The smartest countries in the world, 2026
86 countries and economies ranked on what their 15-year-olds know in maths, reading and science (the OECD’s PISA 2025 tests) and how much research they publish per person. Built from public data, every number sourced. Not an IQ ranking.
By Leon Falkner, Data & Research Analyst · Reviewed by Aarav Vardhan, Editor-in-Chief · Published 16 October 2026 · 8 min read
About this study
- Report type
- Data index
- Data
- OECD PISA 2025, OECD Survey of Adult Skills 2023, OpenAlex, World Bank
- Ranked
- 86 countries and economies (91 took part in PISA 2025)
- Weights
- 70% school skills, 30% research output
- Period
- PISA tested in 2025; research 2021 to 2025
- Licence
- CC BY 4.0
- Version
- 2026.10
- Sources
- 6
Singapore is the smartest country in the world in 2026, on our index of 86 countries and economies. The index combines how 15-year-olds scored in maths, reading and science in the OECD’s PISA 2025 tests (70%) with research articles published per person (30%). Macao, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), South Korea and Estonia complete the top five; the United Kingdom ranks 9th and the United States 18th. Since 2012, average PISA scores fell in 50 of the 59 countries with comparable data. IQ Metrics Research, October 2026.
01 Key findings
- Singapore ranks first. Its 15-year-olds averaged 553 across maths, reading and science, against an OECD average of 469, and 42% of them are top performers in at least one subject.IQ Metrics Research index from OECD PISA 2025, OpenAlex and World Bank data
- East Asia leads; Estonia is the top European country. The top ten: Singapore, Macao, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), South Korea, Estonia, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Australia.IQ Metrics Research index from OECD PISA 2025, OpenAlex and World Bank data
- Scores are falling almost everywhere. 50 of the 59 countries with comparable data scored lower in 2025 than in 2012 (median change -20 points); 26 fell significantly in all three subjects. The biggest falls: Hong Kong (-54), Netherlands (-49) and Finland (-47).OECD, PISA 2025 trend tables
- Smart teenagers do not mean smart adults. Of the 31 countries with adult-skills data, South Korea’s 15-year-olds rank 3rd and its adults 24th; Finland’s adults rank 1st and its teenagers 12th.OECD PISA 2025 and Survey of Adult Skills 2023
- The United States ranks 18th (range 15th to 21st): 15th for school skills and 29th for research output per person.IQ Metrics Research index from OECD PISA 2025, OpenAlex and World Bank data
02 Statistics to quote
Ranks first of 86 on the Smartest Countries Index 2026.
PISA 2025 + research outputSingapore’s PISA 2025 average across maths, reading and science; the OECD average is 469.
OECD PISA 2025Countries whose average PISA score was lower in 2025 than in 2012.
OECD PISA trend tablesShare of Singapore’s 15-year-olds who are top performers in at least one subject, the highest of any country.
OECD PISA 2025Rank of the United States (range 15th to 21st).
Smartest Countries Index 2026South Korea’s rank for 15-year-olds and for adults, of the 31 countries with both.
OECD PISA 2025 and Survey of Adult Skills 202303 Which is the smartest country in the world?
On our index, Singapore. The score combines two things we can measure the same way in every country: what 15-year-olds know in maths, reading and science, from the OECD’s PISA 2025 tests [1], and how many research articles a country publishes per person [3]. The map shows every country’s score; hover or tap a country to see its rank. Parts of countries that took part are shown but not ranked.
Smartest Countries Index 2026, by country
Index score, 0 to 100 (the top country = 100). 86 countries and economies ranked.
Source: IQ Metrics Research from OECD PISA 2025 [1], OpenAlex [3] and World Bank [4] data
The 20 smartest countries in the world, 2026
Index score, 0 to 100: 70% PISA 2025 school skills, 30% research output per person.
Source: IQ Metrics Research index from OECD PISA 2025, OpenAlex and World Bank data
Ranks near each other can swap with small changes in test scores. We redrew every PISA score 2,000 times within its margin of error; the bars show the range each rank fell in nine times out of ten.
How sure is each rank? The top 25
Dot = rank, bar = range in 90% of 2,000 redraws of the PISA scores.
