We know. Ranking nations by something as arguably arbitrary as IQ is always going to be considered controversial; the original source of this data was faced with controversy upon its initial publication. Indeed, it would probably be wise to take the information supplied with a pinch of salt. For a start, not every country in the world was included, as there was not enough research material for the authors to make a conclusion about the omitted states. Further, some of the research methods by the authors were also criticized, as they came up with some figures based on the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) levels of neighboring countries and even took some from very small and focused local studies (for example, the average IQ for Egypt was apparently taken from a test of 129 six to twelve-year olds).

With that in mind, this list should be used more entertainment than purely informative purposes, and it's a good starting point to encourage discussion on perceived discrepancies; it's not advised that these statistics be interpreted as either scientific or academic. The US does not feature on this list, sitting in joint 19th place on 98 points (just below the median IQ score of 100). Canada fares worse, on 97 points, whilst the UK and China manage to score slightly better, at 100. No country scores especially highly; not a single nation ended up with an average score equal to the intellectually gifted level (IQ 130+). However, that is hardly surprising, as a country populated largely by people with an IQ over 130 would be utopian.

The authors of the original study surmised that IQ was affected by the country's GDP, so it comes as no surprise that the entries on this top 10 are all considered wealthy nations; there are no African or South American countries listed in the top 25. A populace heavily involved with technology and engineering appears to be a key indicator of a high IQ, with the top 5 positions all occupied by Far Eastern entities renowned for high levels of production and education. The No. 1 position is taken by a place that is not a country in its own right but warrants inclusion simply for having gained the unequalled highest average IQ.

10. Switzerland and Sweden: 101 average IQ

The Swiss and Swedish populations are slightly brighter than the IQ median level of 100. Switzerland is renowned for its generations of watchmakers and bankers, professions that require a high amount of academic study. The Swedish are studious types; they have one of the highest percentages of population holding a tertiary qualification in the world. Interestingly, the two countries at the very top of the percentage of population to tertiary level education table are Canada and the USA respectively, neither of which appears on this list.

9. Austria: 102 average IQ

The next four countries all have a listed national average IQ of 102, so they are all in effect joint sixth. But for the purposes of this list, they have been placed alphabetically. Austria is a small landlocked nation that shares borders with countries like Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Education is free and compulsory for Austrian children for at least nine years, with many going on into higher education.