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Japan and Switzerland “world’s smartest countries”

Japan and Switzerland “world’s smartest countries”

Tokyo (SCCIJ) – One can think about rankings whatever one wants, but comparisons are very human and often also entertaining. The most recent ranking of Japan and Switzerland as the world’s smartest countries should be viewed within this context. To come to this conclusion, the U.K.-based cloud computing specialist Vouchercloud used the number of Nobel Prizes won, average IQ scores, and the average educational scores of a nation’s students. The combination of these factors, which are supposed to represent the intelligence of past, present, and future generations, respectively, led Japan to take the top spot.

Combination of three factors

The choice of Japan as smartest country happened because it is ranked fifth for educational success and sixth in the world for the average IQ. What clinched victory for Japan was the 26 Nobel Prizes under its belt, the sixth highest in the world (view the full ranking and detailed scores here).

Switzerland achieved second place because it equaled Japan in the Nobel Prize ranking (6th), was 11th in the IQ Ranking and 11th in the School Test Ranking. The US trailed China in 4th place, with the top Nobel ranking but a poorer showing in IQ (28th) and school achievement (13th).

Japan and Switzerland “world’s smartest countries”

Second smartest country - Switzerland

The Nobel Prize Winners were compiled from World Atlas, whilst global IQ scores were obtained from a 2012 sociological study by Lynn & Vanhanen, and the school pupil scores come from a 2015 study from Our World in Data.

Innovation and education

This is how Vouchercloud argued its case: Using a range of data including number of Nobel Prizes won (to represent historic intelligence), current average IQ (to represent present intelligence), and educational attainment (the intelligence of the future generation), they wanted to identify the most gifted population.

On this basis, Japan was announced the smartest nation on earth. Vouchercloud wrote: “Consistently totaling high scores across all three categories, Japan’s Nobel Prize prowess matches its IQ score and pupil points, too. This makes sense in a country with a strong tradition of innovation and a huge emphasis on education — the land of the bullet train and the square watermelon comes out on top.”

China catching up quickly

Vouchercloud followed this up with the statement: “Rounding out the top 3 is consistently high-performing Switzerland in 2nd and China in 3rd. China, whilst lagging behind in the Nobel rankings, more than makes up for it with the 2nd highest national IQ and the 7th highest performing school kids.”

Especially when it comes to IQ and school tests, East Asian countries score high. South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore are all in the top 4 for both, but are let down by Nobel scores that drag them to 10th and below overall. With a few more Nobel wins in the future, they may reach the top quickly.

Nobel Prizes

Western countries tend to dominate here, the Nobel being a Western institution and all. Only Japan (6th), Israel (15th), India (18th), South Africa (18th) and China (21st) fall outside of this bracket. Expect radical shifts as Asia catches up in the coming years.

National IQ

The top six countries are all Asian. The first entry from a non-Asian country, Finland, is over 3 points behind. Plenty of the usual suspects here but props to Liechtenstein (10th) and Mongolia (12th) for outperforming all expectations.

School Achievement

Children are the future and the top five countries being Asian, this may represent a major shift in global intellectual power.

Text: SCCIJ based on a Vouchercloud text; Photo: Pixabay CC0

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