The Intelligence of a Nation: Kenya’s Average IQ (75)
For most Kenyans intelligence is not a topic that features in our discussions. We go about our days without asking ourselves whether what we see, what we hear, or the conditions we find ourselves in are a product of intelligence or a lack of it. What is IQ and why does it matter? You’ve probably heard that Kenya and Singapore were at the same level in the sixties when both got their independence. However, under the able leadership of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore managed to become a first world country in under fifty years as Kenya languished in poverty.
How do we explain the disparity between the two nations? First, we have to acknowledge that there are many theories that try to explain the reasons behind the rise of the Asian giants. However, it cannot be ignored that Singapore has the world’s highest IQ. If a high IQ could account for Singapore’s rapid growth, could the opposite be true for Kenya? Before that question can get an answer, let’s find out what’s Kenya’s IQ and how it was measured?
In 2002, Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen begun a noble projected to publish the IQs of all the nations of the world. Their book “IQ and the Intelligence of Nations” presented the measured IQs of 81 countries and estimated IQs of a further 104 nations. By 2019, on the “Intelligence of Nations,” Richard Lynn and David Becker had published the measured IQs of more than 161 nations and the estimated IQs of the remaining 41 nations. The two authors also included various IQ correlates including GDP. In their new publication, Kenya had an average IQ of 75.20.
For you to get a glimpse of what an average IQ of 75.20 means, compare it to the average IQ of South Korea (102.35), Singapore (105.89), United States (97. 43), Britain (99.12), and Nigeria (67.80). If Singapore has the highest IQ in the world, then Kenya is 30 points behind it, which in psychometric terms is quite huge. To be more precise, IQ tests are normed at IQ 100 which is considered average. An IQ of 75 is pretty much below average.
Kenya’ average IQ was arrived at from different studies conducted on Kenyan children and adults from different regions of the country. In 2001, a sample of 1370 children in Nakuru were given the Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM), an IQ test considered to be culturally unbiased. Most of the children in this study were between 6 years of age and 10 years. All the children were between class one and class five. The sample had a total of 583 boys and 637 girls. One thing I like about this study is that it was ethnically diverse and quite representative. Half of the students were Kikuyu (605 students), Luo (252), Luhya (134), Kisii (82), Kalenjin (57), and 79 other children from other ethnicities. The study found the average IQ of the students in the study sample to be 72.47. Suffice to note that boys performed better than girls in the RCPM test administered.
In 2001, this study was conducted in Nyanza province. It had a sample of 85 children comprising of 43 boys and 42 girls living in Ugingo village in Bondo. The ages of the children ranged between 12 years and 15 years. The children did a variety of tests aimed at measuring intelligence including a dholuo vocabulary test, an English vocabulary test, and a test of abstract reasoning. The test results found that the average IQ of the children was 65.62.
In 2007, researchers conducted this study to find out the effect of meat supplementation on the cognitive abilities of Kenyan children living in Embu. Twelve primary schools were selected and each assigned one of four groups. The test group received meat in addition to the Githeri they ate at school, while the rest acted as control groups. The IQ of the children was measured using the Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices which yielded an average IQ of 77.96 after analysis.
In 1984, another study was conducted in Embu with the aim of measuring the Flynn effect (The observed rise of IQs over time) over a 14-year period. The initial study was conducted in 1984 with a sample of 118 children with a mean age of seven years. The final study was conducted in 1998 with a sample of 537 children. Different IQ tests including the Raven’s Progressive Matrices, a digit span test, and a verbal meaning test with culturally appropriate pictures were used. The initial study recorded an average IQ of 69.89 while the final study recorded an average IQ of 79.62. Lynn uses 79.62 to calculate Kenya’s average IQ.
In 1985, a study of 205 adults conducted in Nairobi also established the average IQ of Kenyans to be within the same range. The study sample comprised of working individuals from different socioeconomic backgrounds, both primary and secondary school graduates, and different occupations. The study established that the average IQ of the individuals was 75.08.
Children from Kilifi also participated in a 2013 study aimed at establishing methods of testing the IQs of children from non-western countries considering the cultural differences between western and African children. 308 children aged between 8 and 11 were included in the study. The study not only found ways of testing children using culturally appropriate techniques, but also successfully established tests scores from the Raven Progressive Matrices. The tests administered revealed an average IQ of 70.05. The authors also noted that girls performed better than boys on tests of verbal memory while boys performed better than girls on tests of reasoning and visual memory.
Richard Lynn, therefore, relies on these studies to come up with Kenya’s average IQ of 75.20. These are measured and uncontested IQs from different regions in Kenya including the Coast (Kilifi), Western (Nyanza), Rift valley (Nakuru), Central (Nairobi), and Eastern (Embu). The study samples are representative enough to capture Kenya’s average intelligence. The IQ tests used were culturally unbiased, highly valid, and reliable. The tests, therefore, represented the cognitive ability of the average Kenyan.
Just to be candid with Kenyans, an average IQ of 75 is quite low. For those not familiar with averages, Kenya having a mean IQ of 75 does not mean everybody has an IQ of 75. The chart above shows the IQ bell curve representing the normal distribution of IQ scores. Half of Kenyans have an IQ above 75 and the other half has an IQ below 75. It’s upon us now to sit and reflect on what this figure means and whether it has any effect on our daily lives. For example, how much poverty can be addressed by the low IQ? How much corruption? How much unemployment? How much crime, violence, and drug addiction?
In a different post, I will try to show how the country we live in is a mess partly because of this low average IQ of 75.
