Switzerland is the smartest country in Europe

A study was recently published in which Switzerland was described as the most hospitable country in Europe. The reasons for this are low levels of English, lack of helpfulness from locals and poor taxi service. Fortunately, there’s now a new study that can at least somewhat restore our bruised egos. The conclusion of the research? Switzerland is nothing less than “the most intelligent country” in Europe.

Research from online tutoring school TutorSpace makes this claim, based on 17 factors related to intelligence and development. These variables include aspects such as the quality and accessibility of education, digital literacy and public investments in education.

Switzerland managed to achieve top values ​​in all four defined categories. Everywhere the ratings are more than 76 points. 100 points are possible per category. The average is 81.1 points. The study’s authors point out that a third of 25 to 64-year-olds have tertiary education and that government spending on education represents about 15 percent of total national expenditure. This information corresponds to the data from the Federal Statistical Office.

The study examined 44 European countries. The evaluation results in the following country rankings:

The results show clear patterns. Except for Switzerland, all other countries in the top 6 are Scandinavian. On the other hand, it is striking that, with the exception of Germany and Great Britain, no major European countries are represented in the top 15 countries.

France narrowly failed (17th place), but performed better than Spain and Italy. Spain ranks 25th, while Italy ranks 32nd with a paltry score of 43.6. Bosnia, North Macedonia and Albania bring up the rear with values ​​just above 20. With the latter countries and the Swiss-Scandinavian bloc at the top of the rankings, you might suspect that the level of intelligence is highly dependent on money.

Switzerland's results have clearly made an impression abroad. The British tabloid Express wrote in a mixture of clichés and admiration:

The newspaper also noted that education in Switzerland takes quite a long time and – with some surprise – that “most of it is free”. But what is important is that the honor of our little Switzerland remains intact. (asi)