IQ 193
Profoundly Gifted
Quick answer
Yes, and it is extremely rare. An IQ of 193 is higher than all but about 1 in 3.5 billion people.
On the standard scale that is 6.20 standard deviations above average. No test has been checked against enough people to confirm a score this high.
Not sure your number is right? Take the free IQ test and compare.
Where 193 falls on the bell curve
This wider chart runs to 200 so 193 can be shown in place. The curve is so thin out here that the share of people beyond the marker is invisible at this scale.
IQ 193: beyond what most tests can measure
193 is 6.20 standard deviations above the mean. On a bell curve that works out to about 1 in 3.5 billion people, which would mean fewer than one (0.02 expected) in the UK and about 2 worldwide. The bell curve is a model, though, and at this height it is doing most of the work.
Major individually administered adult tests typically report full-scale scores up to about 160. A reported number above that usually comes from extended norms, a different scale or extrapolation.
No test has enough people in its norm sample to check its accuracy at 193. In a 2,200-person sample the bell curve expects effectively nobody at 193 or higher.
How claims like "193 IQ" arise
If someone tells you they have a 193, the first question is where the number came from. The usual answers:
- Ratio IQ. Early childhood tests divided mental age by real age. A 6-year-old solving puzzles like a typical 11.6-year-old got a ratio IQ of 193. Modern deviation IQs do not work this way.
- Different scales. Some tests use a standard deviation of 24, so a 193 there is about 158 on the usual SD 15 scale.
- Historiometric estimates. Researchers such as Catharine Cox (1926) estimated IQs for famous people from biographies. Some of her adjusted estimates went above 200. They are educated guesses, not test results.
Famous estimates: Newton, da Vinci and the 160+ club
Nobody in history has a measured IQ of 193. The highest estimates on this site, for figures such as Isaac Newton and Leonardo da Vinci, come from reading their work and lives, not from tests. 37 profiles here are estimated at 160 or more.
Estimates this high mostly reflect how extraordinary the achievement was. That is a different thing from how someone would perform on a timed reasoning test.
How many people have an IQ of 193 or higher?
Scoring 193 or higher is a 0.000000028% share of everyone. Scaled up to whole populations, that works out as:
| Where | Population | IQ 193 or higher |
|---|---|---|
| UK | about 68 million | fewer than one (0.02 expected) |
| US | about 335 million | fewer than one (0.09 expected) |
| World | about 8.1 billion | about 2 |
You would need the whole world to expect about 2 people at 193 or higher.
About 1 in 8.3 billion people would score exactly 193, meaning between 192.5 and 193.5 on a continuous scale. In the UK that is fewer than one person.
Treat these as orders of magnitude, not census data. They apply the standard model to everyone, and individual tests have their own norms.
How rare is an IQ of 193?
An IQ of 193 or higher is 7.9 times rarer than 188 or higher, and 198 or higher is 8.8 times rarer again. At this point on the curve, each extra point makes a score about 53% rarer.
What your 193 could really be. Even a good supervised test has a margin of error of roughly 5 points either side, and far more at this height. A true score from 188 to 198 would span rarities from 1 in 450 million to 1 in 31 billion.
Which scale was it on? A 193 reported on an SD 16 scale converts to about 187 on the usual SD 15 scale, and one from an SD 24 scale (seen in some Cattell-style results) to about 158. Check which scale your score report used.
Famous people with an estimated IQ near 193
Estimates this high are reserved for a small group of scientists, artists and thinkers. These are the closest to 193. Every figure below is a retrospective estimate, not a measured score. Open a profile to see the evidence and how confident anyone can be.
Fictional characters near 193
For fun, not science: fan estimates for the characters nearest 193, based on how they reason in their stories.
193 compared with nearby scores
Nearby scores and the round-number landmarks, so you can see how quickly the percentile changes around 193. Every row links to that score's page.
| IQ | Classification | Percentile | Score higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| IQ 10093 lower | Average | 50th | 50% |
| IQ 11083 lower | High Average | 74.8th | 25% |
| IQ 12073 lower | Superior | 90.9th | 9.1% |
| IQ 13063 lower | Gifted | 97.7th | 2.3% |
| IQ 14053 lower | Gifted | 99.62nd | 0.38% |
| IQ 15043 lower | Genius | 99.96th | 0.043% |
| IQ 1885 lower | Profoundly Gifted | 99.99999977th | 0.00000022% |
| IQ 1921 lower | Profoundly Gifted | 99.999999956th | 0.000000043% |
| IQ 1941 higher | Profoundly Gifted | 99.999999981st | 0.000000019% |
| IQ 1985 higher | Profoundly Gifted | 99.9999999967th | 0.0000000032% |
Is 193 a good IQ?
It is about as high as the scale goes. The bell curve puts 193 at 1 in 3.5 billion, but major tests are only checked up to around 160, so the exact figure is uncertain. As a description of reasoning ability, "exceptional" fits better than any precise number.
What percentile is an IQ of 193?
The percentile for an IQ of 193 is about the 99.999999971st, which is 6.20 standard deviations above the mean. In a class of 30, that means about 30 people scoring 193 or lower. If your test used a standard deviation of 16 or 24, the percentile would be different.
Is 193 genius level?
Informally, yes, since 193 is far beyond the 140 to 145 range where popular genius labels begin. But genius in the historical sense means achievement, like Newton's or da Vinci's, and their famous numbers are estimates. No test measures 193 precisely.
What does an IQ of 193 mean?
A 193 means your result on a timed reasoning test was 93 points above the average of 100, which this site labels Profoundly Gifted. Most tests cannot measure this high precisely. It reflects one test on one day, and it does not measure knowledge or character.
How rare is an IQ of 193?
Roughly 1 in 3.5 billion people reach 193 or higher. Across the US that would be fewer than one person, and across the world about 2. Exactly 193 is about 1 in 8.3 billion. Real tests have their own norms, so treat these as estimates.
What is the mental age for an IQ of 193?
Mental age is an old idea used for children, not adults. Under the ratio method, IQ equalled mental age divided by real age, times 100, so an 8-year-old with a ratio IQ of 193 reasoned like a typical 15.4-year-old. Modern tests rank adults against their own age group.