The 25 Countries With The Most Brainpower

Which country has the largest stock of brilliant people? The answer to this question depends in part on raw brainpower, but also on the size of a country.

Exclusively for Business Insider, Dr. Jonathan Wai, a Duke University Talent Identification Program research scientist and psychologist, compiled a new ranking of countries based on scores on the 2009 PISA assessment, which tests reading, math, and science competency in 15-year-olds.

Multiple researchers have found that these tests, administered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), are a good measure of "g," or general intelligence.

In our list, the rank order is based on two things. First, we identified the average percentage of teenagers in each country who achieved the top score of six on math or verbal tests (globally, around the 98th percentile). Second, we cross-referenced this percentage with population to estimate the number of brilliant people per country.

This provides a new way of looking at the raw brainpower of each country, not counting the significant effects of immigration and emigration.

If you looked only at average scores, you’d find the U.S. is only ranked 24th, near the middle of the pack. But if you then take into account the high-scoring right tail and population, the U.S. is not doing so bad.

Note that we're not including China on this list. Not every student in China was assessed, but only a few cities. And the result was that Shanghai in particular was a large outlier. Shanghai represents a tiny fraction of China's population, is a migration hub that attracts elites, and is much wealthier than the country as a whole. 84% of Shanghai's high school studentsgo to college, while 24% do nationwide. Parents in Shanghai also spend a great deal of money on external tutoring, which an average worker couldn't afford. 

It's not representative of China as a whole. 

If Shanghai were included on its own, it would rank third on this list. If the scores in China as a whole were even near the international average, the country as a whole would rank first, given the sheer size of the population. 

Below are the countries with the most brain power, noting the average percentage getting the top score on PISA tests, and the the estimated number of brilliant people.

#1 The United StatesOn average, 1.7% scored at elite levels 5,336,300 brilliant people estimated

#2 JapanOn average, 4.05% scored at elite levels5,167,800 brilliant people estimated

#3 South Korea

On average, 4.40% scored at elite levels2,200,000 brilliant people estimated

#4 GermanyOn average, 2.60% scored at elite levels2,129,140 brilliant people estimated

#5 FranceOn average, 2.20% scored at elite levels1,445,400 brilliant people estimated

#6 TaiwanOn average, 5.85% scored at elite levels1,365,390 brilliant people estimated

#7  CanadaOn average, 3.10% scored at elite levels1,081,280 brilliant people estimated

#8 RussiaOn average, 0.65% scored at elite levels932,750 brilliant people estimated

#9 The United KingdomOn average, 1.4% scored at elite levels885,220 brilliant people estimated

#10 AustraliaOn average, 3.3% scored at elite levels748,440 brilliant people estimated

#11 ItalyOn average, 1% scored at elite levels609,200 brilliant people estimated

#12 PolandOn average, 1.45% scored at elite levels558,830 brilliant people estimated

#13 SingaporeOn average, 9.10% scored at elite levels483,392 brilliant people estimated

#14 TurkeyOn average, 0.65% scored at elite levels481,000 brilliant people estimated

#15 Hong KongOn average, 6.00% scored at elite levels429,300 brilliant people estimated

#16 The NetherlandsOn average, 2.55% scored at elite levels427,635 brilliant people estimated

#17 BelgiumOn average, 3.45% scored at elite levels384,330 brilliant people estimated 

#18 SpainOn average, 0.75% scored at elite levels354,525 brilliant people estimatedAverage score ranking: 35

#19 SwitzerlandOn average, 4.25% scored at elite levels339,873 brilliant people estimated

#20 BrazilOn average, 0.10% scored at elite levels198,700 brilliant people estimated

#21 The Czech RepublicOn average, 1.80% scored at elite levels189,180 brilliant people estimated

#22 New ZealandOn average, 4.1% scored at elite levels181,753 brilliant people estimated

#23 SwedenOn average, 1.90% scored at elite levels180,823 brilliant people estimated

#24 FinlandOn average, 3.25% scored at elite levels175,955 brilliant people estimated

#25 Austria
On average, 1.7% scored at elite levels
143,854 brilliant people estimated

SEE ALSO:  The 25 Smartest Colleges In America

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/countries-with-the-most-brainpower-2013-10#ixzz2ieV9wHHO