Sunday, February 14, 2010

Intelligence is higher in Northern Italy than it is in the south

Regional IQs are highly correlated with average incomes, stature, infant mortality, literacy and education. The lower IQ in southern Italy may be attributable to genetic admixture with populations from the Near East and North Africa. In fact, IQ differences explain 88% of the variance in per capita incomes across Italian regions. IQs in Northern Italy are identical to those in central and northern Europe and they decline with latitude. Researchers have confirmed the genetic impact of immigration from the Near East and North Africa into southern Italy. In fact, Sardinians are genetically more closely related to the Greeks, Lebanese and North African Berbers than to central and northern Europeans. At the same time, Arabs ruled Sicily from 965 to 1091 - leaving a large genetic footprint - and also sacked Rome in 846.

Related:

R1b in Italy

Clinal patterns of human Y chromosomal diversity in continental Italy and Greece are dominated by drift and founder effects

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