Source: IQ Metrics Research index from OECD PISA 2025, OpenAlex and World Bank data
Every country, ranked
Click a heading to sort. School = PISA 2025 average of maths, reading and science. Research = articles a year per million people, 2021 to 2025. Top performers = % of 15-year-olds at level 5 or 6 in at least one subject. * The OECD asks for caution with this sample. Rows at the end took part but are not ranked.
| 1 | Singapore | 100.0 | 553 | 3,805 | 42.3 | -3 |
| 2 | Macao | 97.1 | 530 | 8,904 | 30.8 | +8 |
| 3 | Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) | 88.5 | 531 | 1,590 | 35.0 | -4 |
| 4 | South Korea | 83.9 | 516 | 1,670 | 28.1 | -26 |
| 5 | Estonia | 83.6 | 511 | 2,154 | 18.0 | -15 |
| 6 | Hong Kong | 82.9 | 499 | 4,137 | 22.9 | -54 |
| 7 | Japan | 82.8 | 522 | 949 | 27.1 | -19 |
| 8 | Switzerland | 81.1 | 490 | 5,181 | 18.1 | -28 |
| 9 | United Kingdom | 80.5 | 498 | 2,823 | 18.2 | -5 |
| 10 | Australia | 80.2 | 492 | 3,708 | 18.2 | -20 |
| 11 | Ireland | 79.5 | 493 | 3,119 | 12.7 | -22 |
| 12 | New Zealand * | 79.5 | 495 | 2,703 | 20.8 | -14 |
| 13 | Canada * | 79.3 | 495 | 2,662 | 17.4 | -27 |
| 14 | Finland | 76.7 | 482 | 3,558 | 14.0 | -47 |
| 15 | Austria | 74.8 | 480 | 2,821 | 12.6 | -20 |
| 16 | Belgium | 74.2 | 479 | 2,835 | 13.4 | -31 |
| 17 | Denmark | 74.0 | 469 | 4,912 | 8.9 | -29 |
| 18 | United States * | 74.0 | 485 | 1,825 | 17.8 | -7 |
| 19 | Sweden | 73.7 | 472 | 3,911 | 14.1 | -10 |
| 20 | Poland | 72.6 | 487 | 1,214 | 14.4 | -34 |
| 21 | Netherlands * | 72.2 | 470 | 3,303 | 15.7 | -49 |
| 22 | Czechia | 71.8 | 479 | 1,768 | 12.8 | -21 |
| 23 | Italy | 71.3 | 475 | 2,014 | 10.1 | -15 |
| 24 | Portugal | 70.4 | 468 | 2,637 | 9.0 | -20 |
| 25 | Germany | 69.7 | 472 | 1,849 | 14.0 | -44 |
| 26 | Norway * | 69.6 | 458 | 4,233 | 9.7 | -38 |
| 27 | Lithuania | 69.3 | 474 | 1,439 | 8.7 | -10 |
| 28 | Slovenia | 69.0 | 463 | 2,796 | 10.1 | -36 |
| 29 | Luxembourg | 68.3 | 458 | 3,261 | 11.4 | -31 |
| 30 | Spain | 66.9 | 462 | 1,970 | 7.0 | -28 |
| 31 | France | 66.6 | 466 | 1,451 | 9.8 | -34 |
| 32 | Türkiye | 66.0 | 476 | 671 | 11.1 | +14 |
| 33 | Croatia | 65.9 | 462 | 1,664 | 7.8 | -21 |
| 34 | Hungary | 65.0 | 464 | 1,206 | 7.6 | -23 |
| 35 | Slovakia | 64.5 | 464 | 1,084 | 11.0 | -8 |
| 36 | Iceland | 63.0 | 438 | 4,319 | 5.9 | -47 |
| 37 | Latvia | 60.6 | 453 | 1,022 | 6.7 | -41 |
| 38 | United Arab Emirates | 59.8 | 448 | 1,213 | 10.3 | +6 |
| 39 | Israel | 59.2 | 437 | 2,147 | 8.8 | -37 |
| 40 | Malta | 57.5 | 435 | 1,727 | 8.3 | – |
| 41 | Brunei | 56.5 | 433 | 1,599 | 3.4 | – |
| 42 | Greece | 55.5 | 427 | 1,981 | 3.3 | -39 |
| 43 | Qatar | 54.2 | 423 | 1,997 | 5.0 | +40 |
| 44 | Chile | 50.3 | 427 | 726 | 2.6 | -9 |
