tend to have higher average IQs.
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Intellectual Activities: A 2022 study found that regularly playing chess can increase children's IQs. Another 1962 study showed that bilingual children score higher on intelligence tests than children who speak only one language. Thus, regular intellectually stimulating activities within a country’s culture tend to raise its average IQ.
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Genetics: A 2013 study on over a thousand twins demonstrated that IQ is influenced between 50% and 80% by genetics.
To conclude, countries with good healthcare systems, that promote healthy dietary habits, and encourage their citizens to engage in intellectually stimulating activities, tend to have populations with higher average IQs.
Genetics provides a solid foundation upon which the environment can build further. Thus, good genetics combined with a good environment tend to increase the average IQ score. The global average IQ should therefore gradually increase, as confirmed by a 2014 study, which observed a 2.31 IQ score increase per decade. This phenomenon is known as the Flynn Effect.
However, the purpose of the IQ test is to classify the population around an average of 100. The algorithm of the international IQ test should therefore adapt to this increase to maintain the IQ average at 100 with a standard deviation of 15.
How often is the average IQ ranking by country updated?
The ranking is updated annually on January 1st, based on data from the previous year.
How reliable is this ranking?
All candidates have taken the international IQ test on this website. The international IQ test is based on the Raven’s Matrices technique, without cultural discrimination.
More than 83.18% of countries obtain a similar average IQ (maximum difference of 2 points) to their score from the previous year.
Are all test results included in the ranking?
When the annual IQ rankings are established, a thorough filter is applied to remove any candidates who may have taken the test multiple times, potential bots, and "suspicious" candidates. This filter is not yet applied when results appear in the "recent results" on the homepage, but only at the time of establishing the annual rankings.
Examples of criteria that can be used to filter results and ensure most results are authentic include: IP address, pseudonym, email address, and payment information.
Exactly the same selection criteria are applied to all countries without exception.
Why do some countries with smaller populations have more candidates than other countries with larger populations?
There are several reasons for this, for instance:
- The general interest in IQ tests varies greatly between countries. Certain trends or other media or social events can lead to more candidates at specific times, in certain regions.
- Many candidates find the international IQ test through search engines. And search engines may or may not highlight the website depending on the country, the language, and the search engine in question.
Thus, the number of candidates from each country can vary significantly according to internal trends, languages, search tools, and the year.
Some countries seem to have too few candidates. Why include them?
Some countries may appear to have too few candidates to be representative (those with fewer than 1000 candidates).
However, when we compare their average IQ scores to those from the previous year, 92% of these countries maintain a similar average IQ score (< 2 points difference). Their average results therefore do not seem to be significantly less reliable than those of countries with larger candidate samples.
Possible biases
Candidates are not fully representative of the entire population of their country, as they all share three common points:
- Internet access
- An interest in taking an IQ test
- Taking the international IQ test
Therefore, this ranking more precisely reflects countries based on their internet users who are willing to take an online IQ test and who have taken the international IQ test. It is possible that, on average, IQ scores for these users might be slightly higher than for those who do not have internet access or do not necessarily wish to take an IQ test. Also, the international IQ test is based on Raven’s matrices and has refined its IQ scoring algorithm using its global database, but its IQ results remain indicative and do not replace psychological consultation.
However, this same profile is found across all countries. And according to the results, about 83.18% of countries maintain an estimated average IQ score similar to the previous year. Therefore, it does seem that there are differences in average IQ scores according to the methodology of the international IQ test from one country to another, and this ranking reflects those differences.