Sub-Saharan Africans are the indigenous people of sub-Saharan Africa. They must be distinguished from the North Africans of North Africa, the pygmies and the Bushmen (two distinct minor races).

A variety of terms have been used for the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, including Afer (Linnaeus, 1758), Ethiopians (Blumenbach, 1776), and Negroides (Cole, 1965). Whatever the term, sub-Saharan Africans have always been considered one of the major races in the taxonomies of classical anthropology, including those of Linnaeus (1758), Blumenbach (1776), and Coon, Garn, and Birdsell (1950). ).

Cavalli-Sforza, Menozzi, and Piazza (1994) confirmed the distinctive genetic characteristics of Africans in their classification of homo sapiens into ‘genetic clusters’. The most distinctive features of Africans are their very dark skin, dark eyes, broad noses, thick inverted lips and woolly hair. Their blood types differ from Europeans with a lower frequency of group A (~27% of Africans compared to ~46% of Europeans) and a higher frequency of group B (~34% of Africans compared to ~14% of Europeans).

1. IQ of Africans in Sub-Saharan Africa

2. IQ of Africans and European University Students

3. Africans in the Caribbean and Latin America

4. IQ of African Americans

5. IQ of Africans in Europe

6. Brain Size of Africans

7. Heritability of intelligence in African-Americans


1. IQ of Africans in Sub-Saharan Africa

IQ of Africans oscillates around a value of 71, we will later see that this value is partly due to an impact of undernourishment, the intellectual genotype of Africans is evaluated by Lynn at an IQ of 80, ie the value obtained by Africans living in sufficient nutrient conditions. We will later look at this extrapolated figure of 80.

