Smartest European Country? PISA, Adult Skills and IQ Estimates
Estonia ranks first in Europe on PISA 2025, and Finland ranks first on adult skills and on national IQ estimates. Across 23 European countries the school and adult rankings barely agree, and the IQ estimates rest on small and uneven samples.
What you need to know
- No single country is the smartest in Europe: the answer changes with the measure. Among 23 European countries, Estonia is first on PISA 2025 (an average of 511 across maths, reading and science), while Finland is first on the 2023 adult skills survey (289) and on the national IQ estimates (101.2).
- School and adult rankings barely agree. The rank correlation between PISA 2025 and adult skills is 0.22, between PISA and the IQ estimates 0.36, and between adult skills and the IQ estimates 0.69 (our arithmetic, 23 countries).
- The biggest gaps: Norway is 22nd on PISA but 3rd on adult skills, Poland is 5th and 23rd (the OECD flags its adult data for caution), and Hungary is 19th on PISA but joint 5th on IQ estimates.
- National IQ estimates are contested. Latvia's 94.79 rests on 146 people in one study and Czechia's 94.92 on 363 in one study, and the top three of the 23 differ by less than half an IQ point.
The smartest European country depends on the measure. Among 23 European countries, Estonia ranks first on PISA 2025, the school test of 15-year-olds, with an average of 511 across maths, reading and science. Finland ranks first on the 2023 adult skills survey (289) and on the national IQ estimates on our table (101.2). Across the 23, the school and adult rankings barely agree.
The new finding is how little the three rankings share. The rank correlation between PISA 2025 and adult skills is only 0.22, where 1.0 would mean the same order. Below: each ranking, one table with all 23 countries, and why national IQ estimates should be read with care.
Which is the smartest European country?
It depends on what you count. Three public datasets rank the smartest countries in Europe, and they name two different winners.
- School skills: Estonia first. PISA 2025, published by the OECD on 8 September 2026, tests 15-year-olds in maths, reading and science
- Adult skills: Finland first. The OECD Survey of Adult Skills 2023 (PIAAC) tests adults aged 16 to 65 in literacy, numeracy and problem solving
- National IQ estimates: Finland first among the 23, at 101.2. These are published averages of older IQ studies, not a common test of all countries
None of the three is an IQ test of a whole country. PISA and the adult survey measure skills that schooling and work shape. The IQ figures come from studies done at different times on different tests. Our guide to PISA versus IQ tests explains the difference.
Which European country is smartest on PISA 2025?
For the smartest country in Europe 2026 on school skills, the answer is Estonia. Its 15-year-olds scored 508 in maths, 499 in reading and 527 in science, an average of 511. That is about 14 points above the next-best average in our group of 23, the United Kingdom's 498. The OECD averages were 463 in maths, 461 in reading and 482 in science.
Estonia leads Europe in maths and science. Ireland has the top reading score in Europe, at 500. Behind Estonia come the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland and Poland. At the bottom of the 23 are Croatia, Norway and Latvia. The OECD marks Norway and the Netherlands with an asterisk, meaning a sampling standard was not met and caution is needed. Our report on PISA 2025 results has the full release.
Which European country has the smartest adults?
Finland. Its adults scored 296 in literacy, 294 in numeracy and 276 in adaptive problem solving, an average of 289 on a scale that runs from 0 to 500. Sweden (281), Norway (279), the Netherlands (276) and Estonia (273) follow. The OECD does not publish a combined score, so the average of the three is our arithmetic.
Two labels matter. Belgium is represented by Flanders only, and the United Kingdom by England only. The OECD also flags Poland's data: it says caution is needed because of a high share of respondents with unusual response patterns. Poland comes last of the 23, with 234.
Which country in Europe has the highest IQ?
The smartest country in Europe by IQ, on the published estimates, is Finland, at 101.2. Germany and the Netherlands tie next at 100.74, then Estonia at 100.72. These are the figures on our average IQ by country table, which comes from Lynn and Becker's 2019 NIQ dataset. In the whole of Europe the table's top entry is Belarus at 101.60, ahead of Finland.
