Here's where Canada ranks among the smartest countries in the world
A new report reveals just how smart students in Canada are compared to those in other countries ahead of the start of the new school year.
TradingPlatforms, a U.K.-based resource for finding regulated online brokers, released its 2025 World’s Smartest Nations ranking on Friday.
“Defining how ‘smart’ a country is goes beyond stereotypes or single measures, reflecting how effectively nations learn, create, and apply knowledge,” reads the report. “Strong education systems equip young people with essential skills, scientific research drives discovery, and cognitive ability underpins innovation and problem-solving.”
The company analyzed the latest OECD PISA 2022 results in science, mathematics, and reading across 77 countries. It also considered the total number of scientific publications per capita in 2024, as well as the average IQ scores reported in each country to create the global “smartness” ranking.
Based on these factors, each country received a score out of 100.
Canadian students did fairly well, nabbing the 10th spot on the ranking out of 20 countries. The True North received a “smartness” score of 55.4 out of 100 overall. Students in Canada achieved a median score of 506 in the 2022 PISA assessments, ranking seventh globally. The country published 4,566 research papers in 2024, and the average IQ that year was 101.7.
“With a high quality of life, a strong education system, and innovation-friendly policies, Canada excels in both research and academics, making it one of the smartest and most capable nations globally,” reads the report.
TradingPlatforms
Hong Kong ranked as the number one smartest country globally, achieving almost a perfect score of 94 out of 100, leading the world in research output with an average of 548.5 scientific papers per million residents.
Students in Singapore followed closely behind with a score of 81.6. While the country ranks second overall, it leads the world in PISA 2022 results with a high average score of 560.
Switzerland took third place and ranks as the smartest country in Europe, scoring 72.2 out of 100.
According to the report, the strong result is driven by a high average IQ of 100.8 and high research output.
Canadian universities are also doing well in prestigious rankings. Three schools in Canada made the list of the top 100 institutions in the world.