Table 4.1. IQs of Africans in sub-Saharan Africa

COUNTRY AGE N TEST IQ REFERENCE
1 Benin 15 – EDUC 69 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
2 Botswana 17/20 140 SPM 72 Lynn, 2010b
3 Botswana 15 – EDUC 81.7 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
4 Burkina Faso 15 – EDUC 72.3 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
5 Burundi 15 – EDUC 76.4 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
6 Cameroon Adults 80 CPM 64 Berlioz, 1955
7 Cameroon 15 – EDUC 78 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
8 Cent. African Rep. Adults 1,144 SPM 64 Latouche &
Dormeau,1956
9 Chad 15 – EDUC 68.4 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
10 Comoros 15 – EDUC 71.9 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
11 Congo–Brazz. 13 88 SPM 73 Nkaya et al., 1994
12 Congo–Brazz. Adults 580 SPM 75 Latouche &
Dormeau, 1956
13 Congo–Brazz. Adults 1,596 SPM 74 Latouche &
Dormeau, 1956
14 Congo–Brazz. 15 – EDUC 71.8 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
15 Congo–Zaire 6/10 693 CPM 73 Ombredane et al., 1956
16 Congo–Zaire Adults 67 SPM 64 Verhagen, 1956
17 Congo–Zaire 17/29 320 SPM 69 Ombredane et al., 1952
18 Congo–Zaire 8 50 KAB 67 Boivin &
Giordani, 1993
19 Congo–Zaire 7/12 95 KAB 68 Boivin et al., 1995
20 Congo–Zaire 7/9 130 KAB 65 Giordani et al., 1996
21 Congo–Zaire 7/9 139 KAB 61 Conant et al., 1999
22 Congo–Zaire 7/9 183 CPM 74 Kashala et al., 2005
23 Eritrea 4/7 148 CPM 85 Wolff et al., 1995
24 Eritrea 11 152 SPM 66 Wolff &
Fessada, 1999
25 Ethiopia 5/14 162 CPM 64 Aboud et al., 1991
26 Ethiopia 15 250 SPM 68 Kaniel &
Fisherman, 1991
27 Ethiopia 14/16 46 SPM 69 Kozulin, 1998
28 Ethiopia 6/7 29 CPM 86 Tzuriel & Kaufman, 1999
29 Ethiopia 7/11 108 CPM 70 Ayalew, 2005
30 Gabon 15 – EDUC 77.9 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
31 Gambia 17 579 CPM 64 Jukes et al., 2006
32 Gambia- Mandinka 17 418 CPM 60 Jukes &
Grigorenko, 2010
33 Gambia- Wolof 17 114 CPM 60 Jukes &
Grigorenko, 2010
34 Ghana 8/15 2,894 SPM 70 Bulley, 1973
35 Ghana 18/30 2,16 SPM 77 Bulley, 1973
36 Ghana Adults 225 CF 76 Buj, 1981
37 Ghana 15 1,693 CPM 62 Glewwe &
Jacoby, 1992
38 Ghana 9/18 1,563 CPM 67 Heady, 2003
39 Ghana 15 – EDUC 72.4 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
40 Guinea 5/14 50 AAB 63 Nissen et al., 1935
41 Guinea Adults 1,144 SPM 70 Faverge &
Falmagne, 1962
42 Ivory Coast 7/14 67 Piagetian 71 Dasen &
Ngini, 1979
43 Ivory Coast 15 – EDUC 65 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
44 Kenya Adults 205 CPM 69 Boissiere et al., 1985
45 Kenya 6/10 1,222 CPM 78 Costenbader & Ngari, 2000
46 Kenya 12/15 85 CPM/MH 67 Sternberg et al., 2001
47 Kenya 7 118 CPM 76 Daley et al., 2003
48 Kenya 7 537 CPM 87 Daley et al., 2003
49 Kenya 6 184 KAB 63 Holding et al., 2004
50 Kenya 6/14 528 CPM 74 Neumann et al., 2007
51 Kenya 15 – EDUC 81.9 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
52 Kenya 14 851 Various 76 Rindermann, 2012
53 Lesotho 15 – EDUC 70 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
54 Madagascar Adults 147 CPM 82 Raveau et al., 1976
55 Madagascar 15 – EDUC 76 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
56 Malawi 7/14 268 CPM 71 Van der Vijver, 2009
57 Malawi 15 – EDUC 65.1 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
58 Mali 9/12 746 CPM 74 Fontaine, 1963
59 Mali adults 790 SPM 68 Fontaine, 1963
60 Mali adults 270 SPM 71 Fontaine, 1963
61 Mali 8/85 413 CPM 64 Bellis et al., 1988
62 Mali 15 – EDUC 69.8 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
63 Mozambique 20 149 CPM 64 Kendall, 1976
64 Mozambique 15 – EDUC 76 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
65 Namibia 7/12 116 CPM 72 Veii & Everatt, 2005
66 Namibia 15 – EDUC 70 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
67 Niger 15 – EDUC 62.4 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
