Mapped: English Proficiency Around the World

Kayla Zhu
2025-07-19 09:08:00
www.visualcapitalist.com

English Language Skills Around the World

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English is widely recognized as the de facto global language, serving as the primary language between those who don’t share a common native tongue.

It’s also a dominant language in many countries, where it functions as either a primary or widely spoken secondary language.

This map visualizes English proficiency scores by country (whose native language is not English) based on the Education First Standard English Test (SET), which assesses reading and listening comprehension.

Scores are based on a three-year rolling average of results from over 2.1 million adults from 116 countries where English is not the dominant language, collected through the Education First SET in 2023.

Which Country Has the Highest English Profiency?

Below, we show English proficiency scores by country based on the Education First Standard English Test.

Proficiency Band	Rank	Country	English Proficiency Index
Very High Proficiency	1	Netherlands	636
Very High Proficiency	2	Norway	610
Very High Proficiency	3	Singapore	609
Very High Proficiency	4	Sweden	608
Very High Proficiency	5	Croatia	607
Very High Proficiency	6	Portugal	605
Very High Proficiency	7	Denmark	603
Very High Proficiency	8	Greece	602
Very High Proficiency	9	Austria	600
Very High Proficiency	10	Germany	598
High Proficiency	11	South Africa	594
High Proficiency	12	Romania	593
High Proficiency	13	Belgium	592
High Proficiency	14	Finland	590
High Proficiency	15	Poland	588
High Proficiency	16	Bulgaria	586
High Proficiency	17	Hungary	585
High Proficiency	18	Slovakia	584
High Proficiency	19	Kenya	581
High Proficiency	20	Estonia	578
High Proficiency	21	Luxembourg	576
High Proficiency	22	Philippines	570
High Proficiency	23	Lithuania	569
High Proficiency	24	Serbia	568
High Proficiency	25	Czechia	567
High Proficiency	26	Malaysia	566
High Proficiency	27	Suriname	563
High Proficiency	28	Argentina	562
High Proficiency	29	Cyprus	558
High Proficiency	30	Nigeria	557
Moderate Proficiency	31	Switzerland	550
Moderate Proficiency	32	Hong Kong (China)	549
Moderate Proficiency	33	Honduras	545
Moderate Proficiency	34	Georgia	543
Moderate Proficiency	35	Belarus	539
Moderate Proficiency	36	Spain	538
Moderate Proficiency	36	Uruguay	538
Moderate Proficiency	38	Armenia	537
Moderate Proficiency	39	Moldova	536
Moderate Proficiency	40	Ukraine	535
Moderate Proficiency	41	Costa Rica	534
Moderate Proficiency	41	Ghana	534
Moderate Proficiency	43	Albania	533
Moderate Proficiency	44	Russia	532
Moderate Proficiency	45	Paraguay	531
Moderate Proficiency	46	Italy	528
Moderate Proficiency	47	Bolivia	525
Moderate Proficiency	47	Chile	525
Moderate Proficiency	49	France	524
Moderate Proficiency	50	South Korea	523
Moderate Proficiency	51	Israel	522
Moderate Proficiency	52	Cuba	520
Moderate Proficiency	53	Peru	519
Moderate Proficiency	54	Uganda	518
Moderate Proficiency	55	El Salvador	513
Moderate Proficiency	56	Nepal	512
Moderate Proficiency	57	Venezuela	510
Moderate Proficiency	58	Guatemala	507
Moderate Proficiency	59	Nicaragua	505
Moderate Proficiency	60	Dominican Republic	503
Moderate Proficiency	61	Bangladesh	500
Low Proficiency	62	Iran	499
Low Proficiency	63	Ethiopia	498
Low Proficiency	63	Vietnam	498
Low Proficiency	65	Turkey	497
Low Proficiency	66	Tunisia	496
Low Proficiency	67	Pakistan	493
Low Proficiency	68	Lebanon	492
Low Proficiency	69	India	490
Low Proficiency	70	United Arab Emirates	489
Low Proficiency	71	Panama	488
Low Proficiency	72	Tanzania	487
Low Proficiency	73	Sri Lanka	486
Low Proficiency	74	Colombia	485
Low Proficiency	75	Qatar	480
Low Proficiency	76	Morocco	479
Low Proficiency	77	Syria	473
Low Proficiency	78	Algeria	471
Low Proficiency	79	Mozambique	469
Low Proficiency	80	Indonesia	468
Low Proficiency	81	Brazil	466
Low Proficiency	82	Ecuador	465
Low Proficiency	82	Egypt	465
Low Proficiency	84	Mongolia	464
Low Proficiency	85	Madagascar	463
Low Proficiency	86	Azerbaijan	462
Low Proficiency	87	Mexico	459
Low Proficiency	88	Kyrgyzstan	457
Low Proficiency	89	Cape Verde	456
Low Proficiency	89	Kuwait	456
Low Proficiency	91	China	455
Low Proficiency	92	Japan	454
Low Proficiency	93	Myanmar	449
Low Proficiency	94	Palestine	448
Low Proficiency	95	Afghanistan	447
Low Proficiency	95	Malawi	447
Low Proficiency	97	Cameroon	445
Very Low Proficiency	98	Uzbekistan	439
Very Low Proficiency	99	Haiti	432
Very Low Proficiency	99	Sudan	432
Very Low Proficiency	101	Jordan	431
Very Low Proficiency	102	Senegal	429
Very Low Proficiency	103	Kazakhstan	427
Very Low Proficiency	104	Oman	421
Very Low Proficiency	105	Saudi Arabia	417
Very Low Proficiency	106	Thailand	415
Very Low Proficiency	107	Iraq	414
Very Low Proficiency	108	Benin	413
Very Low Proficiency	109	Tajikistan	412
Very Low Proficiency	110	Angola	409
Very Low Proficiency	111	Cambodia	408
Very Low Proficiency	112	Libya	405
Very Low Proficiency	113	Rwanda	401
Very Low Proficiency	114	Côte d’Ivoire	399
Very Low Proficiency	114	Somalia	399
Very Low Proficiency	116	Yemen	394

The Netherlands had the highest English proficiency score at 636, followed by Norway at 610, both countries where English is widely spoken as a second language and integrated into daily life, education, and media.

Singapore came in third overall—the highest-ranking Asian country on the list, thanks to its English-medium education system, nationwide language policies like the “Speak Good English” campaign, and its status as one of the top financial centers in the world.

Overall, European countries made up all nine countries with English proficiency scores in the “Very High” category.

African and Middle Eastern countries made up the bottom five countries, with Yemen scoring the lowest.

Overall, the worldwide level of English proficiency has declined for the fourth year running, with 60% of countries in the index scoring lower this year than last. The Education First SET is also generally biased toward respondents who are interested in pursuing language study and younger adults.

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