EF English Proficiency Index


The EF English Proficiency Index attempts to rank countries by the average level of English language skills amongst those adults who took the EF test. It is the product of EF Education First, an international education company, and draws its conclusions from data collected via English tests available for free over the internet. The index is an online survey first published in 2011 based on test data from 1.7 million test takers. The most recent, ninth edition was released in October 2019.

Methodology

The EF EPI eighth edition was calculated using test data from 1.3 million test takers in 2017. The test takers were self-selected and no demographic information was collected on them. The tests are used by the company for marketing and placement purposes. 85 countries and 3 territories appear in the eighth edition of the index. In order to be included, a country was required to have at least 400 test takers.

Report

The report is composed of a country ranking table, several pages of analysis with graphs correlating other economic and social factors with English proficiency, and analysis of each region or continent. The 2018 report and accompanying country fact sheets include English proficiency levels by gender, age group, and region, within countries, and some English proficiency scores by city. The website displays portions of the report and has analysis of English skills in many countries and territories.

Primary conclusions

  1. Exports per capita, Gross National Income per capita and innovation all correlate positively with English proficiency.
  2. English proficiency levels are evolving at different rates in different countries around the world, including a few countries with declining English skills.
  3. Europe as a whole speaks the best English, while the Middle East is the worst.
  4. Women speak English better than men.

    2019 rankings

Below are the latest country scores, proficiency bands, and rankings as published in 2019.
2019 RankCountry2019 Score2019 Proficiency Band
170.27Very High Proficiency
268.74Very High Proficiency
367.93Very High Proficiency
467.87Very High Proficiency
566.82Very High Proficiency
665.38Very High Proficiency
765.34Very High Proficiency
864.11Very High Proficiency
964.03Very High Proficiency
1063.77Very High Proficiency
1163.76Very High Proficiency
1263.14Very High Proficiency
1363.09Very High Proficiency
1463.07Very High Proficiency
1561.86High Proficiency
1661.36High Proficiency
1761.30High Proficiency
1860.51High Proficiency
1960.23High Proficiency
2060.14High Proficiency
2160.11High Proficiency
2259.87High Proficiency
2359.30High Proficiency
2458.97High Proficiency
2558.82High Proficiency
2658.55High Proficiency
2758.38High Proficiency
2858.29High Proficiency
2958.26High Proficiency
3057.38Moderate Proficiency
3157.25Moderate Proficiency
3256.85Moderate Proficiency
3355.63Moderate Proficiency
3455.49Moderate Proficiency
3555.46Moderate Proficiency
3655.31Moderate Proficiency
3755.04Moderate Proficiency
3854.18Moderate Proficiency
3954.08Moderate Proficiency
4053.44Moderate Proficiency
4153.34Moderate Proficiency
4252.89Moderate Proficiency
4352.70Moderate Proficiency
4452.58Moderate Proficiency
4552.51Moderate Proficiency
4652.50Moderate Proficiency
4752.39Low Proficiency
4852.14Low Proficiency
4952.13Low Proficiency
5051.99Low Proficiency
5151.64Low Proficiency
5251.57Low Proficiency
5351.51Low Proficiency
5451.41Low Proficiency
5550.92Low Proficiency
5650.62Low Proficiency
5750.53Low Proficiency
5850.22Low Proficiency
5950.10Low Proficiency
6050.09Low Proficiency
6150.06Low Proficiency
6249.89Low Proficiency
6349.64Low Proficiency
6449.60Low Proficiency
6549.04Low Proficiency
6649.00Low Proficiency
6748.99Low Proficiency
6848.75Low Proficiency
6948.69Low Proficiency
7048.19Very Low Proficiency
7148.11Very Low Proficiency
7248.02Very Low Proficiency
7347.81Very Low Proficiency
7447.61Very Low Proficiency
7547.21Very Low Proficiency
7647.19Very Low Proficiency
7747.11Very Low Proficiency
7847.10Very Low Proficiency
7946.81Very Low Proficiency
8046.79Very Low Proficiency
8146.57Very Low Proficiency
8246.36Very Low Proficiency
8346.28Very Low Proficiency
8446.22Very Low Proficiency
8546.13Very Low Proficiency
8646.00Very Low Proficiency
8745.94Very Low Proficiency
8845.56Very Low Proficiency
8945.36Very Low Proficiency
9045.28Very Low Proficiency
9144.54Very Low Proficiency
9244.39Very Low Proficiency
9343.83Very Low Proficiency
9443.78Very Low Proficiency
9543.18Very Low Proficiency
9642.41Very Low Proficiency
9742.39Very Low Proficiency
9841.60Very Low Proficiency
9941.51Very Low Proficiency
10040.87Very Low Proficiency

Similar reports

The European Commission performed a language survey, SurveyLang, which tested a representative sample of 15-year-old European students on their foreign language skills. The report and data sets were released for 13 European countries in June 2012.