How good is an IQ of 108?
Yes. An IQ of 108 is in the average range, at or just above the exact middle of the population. You score at least as high as about half of people your age, a solid result for school, work and everyday life.
Where 108 sits on the bell curve
An IQ of 108 is 8 points above the average of 100, or 0.53 standard deviations. It is higher than about 70% of people of the same age, shown by the shaded area below. This is the peak of the bell curve, where more people score than anywhere else.
On other IQ scales, the same result would be about 109 on a test with a standard deviation of 16, such as older editions of the Stanford-Binet, and 113 on the Cattell scale, which uses 24. Why scales differ.
IQ 108 meaning: a closer look
An IQ of 108 is higher than about 70% of people, which puts it in the upper part of the average band. Only around three in ten people score 108 or higher. A professional report would typically describe it with a range of about 103 to 113, spanning average and high average. If you scored 108 online, you can reasonably read it as a solid, slightly above-average result, with the reminder that online tests are rougher estimates than supervised ones.
Childhood IQ and lifespan: what 1.1 million people revealed
A 2011 meta-analysis gathered 16 studies that measured intelligence in childhood or youth and then followed people for 17 to 69 years. Together they covered 1,107,022 participants and 22,453 deaths. A 1 standard deviation advantage in test scores, 15 IQ points, was linked to a 24% lower risk of death during follow-up. Adjusting for childhood socioeconomic status changed this very little. Controlling for adult socioeconomic status or for education, in the studies that measured them, weakened the link by 34% and 54%.
An IQ of 108 is about half a standard deviation above average, but this finding cannot be turned into a personal life expectancy. It is an average across very large groups, it comes from observational studies, and a good part of it travels with education and adult circumstances. The authors say the reasons for the link still need to be worked out. Whatever the explanation, the habits that matter most for health, such as not smoking, staying active and getting symptoms checked early, are open to everyone, whatever their score.
Source: Calvin, C. M., Deary, I. J., Fenton, C., Roberts, B. A., Der, G., Leckenby, N. and Batty, G. D. (2011), "Intelligence in youth and all-cause-mortality: systematic review with meta-analysis", International Journal of Epidemiology, 40(3), 626 to 644.
What 108 looks like among real people
If you lined up 100 people of your age, about 70 would score lower than 108 and about 30 would score the same or higher. The orange dot marks your place in the line.
A score here puts you in the middle of almost any group: about as many people score above you as below.
How precise is a score of 108?
No IQ test measures to the exact point. On a professional test, a result of 108 usually comes with a likely range of about five points either way: 103 to 113. That range runs from the 58th to the 81st percentile, and it crosses from average into high average.
Because this is the most crowded part of the scale, a retest could easily move you a few places either side of the middle without anything having changed.
On the Assessivo test, 108 is the score for 21 correct answers out of 36. How our score is worked out.
So if you scored 108 once, a retest on another day could reasonably land anywhere from 103 to 113. Online tests are less precise still, so treat any online result as a rough estimate.
IQ 108 and mental age in children
Early IQ tests for children worked with a "mental age", the age whose typical performance a child matched. The IQ was that mental age divided by the child's real age, times 100. Turned around, the formula shows what a score of 108 would have meant for children of different ages: working ahead of their years.
| Real age | Mental age at IQ 108 |
|---|---|
| 5 | 5 years 5 months |
| 7 | 7 years 7 months |
| 9 | 9 years 9 months |
| 11 | 11 years 11 months |
| 13 | 14 years |
The same 108 stands for a gap of about 5 months at age 5 but 1 year at 13, because the formula scales with age. That is one reason it broke down for teenagers and adults, whose test performance stops rising every year. Today's tests compare you with people of the same age instead, so a mental age is only a way to picture a child's score, never a description of an adult.
What an IQ of 108 means for you
It sits near the top of the average band, which runs from 90 to 109.
- You reason at least as well as the typical person your age on new problems.
- Almost any course or career is open at this level; what you learn and practise matters much more.
- The upper part of this range is close to high average, and practice or a different test could tip it over 110.
How far 108 is from other levels
How 108 compares with nearby scores
Want a score that isn't listed, or the share of people between two scores? Try the IQ calculator.
| IQ | Percentile | Classification | Score this high or higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98 | 45th | Average | 55% |
| 103 | 58th | Average | 1 in 2 |
| 108 | 70th | Average | 1 in 3 |
| 113 | 81st | High average | 1 in 5 |
| 118 | 88th | High average | 1 in 9 |
Questions about an IQ of 108
What percentile is an IQ of 108?
An IQ of 108 is at about the 70th percentile, which means it is higher than about 70% of people of the same age.
Is 108 a high IQ?
No. 108 is in the average range. High IQ usually refers to scores of 120 or 130 and above.
Can an IQ of 108 get into Mensa?
Not on its own. Mensa accepts the top 2% on an approved, supervised test, which is usually 130 or above. 108 is 22 points below that.
How common is an IQ of 108 or higher?
About 30% of people score 108 or higher, roughly 1 in 3. In a stadium of 50,000 people, about 14,800 would score at this level or above.
Do people with a 108 IQ live longer?
Not in any way you could count on. Across 16 studies, each 15 points of childhood IQ was linked to a 24% lower risk of death during follow-up, but this is a population average, and much of it is tied to education and adult circumstances. For one person with a 108 IQ, everyday health habits matter far more.
What mental age is an IQ of 108?
Under the old ratio formula, a 9-year-old with an IQ of 108 would perform like a typical child of about 9 years 9 months, roughly 9 months ahead. The idea only works for children: an adult who scores 108 simply did better than most adults of the same age on the test.
Is 108 above average?
Slightly above the exact middle of 100, but still inside the average range of 90 to 109, so it is described as average, not above average.
What is the difference between an IQ of 100 and 108?
A small one. Both are in the average range, and with a professional test's margin of about five points either way, their likely ranges overlap.
Is an IQ of 108 good for a student?
Yes. It is right in the middle of the population, and school results depend at least as much on effort, teaching and interest as on IQ.
See how the middle of the scale is set in our guide to average IQ, or what a good score looks like in what is a good IQ score?. To see how averages differ between countries, read IQ by country. Every score range is in the IQ range chart.
A full IQ score of 108 combines several skills. Our guides explain each one: verbal reasoning, processing speed, fluid vs crystallized intelligence, abstract reasoning and spatial reasoning, or try the free pattern recognition test.
What would you score?
Take the free Assessivo IQ test: 36 questions, 25 minutes, and your estimated IQ score and percentile as soon as you finish.
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