The Top Ten Smartest Countries In The World In 2024

Education is a universal experience, yet it’s anything but universal in its approach. From high-tech classrooms in bustling urban centers to open-air learning under trees in rural villages, how children and adults learn is vastly different across the globe.

At a time when access to education is being affected by rising living costs, ongoing conflicts, and increasingly common natural disasters—not to mention the lingering impact of the global pandemic—examining these differences has never been more relevant. That’s why the team at Serpple, a comprehensive SEO tool, conducted a study to reveal the smartest nations in the world.

The study used three key factors: the number of universities in the country, the number of Nobel prizes won by each country, and the level of tertiary education attainment in each country. After giving each factor a weighting, a final intelligence score was calculated for each country, by which they were then ranked.

Table: The Top Ten Smartest Countries In The World In 2024

Iceland

Iceland was named the smartest country in the world, with an overall intelligence score of 47.43. The country has the third-highest number of universities per 100,000 residents, which makes access to higher education much easier for its population. This is reflected in nearly half (43.56%) of the Icelandic population having attained a university-level education.

It also had the joint third-highest number of Nobel prizes per 100,000 citizens (0.25), coming behind Luxembourg in first place, which had 0.30. That translates into two Nobel prizes for its population of currently around 668,000 – which, considering the rarity of the prizes, is a stunning achievement.

Latvia

Latvia was named the second smartest country, with a total score of 47.16, just 0.27 points behind Iceland. Latvia had the highest number of universities per 100,000 citizens in the top ten (2.94), placing it significantly above frequently celebrated countries like Norway (0.84) and Denmark (1.36). Just under 40% (39.47%) of Latvia’s population took advantage of this abundance of universities to gain a university qualification.

Slovenia

Slovenia rounded out the top three with an overall score of 43.91. It had the second-highest number of universities per 100,000 people, and 40.11% of the population had attained a tertiary level of education.

Ireland

Ireland was fourth in the table, with a score of 43.38, just 0.53 behind Slovenia. Ireland had the second-highest percentage of residents with a university degree, at 54.39%, behind Canada, which had the highest, at 62.74%. Ireland had significantly fewer universities per 100,000 citizens than the other countries in the top five; while they all had above 2 per 100,000, Ireland had 1.35 per 100,000.

Estonia

The second Baltic state in the top five, Estonia came fifth with an overall score of 42.45. The country has 2.28 universities per 100,000 residents, and 42.10% of Estonians have a university qualification.

A spokesperson for Serpple commented:

“Technology isn’t just changing how we learn; it’s reshaping who gets to learn and what they can achieve. A student in a remote village with a tablet now has access to the same knowledge as a student in a major city, showing how access to tech can be revolutionary. But the real magic happens when technology stops being a novelty and becomes seamlessly woven into the learning process, allowing better access to knowledge for all.

“We also can’t ignore the growing role of AI in education and the increase of personalized learning platforms. Imagine a classroom where every student has their own virtual tutor that adapts to their strengths and weaknesses in real-time. That’s not a distant dream; it’s already happening in pockets all around the world.

“The challenge now is scaling this innovation responsibly so everyone is included. The future of education should be human-driven, with technology amplifying the best of what educators and students bring to the table.”