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The following is a list of nations by average IQ for which reliable data is available, with data current as of 2002. Data is sourced from IQ and the Wealth of Nations by Dr. Richard Lynn of the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, and Dr. Tatu Vanhanen of the University of Tampere, Helsinki, Finland. They base their results on an exhaustive examination of the literature, taking averages when multiple studies give varying results for a country. Thus, some of these figures are based on much more data and larger studies than others.
It should be noted that there is no consensus that IQ is a valid measurement of intelligence. See the article at IQ for details of this debate, as well as the article Race and intelligence. In particular, note that most individuals in a given country will not have this average IQ, and that it is generally agreed that many factors, including environment, culture, demographics, wealth, pollution, and educational opportunities, affect measured IQ.
One common criticism is that many of the countries with the best average scores are those where testing (e.g. American SATs, baccalaureate examinations) is a crucial aspect of the educational process, and that many of these tests (esp. the SATs) have been shown to be very similar to IQ tests. In these nations, because students study extensively for the high-stakes examinations, it is quite possible that IQ scores are higher because people are subjected to frequent examinations for which they prepare extensively. See Flynn effect.
There are many difficulties when one measuring IQ scores across cultures, and in multiple languages. First of all, use of the same set of exams requires translation, with all its attendant difficulties. To adapt to this, many IQ testers rely on both verbal tests, involving word analogies and the like, and non-verbal tests, which involve pictures, diagrams, and conceptual relationships (such as in-out, big-small, and so on). Roughly the same results tend to be gained with either approach.
Nations are listed alphabetically in cases of coinciding IQ averages.
