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Resources

Looking for additional background information, fact and figures, statistics and pictures? This will be the place to find it.  We are collecting these for your convenience and they will be uploaded shortly; just click on the file you need and download it. Please do not forget to quote the source: www.mensa.org.

  • Mensa (the word means "table” in Latin) is an inspiring round-table society, where race, colour, creed, national origin, age, politics, educational or social background are irrelevant.
  • Mensa has over 140,000 members in various national organizations in over 50 countries, and on every continent except Antarctica.
  • Mensa has three stated purposes: (1) to identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity; (2) to encourage research in the nature, characteristics and uses of intelligence; (3) and to promote stimulating intellectual and social opportunities for its members.
  • Membership in Mensa is open to persons who have attained a score within the top two percent of the general population on an approved intelligence test that has been properly administered and supervised.

A few 'fun' facts from the past.  How far we have moved from these early ideas!

  • Originally Mensa was meant to be a secret and very elite club think-tank to give advice to governments and thereby influence world events.
  • It was envisaged as an aristocratic club of intellectuals with a fairly autocratic leadership (unlike today when the organization is highly democratic).
  • The original idea was to limit the number of members at 600.