The gaps are tiny. Finland leads Estonia by 0.48 of a point, on a scale where one standard deviation is 15 points. Our average IQ in Germany guide shows how the same country looks on all three kinds of figure.
How do the three European rankings compare for all 23 countries?
Here are all 23 countries, in PISA 2025 order. Each line gives the average score and the rank among the 23. Ties share a rank.
- 1. Estonia: PISA 2025 511 (1st), adult skills 273 (5th), IQ estimate 100.72 (4th)
- 2. United Kingdom: PISA 2025 498 (2nd), adult skills 266 (9th), IQ estimate 99.18 (7th)
- 3. Ireland: PISA 2025 493 (3rd), adult skills 257 (13th), IQ estimate 95.13 (18th)
- 4. Switzerland: PISA 2025 490 (4th), adult skills 266 (9th), IQ estimate 99.24 (5th)
- 5. Poland: PISA 2025 487 (5th), adult skills 234 (23rd), IQ estimate 96.35 (14th)
- 6. Finland: PISA 2025 482 (6th), adult skills 289 (1st), IQ estimate 101.20 (1st)
- 7. Austria: PISA 2025 480 (7th), adult skills 258 (12th), IQ estimate 98.38 (8th)
- 8. Belgium: PISA 2025 479 (8th), adult skills 272 (6th), IQ estimate 97.49 (10th)
- 9. Czechia: PISA 2025 478 (9th), adult skills 259 (11th), IQ estimate 94.92 (19th)
- 10. Italy: PISA 2025 475 (10th), adult skills 240 (20th), IQ estimate 94.23 (21st)
- 11. Lithuania: PISA 2025 474 (11th), adult skills 238 (21st), IQ estimate 95.89 (16th)
- 12. Germany: PISA 2025 472 (12th), adult skills 267 (8th), IQ estimate 100.74 (2nd)
- 13. Sweden: PISA 2025 472 (12th), adult skills 281 (2nd), IQ estimate 97.00 (12th)
- 14. Denmark: PISA 2025 470 (14th), adult skills 272 (6th), IQ estimate 97.83 (9th)
- 15. Netherlands: PISA 2025 470 (14th), adult skills 276 (4th), IQ estimate 100.74 (2nd)
- 16. Portugal: PISA 2025 468 (16th), adult skills 235 (22nd), IQ estimate 92.87 (23rd)
- 17. France: PISA 2025 466 (17th), adult skills 253 (15th), IQ estimate 96.69 (13th)
- 18. Slovakia: PISA 2025 464 (18th), adult skills 254 (14th), IQ estimate 96.32 (15th)
- 19. Hungary: PISA 2025 464 (19th), adult skills 248 (17th), IQ estimate 99.24 (5th)
- 20. Spain: PISA 2025 462 (20th), adult skills 246 (19th), IQ estimate 93.90 (22nd)
- 21. Croatia: PISA 2025 461 (21st), adult skills 248 (17th), IQ estimate 95.75 (17th)
- 22. Norway: PISA 2025 458 (22nd), adult skills 279 (3rd), IQ estimate 97.13 (11th)
- 23. Latvia: PISA 2025 453 (23rd), adult skills 252 (16th), IQ estimate 94.79 (20th)
Notes: Ranks use unrounded averages, so two countries can show the same rounded figure and different ranks. PISA is the average of the published maths, reading and science means. Adult skills is the average of the published literacy, numeracy and problem-solving means. Belgium is Flanders and the United Kingdom is England in the adult survey. The IQ estimates are the figures on our table, in IQ points.
Why do the European rankings disagree?
Because they measure different things in different people. The smartest European country on one list is not the smartest on the others. PISA tests 15-year-olds on school content. The adult survey tests people aged 16 to 65 on skills they use after school. The IQ estimates pool published studies done on different tests. A country can teach teenagers well and still have adults whose skills have faded, or the reverse.
