This claim was made popular by being said in the movie The Social Network. It exactly says:

> Did you know there are more people with genius IQs living in China than there are people of any kind living in the United States?

It sounds very impressive, doesn't it? People often quote it as a fact that highlights the vast population of China but it's not entirely correct.

More than 32 million people in the United States have an IQ score above 130, according to a study in Psychological Science in the Public Interest back in 2005 (PDF). Estimates of the number of Chinese who score in the same range vary widely, with some suggesting
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> — Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network

This statement is highly incorrect in its implications, and to set the record straight, let's break it down.

First, there are several definitions and measures of intelligence, so it is not a simple matter to determine who truly has a "genius IQ." However, for the purpose of this discussion, let us use an IQ score of 130 as a benchmark for genius. According to the