Top Countries by Their Second-Language English Proficiency
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This graphic ranks the top 25 countries according to their English proficiency. Data is sourced from the EF English Proficiency Index, which aggregated the test results of 2.2 million adults accross 113 countries.
Countries where English is the primary natively spoken language—the UK, U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—are not included in this ranking. Ranks are determined by each country’s average score in the EF Standard English Test (EF SET).
English is Europe’s New Lingua Franca
English proficiency is measured in bands with the following scores:
- Very high proficiency: 600+
- High proficiency: 550-599
- Moderate proficiency: 500-549
- Low proficiency: 450-499
- Very low proficiency: <450
From the data, the Netherlands has the highest English proficiency with an average score of 647.
| Rank | Country | Classification | Average Test Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | Very high proficiency | 647 |
| 2 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | Very high proficiency | 631 |
| 3 | 🇦🇹 Austria | Very high proficiency | 616 |
| 4 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | Very high proficiency | 615 |
| 5 | 🇳🇴 Norway | Very high proficiency | 614 |
| 6 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | Very high proficiency | 609 |
| 7 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | Very high proficiency | 608 |
| 8 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | Very high proficiency | 607 |
| 9 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | Very high proficiency | 605 |
| 10 | 🇩🇪 Germany | Very high proficiency | 604 |
| 11 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | Very high proficiency | 603 |
| 12 | 🇬🇷 Greece | Very high proficiency | 602 |
| 13 | 🇵🇱 Poland | High proficiency | 598 |
| 14 | 🇫🇮 Finland | High proficiency | 597 |
| 15 | 🇷🇴 Romania | High proficiency | 596 |
| 16 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | High proficiency | 589 |
| 17 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | High proficiency | 588 |
| 18 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | High proficiency | 587 |
| 19 | 🇰🇪 Kenya | High proficiency | 584 |
| 20 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | High proficiency | 568 |
| 21 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | High proficiency | 576 |
| 22 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | High proficiency | 575 |
| 23 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | High proficiency | 570 |
| 24 | 🇷🇸 Serbia | High proficiency | 569 |
| 25 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | High proficiency | 568 |
Eleven other countries join the Netherlands in the “very high proficiency” category, all with average test scores above 600. Singapore and South Africa are the only non-European countries in the top 10.
Regionally, Europe has improved its English the most (+50 points) since 2011. Latin America (+42) and the Middle East (+36) rank and second and third respectively.
On a global scale, English proficiency has been falling among those aged 18-20 years. This cohort scored on average 537 points (moderate proficiency) in 2015. By 2023, the average score fell for the same group fell to 448 points, or very low proficiency.
No significant decline has been measured across older age groups.
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