MALAYSIA has recently secured a spot among the top 30 smartest countries in the world, out of a total of 126 nations.
An index by the International IQ Test, updated as of January 1 this year, ranked Malaysia 22nd with a score of 100.48 points.
A total of 19,388 individuals from Malaysia participated in the study.
In 2024, the country scored 99.78 points with 18,688 participants, reflecting a 1.19-point increase compared to the past year.
According to the International IQ Registry, the study is based on data from 1,352,763 participants globally who took the same IQ test on the website last year.
Globally, China secured first place with an IQ score of 107.19 points based on 206,994 participants, followed by South Korea in second with a score of 106.43 points (23,727 participants), and Japan in third place with 106.4 points (145,459 participants).
Malaysia’s neighbour, Singapore, ranked fifth with a score of 105.14 points from 5,159 participants.
In Southeast Asia, Singapore topped the list, followed by Thailand with 101.52 points, and Malaysia in third place.
Other Southeast Asian countries included Vietnam (100.12 points), Brunei Darussalam (98.14 points), Myanmar (97.37 points), the Philippines (96.66 points), Cambodia (93.97 points), Indonesia (93.18 points), and Lao PDR (92.05 points).
