On March 28, 2006, Vjesnik (Courier; the leading Croatian daily newspaper) reported, probably with some delight, that according to British scientist Richard Lynn the most intelligent people in Europe are Germans (average IQ of 107) while the least intelligent are Serbs (average IQ of 89). This is an example of bad reporting, not because Serbs have higher IQ but because the intentions of the source are misused.

The report is based on the article in Times Online of March 27, 2006, under the title Germans are brainiest (but at least we're smarter than the French), where average IQs of 23 European countries are listed to illustrate professor Lynn’s (University of Ulster, Northern Ireland) argument that brain size and IQ favor northern countries: "The early human beings in northerly areas had to survive during cold winters when there were no plant foods and they were forced to hunt big game", he said. "The main environmental influence on IQ is diet, and people in southeast Europe would have had less of the proteins, minerals and vitamins provided by meat which are essential for brain development." While it is true that Serbia is at the bottom of the list, it does not equate Serbs with the least intelligent people in Europe, particularly because not all countries in southeast Europe are listed. In his better known study Intelligence and the Wealth and Poverty of Nations, professor Lynn cites Croatian average IQ of 90. Not much to be delighted about.

Above graphs for 24 European countries (some of them indicated by name) compare gross domestic product (GDP) at purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita to the country’s average IQ, in the manner of Lynn’s Intelligence and the Wealth and Poverty of Nations (left) and to the geographical latitude of the country’s capital (right). IMF data on GDP are for the year 2004, published in 2005.While data are more scattered on the right graph, the same course is distinguish-able; farther scattering is in all likelihood due to an ‘eastward’ factor. The fittings on the graphs are linear, good only to indicate the course, as for a small and well scattered data sample various fittings are equally questionable. Serbs and Croats are just where one expects them to be, it seems Norwegians are hiding their higher IQs and their capital is not northerly enough, while Slovenians are right on the line, on both graphs.