Which country can call itself the smartest country in Europe? More importantly, are the Dutch more intelligent than the Belgians? If we are to believe the jokes, yes, but what does an extensive study say? According to the online tutoring school from Germany, TutorSpace, Switzerland is the smartest country in Europe.
Switzerland receives a score of 81.1 out of 100. The Scandinavian countries also receive a high score. They even make up 50% of the top ten countries. The Netherlands ranks eighth with a score of 68.97 out of 100. But what makes a country smart and how can you look for it? You can read that below.
The smartest country in Europe
TutorSpace researchers have compiled an index of 17 factors related to intelligence and development in 44 European countries. They group all these factors together into four categories:
- Quality and access to education
- Higher education and research
- Literacy and digital literacy
- Public investments
Using these categories, researchers were able to examine and compare different countries. The team then gave each country a score, with the ideal score being 100. They were then able to rank all the countries surveyed from highest to lowest. Why did Switzerland get such a high score?
The Swiss rank first with a score of 81.1 out of 100. The country scores more than 75 points in each of the four categories, and also has the second highest score for quality and accessibility of education. Furthermore, the Swiss government spends 14.24% of its total spending on education, which helps increase performance in schools and universities. Finally, 33% of people aged 25 to 64 in Switzerland have completed higher education, which is classified as university level. You can see the full top 10 below.
| Rank | nation | Index points | Population (2023) | Quality and access to education | Higher education and research | Literacy and digital literacy | Public investments |
| 1 | Switzerland | 81.1 | 8,563,760 | 84.92 | 78.17 | 76.24 | 79.8 |
| 2 | Denmark | 77.87 | 5,946,984 | 78.91 | 77.25 | 89.28 | 68.14 |
| 3 | Finland | 77.57 | 5,614,571 | 81.55 | 78.19 | 79.94 | 61.15 |
| 4 | Iceland | 73.36 | 360,872 | 71.99 | 68.02 | 100 | 73.64 |
| 5 | Norway | 72.84 | 5,597,924 | 73.57 | 74.08 | 96.03 | 50.87 |
| 6 | Sweden | 70.53 | 10,536,338 | 76.7 | 56.84 | 76.16 | 83.21 |
| 7 | Belgium | 69.12 | 11,913,633 | 76.62 | 58.8 | 67.98 | 73.01 |
| 8 | Holland | 68.97 | 17,463,930 | 74.54 | 63.67 | 83.76 | 54.54 |
| 9 | Estonia | 68.87 | 1,202,762 | 91.86 | 43.78 | 70.21 | 59.83 |
| 10 | United kingdom | 67.83 | 68,138,484 | 81.9 | 58.36 | 72.13 | 43.94 |
Belgians are smarter than the Dutch?
Maybe we should change our jokes, because according to TutorSpace research, Belgians are smarter than the Dutch. There is almost no difference, but Belgium still gets a higher score: 69.12 versus 68.97. The difference is made in the general investment category. Belgium received a score of 73.01, while the Netherlands received a paltry score of 54.54. Does the Dutch government see this data too? Maybe it's time to invest more in education? Well, the Netherlands can also be proud of being in the top ten list of smartest European countries.
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