68 Nigeria 26 30 DAM 67 Haward & Roland, 1954
69 Nigeria 6/14 480 Leone 70 Ferron, 1965
70 Nigeria Adults 86 SPM 64 Wober, 1969
71 Nigeria 6/13 375 CPM/PMA 69 Fahrmeier, 1975
72 Nigeria 5/7 150 SPM 87 Okunrotifa, 1976
73 Nigeria 9/10 88 SPM 83 Nwuga, 1977
74 Nigeria 9/10 165 SPM 80 Nwuga, 1977
75 Nigeria 11/12 120 SPM 72 Maqsud, 1980a
76 Nigeria 11/17 98 WISC-R 73 Ani et al., 1998
77 Nigeria 11 402 SPM 69 Jarotimi &
Ijadunola, 2007
78 Nigeria 15 – EDUC 79.1 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
79 Nigeria 14 413 SPM 70 Hur & Lynn, 2013
80 Nigeria 16 140 SPM 70 Hur & Lynn, 2013
81 Rwanda 5/17 148 Piagetian 76 Laurendeau-Bendavid, 1977
82 Senegal 7/14 559 DAM 67 Bardet, Moreigne & Sénécal, 1960
83 Senegal 5/12 58 KABC 74 Boivin, 2002
84 Senegal 15 – EDUC 72 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
85 Sierra Leone Adults 122 CPM 64 Berry, 1966
86 Sierra Leone Adults 33 CPM 64 Binnie-
Dawson, 1984
87 South Africa 10/14 293 AAB 65 Fick, 1929
88 South Africa 12/14 80 KB 68 Dent, 1937
89 South Africa 10/16 532 Non-
verbal		 72 Fick, 1939
90 South Africa 6/10 1,076 DAM 75 Hunkin, 1950
91 South Africa 8/16 1,008 SPM 75 Notcutt, 1950
92 South Africa Adults 703 SPM 70 Notcutt, 1950
93 South Africa 10/12 278 NVR 74 Lloyd &
Pidgeon, 1961
94 South Africa 25 140 WAIS-R 69 Avenant, 1988
95 South Africa 5/13 415 DAM 75 Richter et al., 1989
96 South Africa 9 350 SPM 67 Lynn &
Holmshaw, 1990
97 South Africa 16 1,096 SPM 68 Owen, 1992
98 South Africa 19 711 CPM 71 Vass, 1992
99 South Africa 15/16 1,093 JAT 68 Lynn & Owen, 1994
100 South Africa 13 49 WISC-R 70 Murdoch et al., 1994
101 South Africa 17/20 140 SPM 77 Maqsud, 1997
102 South Africa 43 157 WAIS-R 69 Nell, 2000
103 South Africa 16 17 SPM 68 Sonke, 2000
104 South Africa 8 63 WPPSI/ WCST 71 Akande, 2000
105 South Africa 14 152 WCST/WISC-R 65 Skuy et al., 2001
106 South Africa 17 100 WCST/WISC-R/DAM 65 Skuy et al., 2001
107 South Africa 30 196 WAIS-3 82 Claassen et al., 2001
108 South Africa 8/10 806 CPM 68 Jinabhai et al., 2004
109 South Africa 11 379 CPM 71 Knoetze et al., 2005
110 South Africa 6/12 1,333 CPM 71 Linstrom, 2008
111 South Africa 9 340 SPM 69 Malda et al., 2010
112 South Africa 15 – EDUC 72 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
113 South Africa 11 379 CPM 67.5 Bakhiet & Lynn, 2015
114 South Sudan 7/16 291 Various 69 Fahmy, 1964
115 Sudan 9/18 1,006 SPM 67 Khaleefa & Lynn, 2010
116 Swaziland 15 – EDUC 81.8 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
117 Tanzania Adults 179 CPM 60 Boissiere et al., 1985
118 Tanzania 11/13 458 WCST 72 Sternberg et al., 2002
119 Tanzania 15 – EDUC 80.3 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
120 Tanzania 16 171 APM 75 Rindermann, 2012
121 Tanzania 14 891 Various 64 Rindermann, 2012
122 Uganda 11 514 DAM 82 Minde &
Kantor, 1976
123 Uganda 14 – SPM 66 Heyneman, 1977
124 Uganda 11 2,019 CPM 73 Heyneman & Jamison,1980
125 Uganda 15 – EDUC 74 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
126 Uganda 14 872 Various 76 Rindermann, 2012
127 Zaire 6/30 693 CPM 73 Ombredane et al, 1956
128 Zaire Adults 67 SPM 82 Verhagen, 1956
129 Zaire 17/29 320 SPM 69 Ombredane et al., 1952
130 Zaire 10/15 222 SPM 68 Laroche, 1959
131 Zaire 8 47 KABC 62 Boivin &
Giordani, 1993
132 Zaire 7/12 95 KABC 68 Boivin et al., 1995
133 Zaire 7/9 130 KABC 65 Giordani et al., 1996
134 Zaire 8 183 CPM 74 Kashala et al., 2005
135 Zambia 15 759 SPM 75 MacArthur et al., 1964
136 Zambia 16 292 SPM 75 MacArthur et al., 1964
137 Zambia Adults 152 SPM 64 Pons, 1974
138 Zambia Adults 1,011 SPM 80 Pons, 1974
139 Zambia 15 – EDUC 66.2 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
140 Zanzibar 15 – EDUC 74.3 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
141 Zimbabwe 15 200 SPM 72 Irvine, 1969
142 Zimbabwe 12/14 204 WISC-R 71 Zindi, 1994
143 Zimbabwe 15 – EDUC 76.2 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011

