Top 10 Most Intelligent Countries in the World (2021)

From the wheel and steam engine to nuclear fusion and gene editing, man is extremely intelligent, savvy, and a mastermind of inventions.

But have you ever wondered how to define the smartest countries in the world, what is the difference in intelligence between Americans and Europeans, and who is now preparing future Nobel laureates?

We decided to answer this question using three indicators:

• Number of Nobel Prizes won (assessment of historical intelligence).
• The average current I.R. (assessment of current intelligence).
• The quality of schooling (assessment of the future of intelligence).

Historical heritage provides high positions for Western states. The United States and Great Britain have the most Nobel laureates- 368 and 132 respectively. But the average result on the other two parameters sent them to 4th and 8th places in total estimation.

Smartest and Most Intelligent Countries in the World

Asian countries, on the contrary, prevent sway to climb to the top, but they are clear leaders of the present and the near future. Singapore, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan are the top 6 places in the ranking. According to the school level of achievement, all of them are in the top 7 (in 6th place Russia).

1. Japan | Nobel Laureates: 26th (6th)

• National I.E.:
• 104.2 (6) – School Performance: 58.01% (5)

Japan is one of the most technologically advanced countries, which together with other Asian countries has created an economically powerful region in Asia. In the absence of large natural resources, it takes intellectual.

Japanese education does not have as deep a history as European education, but it meets the demands of today and tomorrow. Schoolchildren and students from the Land of the Rising Sun use the most advanced technologies and developments, gaining up-to-date knowledge and skills.

In the ranking of the World University Rankings for 2019 in the top 100 of the best universities in the world 5 universities from Japan. They occupy seats from 23 (University of Tokyo) to 77 (Tohoku University).

2. Switzerland | Nobel Laureates: 26th (6th)

• National I.E.: 100.2 (11)
• School Performance: 31.91% (11)

Switzerland is a prosperous and rich European state. It is among the leaders in terms of the number of residents with higher education. The history of its scientific achievements goes back several centuries. For example, the University of Basel was founded in 1460 and gave the world two Nobel laureates in physiology and medicine.

In the top 100 universities in the world Swiss occupy 7th, 22nd and 78th places. The best is the Swiss Higher Technical School of zurich, whose alumni and professors have won 21 Nobel Prizes. The most famous of them is Albert Einstein.

3. China | Nobel Laureates: 9th (21st)

• National I.E.:
• 105.8 (2) – School Performance: 38.27% (7)

High-quality education and a high overall intellectual background are superfluous proof that in the near future China can become the most influential state on Earth. For historical and political reasons, the first Nobel went to China’s piggy bank only in 1957, the second – in 2000.

There are six universities from China and 1 from Hong Kong. Above all – Tsinghua University. Its graduate, Yang Chenning, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957.

4. The United States | Nobel laureates: 368 (1st place)

• National I.E.: 98 (28)
• School performance: 29.84% (13)

The United States of America is not considered to be the most intellectual country, and this is confirmed by the average of the I.I. However, the quality of schooling it is in the top 15, not to mention universities. 33 American universities are in the top 100 according to the World University Rankings. The top four are MIT, Stanford, Harvard and California Tech.

5. Netherlands | Nobel Laureates: 20 (11th)

• National I.E.: 100.4 (8)
• School performance: 25.02% (24)

Dutch education is one of the best in Europe. The quality of training of schoolchildren and students is ensured by a favorable situation within the country, good international relations and economic stability.

Among the Nobel laureates-citizens of the Netherlands, the majority are physicists and chemists. Of the top 100 universities in the world, only 3 belong to the kingdom: Delft Technical, Amsterdam and Eindhoven Technical.

6. Russia | Nobel laureates: 23rd (8th)

• National I.J.: 97 (32)
• School performance: 38.46% (6)

Despite internal problems and reforms of recent decades, Russian schooling remains one of the best in the world. However, on the average level of the I.I. we do not get even in the top twenty. One possible reason is a weak higher education. In the top 100 World University Rankings only one Russian university – Moscow State University named Lomonosov. And he’s in 90th place.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russians were awarded the Nobel Prize three times. In addition, there were four laureates who were born in the USSR but won as citizens of other countries (the United States, the Netherlands, Belarus).

7. Belgium | Nobel Laureates: 10th (18th)

• National I.E.:
• 99.3 (15) – School performance: 28.76% (16)

According to Vouchercloud, Belgium is on the list of the smartest countries in the world similar to the Netherlands. Local universities have a rich history, once they were prominent centers of education.

The honorary status and high quality of teaching have been preserved today, but they are not the locomotives of the scientific
and educational society. The last significant achievement was the awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physics to Francois Engler (2013).

The best Belgian university is the University of Leuven (81st).

8. United Kingdom | Nobel Laureates: 132 (2nd

• Place) – National I.I.:
• 99.1 (17) – School Performance: 25% (30)

The high position of Great Britain in this ranking is the merit of 132 Nobel laureates. In the current situation, it is increasingly difficult. The United Kingdom no longer provides better schooling, losing out to Asian competitors.

But in matters of higher education, the UK’s credibility is still unwavering. Oxford and Cambridge are universities where people from all over the world dream of studying. They are ranked 5th and 6th in the world, according to the estimation of the company. A total of 18 universities are in the top 100.

9. Canada | Nobel Laureates: 23rd (8th)

• National I.E.:
• 100.4 (8) – School Performance: 24% (34)

Canada in the ranking about the smartest countries in the world – a strong middle. Schooling is not ideal, but a number of universities give a large number of qualified professionals. The universities of Toronto, McGill and British Columbia are ranked 28th, 33rd and 47th in the World University Rankings. In total, the top 500 18 higher education institutions from Canada.

Canadians have won the Nobel Prize 11 times in their history. The debutant was Frederick Bunting (medicine, 1923), who together with Charles Best learned to secrete insulin in practice.

10. South Korea | Nobel Laureates: 1 (46th)

• National I.E.: 104.6 (4)
• School Performance: 66.85% (2)

The modern South Korean education system is a school in which computer science and foreign languages are taught from the first grades, as well as 15 universities, which are in the top 500 according to the version of the s.

In 2000, Kim Dae-jung won the Nobel Prize for the Protection of Democracy and Human Rights in South Korea and East Asia, as well as for the development of political friendship with North Korea. He was the president of the country at the time. So far, he is the only Korean laureate in history.