| 45 | Serbia | 50.0 | 420 | 1,057 | 3.4 | -26 |
| 46 | Cyprus | 49.8 | 401 | 3,485 | 4.6 | -41 |
| 47 | Montenegro | 47.8 | 422 | 629 | 1.8 | +8 |
| 48 | Romania | 47.5 | 419 | 701 | 4.8 | -21 |
| 49 | Uruguay | 47.5 | 424 | 497 | 2.8 | +12 |
| 50 | Albania * | 44.7 | 425 | 277 | 1.9 | +30 |
| 51 | Saudi Arabia | 44.7 | 397 | 1,656 | 0.6 | – |
| 52 | Malaysia | 42.8 | 403 | 767 | 0.8 | -10 |
| 53 | Vietnam | 42.7 | 431 | 130 | 4.2 | – |
| 54 | Bulgaria | 41.8 | 404 | 591 | 4.1 | -36 |
| 55 | Mauritius | 40.1 | 417 | 192 | 3.0 | – |
| 56 | Thailand | 40.1 | 410 | 286 | 1.2 | -27 |
| 57 | Georgia | 39.0 | 408 | 276 | 2.3 | – |
| 58 | Costa Rica | 38.5 | 409 | 227 | 0.9 | -17 |
| 59 | Moldova | 37.3 | 412 | 152 | 1.5 | – |
| 60 | Brazil | 36.9 | 398 | 343 | 1.8 | -1 |
| 61 | Mongolia | 36.8 | 406 | 202 | 1.4 | – |
| 62 | Jordan | 36.7 | 386 | 722 | 0.3 | – |
| 63 | Kazakhstan | 36.6 | 406 | 192 | 1.4 | -10 |
| 64 | Mexico | 35.5 | 403 | 187 | 0.5 | -14 |
| 65 | Azerbaijan | 35.0 | 402 | 187 | 4.8 | – |
| 66 | Colombia | 34.3 | 398 | 208 | 1.1 | +5 |
| 67 | Peru | 30.6 | 393 | 138 | 0.5 | +18 |
| 68 | Argentina | 30.5 | 383 | 258 | 1.2 | -14 |
| 69 | North Macedonia | 29.7 | 372 | 438 | 0.9 | – |
| 70 | Lebanon | 29.2 | 360 | 857 | 1.1 | – |
| 71 | Ecuador | 29.1 | 381 | 215 | 0.2 | – |
| 72 | Armenia | 25.7 | 364 | 329 | 0.8 | – |
| 73 | Palestinian Authority | 22.3 | 354 | 319 | 0.1 | – |
| 74 | Kosovo | 21.8 | 349 | 399 | 0.0 | – |
| 75 | Indonesia | 20.5 | 373 | 70 | 0.1 | -12 |
| 76 | Morocco | 18.4 | 345 | 277 | 0.1 | – |
| 77 | Philippines | 17.6 | 370 | 46 | 0.3 | – |
| 78 | Kyrgyzstan | 14.8 | 357 | 63 | 0.0 | – |
| 79 | Cambodia | 13.3 | 365 | 28 | 0.0 | – |
| 80 | El Salvador | 11.7 | 366 | 20 | 0.2 | – |
| 81 | Paraguay | 10.0 | 347 | 47 | 0.1 | – |
| 82 | Dominican Republic | 7.3 | 348 | 25 | 0.0 | – |
| 83 | Kenya | 7.1 | 327 | 95 | 0.0 | – |
| 84 | Guatemala | 3.0 | 341 | 18 | 0.0 | – |
| 85 | Zambia | 2.8 | 325 | 46 | 0.2 | – |
| 86 | Rwanda | 0.0 | 310 | 71 | 0.0 | – |
| – | China: Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang | – | 579 | – | 55.5 | – |
| – | Iraq: Kurdistan Region only | – | 334 | – | 0.0 | – |
| – | Tajikistan: Dushanbe only | – | 361 | – | 0.0 | – |
| – | Ukraine: 17 of 27 regions | – | 432 | – | 3.6 | – |
| – | Uzbekistan | – | – | – | – | – |
Source: IQ Metrics Research index from OECD PISA 2025, OpenAlex and World Bank data
04 Where do 15-year-olds know the most?
PISA tests 15-year-olds in the same subjects in every country, on the same scale. In 2025 the OECD average across maths, reading and science was 469. Singapore averaged 553, and 42% of its 15-year-olds reached the top two levels in at least one subject [1].
