EF’s survey of 1.3 million adults highlights global trends in English proficiency
Bangkok, Thailand, November 7, 2018: EF Education First has released its annual global ranking of English proficiency today, drawing on data from 1.3 million non-native English speakers in 88 countries and regions. With a low English proficiency, Thailand is ranked 64 globally - a drop from last year’s 53rd place - and 16 out of 21 in Asia.
For the fourth time in eight years, Sweden tops the EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI), bumping last year’s top-scorer, the Netherlands, to second place.
“Thailand dropped 11 slots in one year in our global ranking of English proficiency,” said Dr. Minh N. Tran, EF’s Senior Director of Research. “Our EF EPI research shows that countries and individuals that invest in English education and that recognize the importance of the language as a lever for competitiveness improve their proficiency year after year. Published by EF, this ranking has become the de facto reference point for governments, companies, and educators when they discuss English skills,” she added.
Key findings of this year’s EF EPI include:
- Europe remains the global leader in English proficiency. Eight of the top 10 spots in the ranking are held by European countries.
- For the first time ever, an Asian nation enters the top three slots, with Singapore ranking third. However, Asia continues to possess a large regional divide between the highest (3rd rank for Singapore) and lowest proficiency countries (86th rank for Uzbekistan).
Regional Rank
|
Global Rank
|
Country in Asia
|
EF EPI Proficiency Band
|
1
|
3
|
Singapore
|
Very High
|
2
|
14
|
Philippines
|
High
|
3
|
22
|
Malaysia
|
High
|
4
|
28
|
India
|
Moderate
|
5
|
30
|
Hong Kong SAR
|
Moderate
|
6
|
31
|
South Korea
|
Moderate
|
7
|
41
|
Vietnam
|
Moderate
|
8
|
44
|
Macau SAR
|
Moderate
|
9
|
47
|
China
|
Low
|
10
|
48
|
Taiwan
|
Low
|
11
|
49
|
Japan
|
Low
|
12
|
50
|
Pakistan
|
Low
|
13
|
51
|
Indonesia
|
Low
|
14
|
58
|
Sri Lanka
|
Low
|
15
|
63
|
Bangladesh
|
Low
|
16
|
64
|
Thailand
|
Low
|
17
|
80
|
Kazakhstan
|
Very Low
|
18
|
82
|
Myanmar
|
Very Low
|
19
|
84
|
Afghanistan
|
Very Low
|
20
|
85
|
Cambodia
|
Very Low
|
21
|
86
|
Uzbekistan
|
Very Low
|
- Africa shows stronger gains in English proficiency than any other region, with Algeria, Egypt, and South Africa improving by two or more points.
- Latin America is the only region to show a slight overall decline in English proficiency. Scores in the region remain more uniform than anywhere else, with only a small gap between the lowest and highest proficiency countries.
- Women continue to outpace men in English skills worldwide, and this gender gap has been widening since 2016.
- New correlations indicate that societies with higher English proficiency are more egalitarian. Among other metrics, these countries enroll more girls in preschool and report a greater proportion of women with bank accounts.
The EF EPI is based on test scores from the EF Standard English Test (EF SET), the world’s first free standardized English test. Thousands of schools, companies, and governments worldwide use the EF SET for large-scale testing.
The EF EPI 2018 report and regional fact sheets are available for download at www.ef.com/epi. The EF EPI 2018 ranking is below.
About EF Education First
EF Education First is a global education company focusing on language, academic, cultural exchange, and educational travel programs. With a mission to open the world through education, EF was founded in 1965 and has 580 schools and offices in more than 50 countries.
EF English Proficiency Index 2018 Ranking of Countries and Regions:
Rank
|
Country or Region
|
EF EPI Proficiency Band
|
1
|
Sweden
|
Very High
|
2
|
Netherlands
|
Very High
|
3
|
Singapore
|
Very High
|
4
|
Norway
|
Very High
|
5
|
Denmark
|
Very High
|
6
|
South Africa
|
Very High
|
7
|
Luxembourg
|
Very High
|
8
|
Finland
|
Very High
|
9
|
Slovenia
|
Very High
|
10
|
Germany
|
Very High
|
11
|
Belgium
|
Very High
|
12
|
Austria
|
Very High
|
13
|
Poland
|
High
|
14
|
Philippines
|
High
|
15
|
Switzerland
|
High
|
16
|
Romania
|
High
|
17
|
Croatia
|
High
|
18
|
Serbia
|
High
|
19
|
Portugal
|
High
|
20
|
Czech Republic
|
High
|
21
|
Hungary
|
High
|
22
|
Malaysia
|
High
|
23
|
Greece
|
High
|
24
|
Slovakia
|
High
|
25
|
Bulgaria
|
High
|
26
|
Lithuania
|
High
|
27
|
Argentina
|
High
|
28
|
India
|
Moderate
|
29
|
Nigeria
|
Moderate
|
30
|
Hong Kong SAR
|
Moderate
|
31
|
South Korea
|
Moderate
|
32
|
Spain
|
Moderate
|
33
|
Lebanon
|
Moderate
|
34
|
Italy
|
Moderate
|
35
|
France
|
Moderate
|
36
|
Costa Rica
|
Moderate
|
37
|
Dominican Republic
|
Moderate
|
38
|
Belarus
|
Moderate
|
39
|
Senegal
|
Moderate
|
40
|
Uruguay
|
Moderate
|
41
|
Vietnam
|
Moderate
|
42
|
Russia
|
Moderate
|
43
|
Ukraine
|
Moderate
|
44
|
Macau SAR
|
Moderate
|
45
|
Georgia
|
Low
|
46
|
Chile
|
Low
|
47
|
China
|
Low
|
48
|
Taiwan
|
Low
|
49
|
Japan
|
Low
|
50
|
Pakistan
|
Low
|
51
|
Indonesia
|
Low
|
52
|
Albania
|
Low
|
53
|
Brazil
|
Low
|
54
|
Ethiopia
|
Low
|
55
|
Guatemala
|
Low
|
56
|
Panama
|
Low
|
57
|
Mexico
|
Low
|
58
|
Sri Lanka
|
Low
|
59
|
Peru
|
Low
|
60
|
Colombia
|
Low
|
61
|
Bolivia
|
Low
|
62
|
Egypt
|
Low
|
63
|
Bangladesh
|
Low
|
64
|
Thailand
|
Low
|
65
|
Ecuador
|
Low
|
66
|
Iran
|
Very Low
|
67
|
Morocco
|
Very Low
|
68
|
Tunisia
|
Very Low
|
69
|
Honduras
|
Very Low
|
70
|
El Salvador
|
Very Low
|
71
|
United Arab Emirates
|
Very Low
|
72
|
Nicaragua
|
Very Low
|
73
|
Turkey
|
Very Low
|
74
|
Jordan
|
Very Low
|
75
|
Venezuela
|
Very Low
|
76
|
Syria
|
Very Low
|
77
|
Azerbaijan
|
Very Low
|
78
|
Kuwait
|
Very Low
|
79
|
Oman
|
Very Low
|
80
|
Kazakhstan
|
Very Low
|
81
|
Algeria
|
Very Low
|
82
|
Myanmar
|
Very Low
|
83
|
Saudi Arabia
|
Very Low
|
84
|
Afghanistan
|
Very Low
|
85
|
Cambodia
|
Very Low
|
86
|
Uzbekistan
|
Very Low
|
87
|
Iraq
|
Very Low
|
88
|
Libya
|
Very Low
|