2. IQ of African and European University Students

Two points to note:

-The median value for African university students is 78, which is 7 points above the national average. Columns 6, 11, 12 and 13 correspond to Math students, who average 10 points higher than the university average.

-The average difference between Europeans and Africans is 20 points, the IQ of Europeans oscillates between 100 and 105 and is substantially equal to that of European university students in Europe.

Table 4.2. IQ of African and European university students in Africa

AFRICANS EUROPEANS
COUNTRY TEST N IQ N IQ IQ DIFF REFERENCE
1 Ghana BD 66 79 – – Jahoda, 1970
2 S. Africa APM 40 84 40 103 19 Poortinga, 1971
3 S. Africa Blox 47 72 50 100 28 Poortinga & Foden, 1975
4 S. Africa Blox 403 79 197 100 21 Taylor &
Radford, 1986
5 S. Africa WISC-R 63 75 – – – Avenant, 1988
6 S. Africa SPM 147 100 – – – Zaaiman, 1998
7 S. Africa SPM 30 77 – – – Grieve &
Viljoen, 2000
8 S. Africa SPM 173 84 136 103 19 Rushton & Skuy, 2000
9 S. Africa SPM 30 82 30 105 23 Sonke, 2000
10 S. Africa SPM 70 81 – – – Skuy et al., 2002
11 S. Africa SPM 198 93 86 106 13 Rushton et al., 2002
12 S. Africa APM 187 99 67 113 14 Rushton et al., 2003
13 S. Africa APM 306 103 72 116 15 Rushton et al., 2004
14 S. Africa SPM 887 95 398 110 15 Rushton, 2008
15 USA Wonderlic 40 101.7 139 107.3 6.4 Pesta & Poznanski, 2008

3. Africans in the Caribbean and Latin America

The median value is 71, the same as for Africans in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Table 4.3. IQ of Africans in the Caribbean and Latin America

COUNTRY AGE N TEST IQ REFERENCE
1 Barbados 9–15 207 WISC-R 80 Galler et al., 1986
2 Brazil 9 100 DAM 70 Paine et al., 1992
3 Brazil Adult 88 SPM 64 Paine et al., 1992
4 Brazil 9–10 223 SPM 71 Fernandez, 2001
5 Dominica 3 64 PPVT 67 Wein & Stevenson, 1972
6 Dominica 20-70 67 CPM 67 Meisenberg et al., 2006
7 Dominican Rep 15 – EDUC 75.1 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011
8 Jamaica 11 1730 MH 72 Manley, 1963
9 Jamaica 11 50 Matrices 75 Vernon, 1969
10 Jamaica 5–12 71 WISC 60 Hertzig et al., 1972
11 Jamaica 10 128 CEFT 75 Bagley et al., 1983
12 Jamaica 15 31 WISC-R 67 Grantham-

McGregor et al., 1994
13 Jamaica 25 54 PPVT 60 Grantham-

McGregor et al., 1994
14 Jamaica 9–10 30 PPVT 71 Simeon &

Grantham-McGregor, 1989
15 Antillies 9-11 97 CPM 87 Van de Vijfeijken et al., 1997
16 St. Lucia 4 60 PPVT 62 Murray, 1983
17 St.Vincent 8–11 174 CPM 71 Durbrow et al., 2002
18 Trinidad 15 – EDUC 88 Meisenberg & Lynn, 2011

 4. IQ of African-Americans

The median value for African Americans is 84, which is significantly higher than the average of 71 in Sub-Saharan Africa. There are several reasons for this higher score.

-African-Americans enjoy better living conditions than in Africa, particularly regarding food.

-African Americans have an average of 25% of European Caucasian ancestors, Lynn estimates that there is a gain of 0.2 IQ points per percentage point of Caucasian gene, amounting to a gain of 5 points for 25%. That gain leads to 80 for the African intellectual genotype, if there is no hybridization. In the southern states of the United States, where hybridization with Europeans is only a few percent, the African-American IQ is actually about 80.

