The EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) attempts to rank countries by the equity of English language skills amongst those adults who took the EF test.English: Who speaks English?
. The Economist. Retrieved on 2011-05-29. It is the product of

EF Education First EF Education First (abbreviated as EF) is an international education company that specialises in language training, educational travels, academic degree programmes, and cultural exchanges. The company was founded in 1965 by Bertil Hult in the S ...

, an international education company, and draws its conclusions from data collected via English tests available for free over the internet.Study Offers Snapshot of Global English-Language-Learner Trends
. Education Week. Retrieved on 2017-01-17.The EF SET powers the EF EPI
. EF SET. Retrieved on 2017-10-05. The index is an online survey first published in 2011The EF EPI
. ef.com. Retrieved on 2017-10-05. based on test data from 1.7 million test takers.
. New York Times. Retrieved on 2017-01-17. The most recent edition was released in November 2023.

Methodology

The EF EPI 2024 edition was calculated using test data from 2.1 million test takers in 2023. The test takers were self-selected. 116 countries and territories appear in this edition of the index. In order to be included, a country was required to have at least 400 test takers.EF English Proficiency Index – Comparing English skills between countries – EF EPI
. Ef.com. Retrieved on 2018-11-09.

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 2023 report includes 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

Exports An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

per capita,

gross national income The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total amount of factor incomes earned by the residents of a country. It is equal to gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes received from ...

per capita and innovation all correlate positively with English proficiency.Minh Tran: Countries with High English Proficiency Are More Innovative
. Harvard Business Review. "Minh Tran is Director of Research and Partnerships for EF Education First and a member of the team that launched the EF Standard English Test." Retrieved on 2017-01-17. * English proficiency levels are evolving at different rates in different countries, including a few countries with declining English skills.
. Voice of America. Retrieved on 2017-1-17. * Europe has the highest proficiency in English, while the Middle East averages the lowest.Which countries are best at English as a second language?
. World Economic Forum. Retrieved on 2017-1-17.

2024 country rankings

Below are the latest country scores, proficiency bands, and rankings as published in 2024.

2023 city rankings

Similar reports

The

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

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.

Criticisms

The EF English Proficiency Index has been the subject of criticism in literature. From the point of view of methodology, it suffers from self-selection bias. Instead of testing the level of English proficiency in the population, it tests the level of English of those who self-select.
. Michele Gazzola & Daniele Mazzacani, "Il valore economico del plurilinguismo". Retrieved on 2023-01-17. Moreover, the countries at the top of the rankings are often those whose official languages are gradually subject to 'domain loss' in favour of English, because they are being used less and less in scientific research, academic teaching and multinational corporations.
. "English takes over at Dutch universities, just 40% of courses still in Dutch", DutchNews.nl. Retrieved on 2016-08-26. The selection bias is noted but not mitigated in EF's analysis.

References

External links

* {{Population country lists International rankings English language English-language education EF Education First