- Norway: 22nd on PISA but 3rd on adult skills, a gap of 19 places
- Poland: 5th on PISA but 23rd on adult skills, a gap of 18 places, with the OECD flag on the adult data
- Ireland: 3rd on PISA, 13th on adult skills and 18th on IQ estimates
- Hungary: 19th on PISA but joint 5th on IQ estimates, from 7,848 people in two studies
- Estonia: 1st, 5th and 4th, the most consistent top performer
The rank correlations (Spearman, our arithmetic on 23 countries) are 0.22 for PISA against adult skills, 0.36 for PISA against IQ estimates and 0.69 for adult skills against IQ estimates. With 23 countries, only the last is clearly stronger than chance. The adult survey and the IQ table agree more. Finland, the Netherlands, Germany and Estonia sit in the top eight on both lists.
Estonia wins on school, Finland on adults and IQ estimates, and the three rankings share little.
Why are national IQ estimates contested?
Because the numbers rest on small and uneven samples, and some countries have none at all. On our table, 53 of 201 entries (26%) have no test data of any kind. Among the 23 countries here, Latvia's 94.79 comes from 146 people in one study. Czechia's 94.92 comes from 363 people in one study. Norway's 97.13 comes from 369 people in three. Germany's 100.74 comes from 8,445 people in 12 studies.
Samples this uneven cannot support a league table. We explain the problem in detail in our piece on why country IQ rankings are weaker than the charts suggest, and in our look at an online country ranking that gives a different order. The skills data in PISA and the adult survey come from representative samples, which makes them the firmer ground.
What does our own index say about Europe?
Our Smartest Countries Index 2026 combines PISA 2025 (70%) with research output per person (30%). It is explicitly not an IQ ranking. Estonia is the top European country, fifth in the world, followed by Switzerland (8th) and the United Kingdom (9th). The full table is in our smartest countries study.
Where would your own score land?
Country averages say little about you. The IQ Metrics test reports your own score on the standard scale, with its percentile.
Find your IQ score now! →To see where a score sits, take the IQ test, or turn any figure into a percentile with the IQ percentile calculator.
Common questions
Which is the smartest European country?
There is no single answer. Among 23 European countries, Estonia is first on PISA 2025 (an average of 511 in maths, reading and science), while Finland is first on the 2023 adult skills survey (289) and on national IQ estimates (101.2). The three rankings share little: the PISA and adult-skills rank correlation is 0.22.
What is the smartest country in Europe by IQ?
On the published national IQ estimates, Finland at 101.2, then Germany and the Netherlands at 100.74 and Estonia at 100.72. Belarus is higher (101.60) in the full European table. These estimates rest on small and uneven samples, such as 146 people for Latvia, and are contested.
Which is the smartest country in Europe in 2026?
On the newest school data, PISA 2025 published on 8 September 2026, Estonia ranks first in Europe on the average of the three, with 508 in maths, 499 in reading and 527 in science. Ireland has the top reading score in Europe, at 500. The newest adult data are from 2023, where Finland leads.
Why do PISA and adult skills rankings differ?
PISA tests 15-year-olds on school content, while the adult survey tests people aged 16 to 65 on literacy, numeracy and problem solving. Norway is 22nd of 23 on PISA but 3rd on adult skills, and Poland is 5th and 23rd, with an OECD caution on its adult data.
Sources for this story
- PISA 2025 Results (Volume I) (OECD, 8 September 2026); mean scores of participating education systems as tabulated by the Ministry of Education, Singapore — OECD; Ministry of Education, Singapore
- Survey of Adult Skills 2023 (PIAAC) results, literacy, numeracy and adaptive problem solving means, as printed in the national report for England (2024) — OECD; UK Department for Education and NFER
- Average IQ by country: published national IQ estimates, NIQ dataset V1.3.2 (Lynn and Becker, The Intelligence of Nations, 2019), with sample sizes — IQ Metrics
- The smartest countries in the world, 2026: Smartest Countries Index (PISA 2025 and research output) — IQ Metrics Research
Corrections: spotted an error? Email corrections@iqmetrics.org and we will update this story and note the change here.
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