The annual IQ rankings are carefully filtered to exclude candidates who may have taken the test more than once, potential bots and “suspicious” candidates. The same selection criteria are applied to all countries without exception.
IQ is a quantitative assessment of a person’s level of intelligence (IQ). The average score, which is fixed for most people, is 90-110 points. It is believed that only about 1% of people in the world have an IQ above 140 (let’s call them geniuses) and only one person in a billion has an IQ of over 190 points.
The 2025 rankings are based on 1,352,763 people from around the world who took the same IQ test on this site in 2024 (mean: 100, standard deviation: 15).
From Moldova, 2,619 people participated in the test. They showed an average coefficient of 97.32, which is 0.44 percentage points higher than a year earlier.
For comparison, Romania is in 75th place with a score of 96.31 (+0.03). The test was taken by 18781 citizens of the country. Ukraine is in 78th position: 95.38 (+1.3) and 86925 examined. Russia is in 6th place: 103.16 (+2.69) and 19289 participants.
The first five are headed by China (107.19 (+0.4), 206994 tested). South Korea is in second place, followed by Japan, Iran and Singapore.
Armenia is in 8th place, Spain in 10th, Canada in 14th, Belarus in 16th, France in 17th, Italy in 19th, USA in 30th, Germany in 35th.
Benin, Angola and Gabon, whose residents have the lowest average score of 85.08, close the ranking.
“The average IQ score across countries appears to be generally higher in East Asia. It is close to the global average in Europe, West Asia, Oceania, North America and North Africa. And Central and Southern Africa and Latin America tend to be below average. Some countries were excluded due to insufficient data,” the authors of the ranking specify.
The average IQ level in a country can be influenced by several factors.
Infectious diseases: A 2010 UN study found that countries with high rates of infectious diseases tend to have lower average IQ levels. These diseases can negatively affect cognitive development. Africa is the continent most affected by infectious diseases.
Food habits: A 2024 study found that children with proper eating habits have higher IQ levels than their other peers. Consequently, countries with good eating habits (and less food poverty) tend to have higher average IQ levels.
Intellectual activities: A 2022 study found that playing chess regularly can increase children’s IQ levels. Another study suggests that bilingual children score higher in intelligence tests than children who speak only one language. Thus, regular, intellectually stimulating activities within a country’s culture tend to raise average IQ levels.
Genetics: a 2013 study of over a thousand twins found that genetics influences IQ by 50-80%.
“In conclusion, countries with good health systems that promote healthy eating habits and encourage their citizens to engage in intellectually stimulating activities tend to have a population with a higher average IQ.
Genetics provides a strong foundation on which the environment can further develop. Thus, good genetics combined with a favorable environment tends to raise the average IQ score. Consequently, the global average IQ score should gradually increase, as evidenced by a 2014 study that observed an increase in IQ score of 2.31 points per decade. This phenomenon is known as the Flynn effect,” say the study authors.
Among the famous people with high coefficient we can name one of the richest people in the world, Bill Gates, his IQ – 160; brilliant scientist Steve Hawking, IQ – 160-170; chess player and politician Garry Kasparov, USSR, Russia, Croatia, IQ – 190.
And the highest index currently has 26-year-old Singaporean Eynan Cowley, – 250. However, he has not shown himself much so far.