Top performers: share of 15-year-olds at the highest levels
Percent of 15-year-olds at level 5 or 6 in at least one of maths, reading and science, PISA 2025.
Source: OECD, PISA 2025 Results (Volume I) [1]
PISA 2025 also tested computational problem solving for the first time, in 82 of the ranked countries: how well students turn a problem into steps a computer can follow. Macao scored highest (572), then Singapore (563), Japan (557), Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) (551), Hong Kong (545).
05 Are students getting smarter or slipping?
Mostly slipping. 50 of the 59 countries with comparable data scored lower in 2025 than in 2012; the median change was -20 points, and 26 countries fell significantly in all three subjects. Qatar gained the most (+40). Changes are the OECD’s own, with its trend margins of error [1].
Change in the PISA average since 2012
Points, 2025 minus 2012, average of maths, reading and science. Countries that took part in both years.
Source: OECD, PISA 2025 Results (Volume I) [1]
06 Do the smartest students make the smartest adults?
Not always. 31 countries also tested adults aged 16 to 65 in the OECD’s Survey of Adult Skills 2023 [2]. Comparing ranks among those 31, South Korea’s 15-year-olds are 3rd and its adults 24th; Poland’s teenagers are 10th and its adults 30th. The Nordic countries are the reverse: Finland’s adults rank 1st, Sweden’s 3rd, Norway’s 4th. Adult skills are not part of the index score, because only 31 countries have them.
Adult skills, Survey of Adult Skills 2023
Average of literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem solving, adults 16 to 65. The scale runs from 0 to 500; the axis shows 200 to 300.
Source: OECD, Survey of Adult Skills 2023 [2]
Teenagers and adults: ranks among the 31 countries with both
Sorted from adults far ahead of teenagers to teenagers far ahead of adults. Literacy change = the OECD's comparison with its first adult survey.
| Norway | 28 | 4 | 279 | +4 since 2012 |
| Sweden | 18 | 3 | 281 | +5 since 2012 |
| Netherlands | 20 | 5 | 276 | -2 since 2012 |
| Denmark | 21 | 7 | 272 | +9 since 2012 |
| Finland | 12 | 1 | 289 | +15 since 2012 |
| Germany | 19 | 10 | 267 | 0 since 2012 |
| Latvia | 29 | 20 | 252 | – |
| Belgium (Flanders) | 15 | 8 | 272 | +3 since 2012 |
| Slovakia | 24 | 18 | 254 | -19 since 2012 |
| France | 23 | 19 | 253 | -7 since 2012 |
| Croatia | 27 | 23 | 248 | – |
| Israel | 30 | 26 | 242 | -10 since 2015 |
| Hungary | 25 | 22 | 248 | -15 since 2017 |
| Spain | 26 | 25 | 246 | -3 since 2012 |
| Japan | 2 | 2 | 285 | -6 since 2012 |
| Czechia | 14 | 14 | 259 | -9 since 2012 |
| Chile | 31 | 31 | 217 | -2 since 2015 |
| Estonia | 4 | 6 | 273 | +1 since 2012 |
| Switzerland | 9 | 11 | 267 | – |
| Canada | 7 | 9 | 267 | -1 since 2012 |
| Austria | 13 | 15 | 258 | -12 since 2012 |
| United Kingdom (England) | 5 | 12 | 266 | -1 since 2012 |
| Portugal | 22 | 29 | 235 | – |
| Ireland | 8 | 16 | 257 | -3 since 2012 |
| United States | 11 | 21 | 251 | -12 since 2012/15 |
| New Zealand | 6 | 17 | 255 | -21 since 2015 |
| Italy | 16 | 27 | 240 | -5 since 2012 |
| Lithuania | 17 | 28 | 238 | -28 since 2015 |
| Singapore | 1 | 13 | 260 | -3 since 2015 |
| Poland | 10 | 30 | 234 | -31 since 2012 |
| South Korea | 3 | 24 | 246 | -23 since 2012 |
Source: OECD PISA 2025 [1] and Survey of Adult Skills 2023 [2]