Table 4.4. IQ of African Americans in the United States

YEAR AGE AFRICAN N EURO. N TEST IQ REFERENCE
1 1918 Adults 23,596 93,973 AA&B 83 Yerkes, 1921
2 1927 7/15 129 – PPT 83 Nissen et al., 1935
3 1928 12 84 – PPT 67 Nissen et al., 1935
4 1944 Adults – – AGCT 77 Davenport, 1946
5 1964 Adults – – AFQT 77 Karpinos, 1966
6 1916-65 3/6 1,700 – Various 87 Shuey, 1966
7 1916-65 6/11 7,000 – Various 85 Shuey, 1966
8 1916-65 6/11 75,050 – Various 85 Shuey, 1966
9 1916-65 12/18 23,000 – Various 85 Shuey, 1966
10 1966-80 3/6 – – Various 80 Osborne &
McGurk, 1982
11 1966-80 6/11 100,000 – Various 87 Osborne &
McGurk, 1982
12 1966-80 12–18 16,000 – Various 82 Osborne &
McGurk, 1982
13 1966 24 7,300 5,733 SRAT 85 Broman et al., 1975
14 1970 4 12,029 9,730 SB 87 Broman et al., 1975
15 1974 7 19,968 18,474 WISC 87 Broman et al., 1975
16 1972 6/16 305 1,870 WISC-R 84 Kaufman & Doppelt, 1976
17 1977 16/74 7,270 16,134 GATB 81 Avolio &
Waldman, 1994
18 1977 5/11 456 604 WISC-R 85 Mercer &
Lewis, 1984
19 1978 16/74 192 1,664 WAIS-R 85 Reynolds et al., 1987
20 1980 14/22 3,022 6,502 AFQT 82 Herrnstein & Murray, 1994
21 1981 2/12 311 1,450 KABC 93 Kaufman & Kaufman, 1983
22 1982 3/18 932 4,519 PPVT 84 Dunn, 1988
23 1984 12/23 210 1,303 SB-4 83 Thorndike et al., 1986
24 1984 3 86 86 SB-LM 86 Montie &
Fagan, 1988
25 1985 37 502 3,535 Various 83 Nyborg &
Jensen, 2000
26 1989 6/16 338 1,620 WISC-3 85 Prifitera et al., 1998
27 1990 3/4 1134 2071 PPVT 82 Jencks &
Phillips, 1998
28 1991 11/93 241 1,547 KAIT 88 Kaufman et al., 1994
29 1991 16/74 7,214 14,503 GATB 81 Avolio &
Waldman, 1994
30 1991 6/16 711 776 WISC-R 85 Kramer et al., 1995
31 1993 3 33 33 SB-4 85 Peoples et al., 1995
32 1993 70+ 833 5,122 MMSE 85 Zsembik & Peek, 2001
33 1993 Adults 806 5,300 Vocabulary 90 Lynn, 2004
34 1996 76 317 147 WAIS-Sim 87 Manly et al.,1998
35 1998 Adults 2,113 8,751 Literacy 86 Raudenbush & Kasim, 1998
36 1998 5/17 77 77 UNIT 86 Kane, 2007
37 2002 Adults – – SB 88 Dickens & Flynn, 2006
38 2002 6/16s – – WISC 88 Dickens & Flynn, 2006
39 2002 24 – – – 92 Flynn, 2007
40 2008 17 – – NAEP 81 Rushton & Jensen, 2010

 5. IQ of Africans in Europe

The median value is 85, the same as that of African Americans, the two reasons mentioned above also apply to Europe, except that the hybridization is less. The factor increasing the intelligence of Afro-Europeans is the difficulty related to immigration. You have to organize and find the money to invade Europe. This implies selective pressure on intelligence.

Table 4.6. IQ of Africans in the Netherlands, France and Belgium

AGE N TEST IQ REFERENCE
1 Children 110 GALO 86 De Jong & van Batenburg, 1984
2 Children 123 RAKIT 84 Resing et al., 1986
3 Children 77 RAKIT 88 Resing et al., 1986
4 Children 138 – 85 De Jong, 1988
5 11 404 CITO 83 Pieke, 1988
6 Adults 535 GATB 85 Te Nijenhuis, 1997
7 Adults 129 GATB 85 Te Nijenhuis, 1997
8 Adults 588 PM 82 Raveau et al.,1976
9 Adults 28 CF 70 Klein et al., 2007

6. Brain size of Africans and Europeans

Table 4.11. Brain size (cc) of Europeans and Africans

Europeans Africans
Location Sex N Mean N Mean Diff Reference
1 World mf 52 1,401 29 1,360 41 Morton, 1849
2 World mf 1,840 1,364 880 1,314 50 Simmons, 1942
3 World mf – 1,427 – 1,363 64 Tobias, 1970
4 USA mf 811 1,370 450 1,267 103 Ho et al., 1980
5 World mf – 1,369 – 1,283 86 Smith & Beals, 1990
6 World m – 1,476 – 1,416 60 Groves, 1991
7 USA mf 2,871 1,380 2,676 1,359 21 Rushton, 1992
8 World mf – 1,320 – 1,211 109 Rushton, 2000

–


7. Heritability of Intelligence in African Americans

Table 4.13. Heritability of intelligence in African Americans

Age Mz-N r Dz-N R h2 c-h2 Reference
1 4 60 0.77 84 0.52 0.50 0.56 Loehlin et al., 1975
2 15 76 0.80 47 0.34 0.92 1.00 Osborne, 1980
3 10-15 65 0.63 95 0.36 0.54 0.60 Scarr, 1981

References for the whole page « Race differences in intelligence. An evolutionary Analysis », Chapter 4 pp. 29-73, Richard Lynn, Washington Summit Publisher, 1st edition 2006 and 2nd edition 2015.