07 Which countries publish the most research per person?
Research output is 30% of the index. We counted articles in established international journals from 2021 to 2025, once for each country with an author on the paper, and divided by population [3] [4]. Small places with large universities score high: Macao publishes about 8,904 articles a year per million people.
Research articles a year per million people
Articles in core journals, 2021 to 2025, full counting by author country (OpenAlex), per million people (World Bank, 2023).
08 Your country, in one sentence
Pick a country to see its rank, its scores and how it changed. Every country has its own link and a card you can download or share.
Ranks 18th of 86
- Index score
- 74.0 of 100
- Rank range (90%)
- 15th to 21st
- PISA 2025 average
- 485 (15th)
- Research per million
- 1,825 a year (29th)
- Top performers
- 17.8% of 15-year-olds
- Change since 2012
- -7 points
- Adults (of 31)
- 21st
The United States ranks 18th of 86 countries and economies in the Smartest Countries Index 2026, with a score of 74.0 out of 100: its 15-year-olds averaged 485 in the OECD's PISA 2025 tests (15th of 86), and it publishes 1,825 research articles per million people a year (29th). Its PISA average is 7 points lower than in 2012.
How to read it: the index score runs from 0 to 100 among the 86 ranked countries. PISA averages are on the OECD’s scale, where the OECD average is about 469 [1].
A country’s average says nothing about you. See where your own reasoning stands: take the IQ test
09 Is this an IQ ranking?
No. PISA measures what students have learned in school subjects, not intelligence, and research output measures what a country’s scientists publish. For the published estimates of average IQ by country, and why those numbers are disputed, see Average IQ by country and what country IQ rankings cannot support.
10 How have countries moved, and how do the parts fit together?
Three more views of the same OECD and OpenAlex data. First, each country’s PISA average in 2022 and in 2025 (the mean of mathematics, reading and science, as printed in the OECD’s own trend tables). Of the 75 ranked countries that took part in both rounds, 56 scored lower in 2025, 18 higher and one the same (New Zealand) [1].
PISA 2022 vs PISA 2025, country by country
Average of the mathematics, reading and science mean scores. Ordered by the 2025 average. 75 ranked countries that took part in both rounds.
Source: OECD, PISA 2025 Results (Volume I) [1]
Second, rank over five PISA rounds, among the 53 countries that took part in all five (2012, 2015, 2018, 2022 and 2025), so every rank compares the same field. Five climbed 10 places or more, led by Türkiye (37th to 20th); four fell 10 or more, led by the Netherlands (11th to 25th) [1].
Rank on the PISA average, 2012 to 2025
Rank among the 53 countries in all five rounds (1 = highest average of mathematics, reading and science). Blue: climbed 10 places or more since 2012; orange-red: fell 10 or more. Hover a line for every round.
Source: OECD, PISA 2025 Results (Volume I) [1]
Third, how the parts of the index move together across the 86 ranked countries. The three PISA subjects are almost the same measure (r 0.94 to 0.98), which is why the index averages them; research output per person is linked to them more loosely (r 0.78 to 0.81), so it adds something the test scores do not [1] [3] [4].
How the parts of the index move together
Pearson correlation across the 86 ranked countries: +1 = always rise together, 0 = no link. Research output on a log scale, as in the index.
Source: IQ Metrics Research index from OECD PISA 2025, OpenAlex and World Bank data [1] [3] [4]
11 How was the index built?
- 01
Who is ranked
All 91 countries and economies in PISA 2025, except four that tested only part of the country (four Chinese provinces, Dushanbe, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and 17 of Ukraine’s 27 regions) and Uzbekistan, which took only the science test. They appear on the map and in the table, unranked.
- 02
School skills, 70%
The average of each country’s PISA 2025 mean scores in mathematics, reading and science, from the OECD’s published tables [1].
- 03
- 04
The score
Each part becomes a standard score across the 86 ranked countries; the index is 70% school skills and 30% research output, rescaled so the top country is 100 and the lowest 0.
- 05
Uncertainty
We redrew every PISA mean 2,000 times within its standard error and recorded each country’s rank; the 90% range is shown for every country. With weights of 60/40 or 80/20 no country moves more than 6 places.
- 06
Kept out of the score
Adult skills (only 31 countries), top performers, computational problem solving and the change since 2012 are reported beside the index, not inside it.
What this index cannot tell you
- PISA measures 15-year-olds in school; in some countries many 15-year-olds are not in school and are not tested.
- The OECD asks for caution with six samples: Albania, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and the United States.
- Research output favours small, wealthy places with big universities, and counts quantity, not quality.
- Adult skills come from 2023 and cover 31 countries; England and the Flemish Region stand for the UK and Belgium.
- A country’s score describes averages, not any one person, and it is not a measure of intelligence.
How does your own reasoning compare?
Countries have averages; people have scores. The IQ Metrics test measures reasoning, not school knowledge.
Take the IQ testSources
- OECD Publishing, Paris. PISA 2025 Results (Volume I), annex tables I.B1.2a.1 to I.B1.2a.4, I.B1.2a.21, I.B1.2a.22 and I.B1.2a.36 to I.B1.2a.38. 2026. www.oecd.org/en/publications/pisa-2025-results-volume-i_73451bc5-en/full-report/results-for-countries-and-economies_33854635.htmlOECD terms, with credit
- OECD Publishing, Paris. Do Adults Have the Skills They Need to Thrive in a Changing World? Survey of Adult Skills 2023, annex tables A.2.1 and A.3.1. 2024. www.oecd.org/en/publications/do-adults-have-the-skills-they-need-to-thrive-in-a-changing-world_b263dc5d-en/full-report/tables-of-results-for-countries-and-economies_0432d7e4.htmlOECD terms, with credit
- OurResearch. OpenAlex works, articles 2021 to 2025 in core sources, grouped by author country. 2026. openalex.orgCC0
- World Bank, World Development Indicators. Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL), 2023. 2026. data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTLCC BY 4.0
- Taiwan News. Taiwan's population at the end of 2023 (Ministry of the Interior household registration figures). 2024. www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/5075561
- Creative Commons. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Version history
- 2026.1016 October 2026First release.
Leon Falkner, Data & Research Analyst. Leon owns the arithmetic on IQ Metrics: the percentile tables, the score converter and the figures in everyone else's drafts. On the research desk Leon pulls the data, builds each index and writes the method. More about Leon.
Questions
Which is the smartest country in the world?
Singapore, on our index of 86 countries and economies, followed by Macao, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), South Korea and Estonia. The index combines PISA 2025 test scores of 15-year-olds (70%) and research articles per person (30%).
Is this an IQ ranking?
No. PISA measures what students have learned in maths, reading and science, not intelligence, and research output measures publishing.
Where does the United States rank?
18th of 86 (range 15th to 21st): 15th for school skills and 29th for research output per person.
Why is China not ranked?
PISA 2025 tested only four Chinese provinces (Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang), not the whole country. They averaged 579, the highest of any participant, but four rich provinces cannot stand for China.
How often is the index updated?
When the OECD publishes new PISA results, on this same page, with a dated note in the version history.
Share it, cite it, download it
You may reuse everything on this page under CC BY 4.0: in articles, reports, lessons and posts. The one condition is credit to IQ Metrics with a link to this page.
Cite this study
Version 2026.10. Citing the version lets readers find the exact numbers.
Archived copy with a DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23418294 (report PDF and data on Zenodo).
Falkner, L. (2026). The smartest countries in the world, 2026 (Version 2026.10) [Data set]. IQ Metrics Research. https://iqmetrics.org/research/smartest-countries-in-the-world/ (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23418294)
Falkner, Leon. "The smartest countries in the world, 2026." IQ Metrics Research, 16 Oct. 2026, iqmetrics.org/research/smartest-countries-in-the-world/. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23418294.
Falkner, Leon. "The smartest countries in the world, 2026." IQ Metrics Research. October 16, 2026. https://iqmetrics.org/research/smartest-countries-in-the-world/. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23418294.
@misc{iqmetrics2026smartestcountriesintheworld, author = {Falkner, Leon}, title = {The smartest countries in the world, 2026}, institution = {IQ Metrics}, year = {2026}, version = {2026.10}, doi = {10.5281/zenodo.23418294}, url = {https://iqmetrics.org/research/smartest-countries-in-the-world/} }
Source: Leon Falkner, "The smartest countries in the world, 2026." IQ Metrics Research, version 2026.10, https://iqmetrics.org/research/smartest-countries-in-the-world/ (DOI 10.5281/zenodo.23418294)
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Get the data
One row per PISA 2025 country or economy: our index score and rank with its 90% range, the OECD’s PISA averages, top and low performers, the change since 2012, research articles per million people and adult skills.
| Column | What it holds |
|---|---|
rank, index_0_100, rank_90_low, rank_90_high | Index rank and score (0 to 100) and the 90% range of the rank |
school_skills_pisa_avg, maths, reading, science | PISA 2025 mean scores and their average (OECD tables I.B1.2a.1-3) |
computational_problem_solving | PISA 2025 mean in the new domain (OECD table I.B1.2a.4) |
top_performers_pct, low_performers_all_three_pct | % of 15-year-olds at level 5+ in any subject; % below level 2 in all three |
change_since_2012 | Average of the OECD's 2025 minus 2012 differences in the three subjects |
research_articles_per_million_per_year | OpenAlex core-journal articles 2021-2025, full counting, per million people per year |
adult_skills_piaac_avg, adult_entity | Survey of Adult Skills 2023 average of literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem solving |
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Singapore is the smartest country in the world in 2026, according to the IQ Metrics Smartest Countries Index, which ranks 86 countries and economies on what their 15-year-olds know in maths, reading and science (OECD PISA 2025, 70%) and how much research they publish per person (30%). Macao, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), South Korea and Estonia complete the top five; the United Kingdom ranks 9th and the United States 18th. 50 of the 59 countries with comparable data scored lower in PISA 2025 than in 2012. Source: IQ Metrics Research, https://iqmetrics.org/research/smartest-countries-in-the-world/
Angles for a story
- Where your country ranks, with its own card and link (pick a country).
- Scores falling since 2012 in 50 of 59 countries (the change chart).
- Teenagers versus adults: who keeps their lead (the 31-country table).
- The new test of computational problem solving, and who leads it (School skills).
- Why this is not an IQ ranking (explained).
Quotes you can use
Attributable as written, with the name and title. For a different angle or a quote on a specific figure, ask through the contact page.
Singapore is first by a clear margin: its 15-year-olds outscore the OECD average by more than 80 points, and four in ten of them reach the top levels in at least one subject.
Leon Falkner, Data & Research Analyst, IQ Metrics ResearchThe striking number is the trend. 50 of the 59 countries with comparable data scored lower in 2025 than in 2012, and the falls are largest in some of Europe’s most admired school systems.
Leon Falkner, Data & Research Analyst, IQ Metrics ResearchSmart teenagers do not guarantee smart adults. South Korea’s 15-year-olds are near the top, its adults below the middle; in the Nordic countries it is the other way round.
Leon Falkner, Data & Research Analyst, IQ Metrics Research
Files
- CSV, one row per country, 20 columns (CC BY 4.0)
- The map and every figure as a print-ready PNG: use the Image button under each figure
- Share images for social media in three sizes, dark or light, with the credit line built in
- A card for any country, 1200 x 630 PNG
- Citations in APA, MLA, Chicago, BibTeX and plain text, and embed code for the top 10
Terms, contact and corrections
Credit: “IQ Metrics Research, Smartest Countries Index 2026” with a link to this page. On air or in print, “IQ Metrics” and the page address are enough.
Data credit: PISA and adult-skills figures are the OECD’s [1] [2]; research counts from OpenAlex (CC0) [3]; population from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0) [4]. The index is ours.
Contact: the research team, through the contact page. Corrections are made on this page with a dated note in the version history.
Please do not call this an IQ ranking or present a country’s score as a measure of its people’s intelligence.