The EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) attempts to rank countries and territories 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, 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.Low English Levels Can Hurt Countries' Progress . New York Times. Retrieved on 2017-01-17. The most recent edition was released in November 2025.Women and managers are better at speaking English, study on proficiency finds . Business Insider. Retrieved on 2018-11-09

Methodology The EF EPI 2025 edition was calculated using test data from 2.2 million test takers in 2024. The test takers were self-selected. 123 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 2025 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 per capita, gross national income 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.How Well Does Your Country Speak English? . 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.

2025 country rankings Below are the latest country scores, proficiency bands, and rankings as published in 2025. Singapore, which had long ranked highly and was frequently the top performer in Asia in earlier editions, was excluded from the index since 2025 after being re-classified as a native English-speaking country.

Country or region Score Proficiency band 624 Very high proficiency 617 Very high proficiency 616 Very high proficiency 615 Very high proficiency 613 Very high proficiency 612 Very high proficiency 611 Very high proficiency 609 Very high proficiency 608 Very high proficiency 606 Very high proficiency 605 Very high proficiency 603 Very high proficiency 602 Very high proficiency 602 Very high proficiency 600 Very high proficiency 599 High proficiency 595 High proficiency 594 High proficiency 593 High proficiency 592 High proficiency 591 High proficiency 590 High proficiency 582 High proficiency 581 High proficiency 579 High proficiency 575 High proficiency 573 High proficiency 569 High proficiency 569 High proficiency 564 High proficiency 561 High proficiency 553 High proficiency 543 Moderate proficiency 542 Moderate proficiency 541 Moderate proficiency 540 Moderate proficiency 540 Moderate proficiency 539 Moderate proficiency 538 Moderate proficiency 537 Moderate proficiency 533 Moderate proficiency 532 Moderate proficiency 531 Moderate proficiency 531 Moderate proficiency 526 Moderate proficiency 524 Moderate proficiency 523 Moderate proficiency 522 Moderate proficiency 521 Moderate proficiency 521 Moderate proficiency 520 Moderate proficiency 519 Moderate proficiency 518 Moderate proficiency 517 Moderate proficiency 516 Moderate proficiency 515 Moderate proficiency 515 Moderate proficiency 514 Moderate proficiency 513 Moderate proficiency 512 Moderate proficiency 510 Moderate proficiency 506 Moderate proficiency 503 Moderate proficiency 500 Moderate proficiency 499 Low proficiency 498 Low proficiency 493 Low proficiency 492 Low proficiency 492 Low proficiency 491 Low proficiency 488 Low proficiency 487 Low proficiency 486 Low proficiency 484 Low proficiency 482 Low proficiency 480 Low proficiency 479 Low proficiency 477 Low proficiency 473 Low proficiency 471 Low proficiency 469 Low proficiency 468 Low proficiency 466 Low proficiency 465 Low proficiency 465 Low proficiency 464 Low proficiency 463 Low proficiency 461 Low proficiency 459 Low proficiency 457 Low proficiency 456 Low proficiency 456 Low proficiency 455 Low proficiency 454 Low proficiency 447 Very low proficiency 446 Very low proficiency 446 Very low proficiency 445 Very low proficiency 444 Very low proficiency 444 Very low proficiency 443 Very low proficiency 442 Very low proficiency 440 Very low proficiency 439 Very low proficiency 426 Very low proficiency 421 Very low proficiency 417 Very low proficiency 417 Very low proficiency 413 Very low proficiency 409 Very low proficiency 408 Very low proficiency 407 Very low proficiency 406 Very low proficiency 406 Very low proficiency 404 Very low proficiency 402 Very low proficiency 402 Very low proficiency 400 Very low proficiency 399 Very low proficiency 397 Very low proficiency 395 Very low proficiency 393 Very low proficiency 390 Very low proficiency

2025 capital city rankings City 2025 score 2025 proficiency band Copenhagen 644 Very high proficiency Vienna 634 Very high proficiency Stockholm 633 Very high proficiency Amsterdam 630 Very high proficiency Helsinki 628 Very high proficiency Berlin 625 Very high proficiency Athens 616 Very high proficiency Sofia 616 Very high proficiency Zagreb 616 Very high proficiency Oslo 615 Very high proficiency Budapest 613 Very high proficiency Lisbon 612 Very high proficiency Riga 611 Very high proficiency Harare 610 Very high proficiency Bucharest 608 Very high proficiency Cape Town 603 Very high proficiency Manila 603 Very high proficiency Bern 601 Very high proficiency Bratislava 601 Very high proficiency Skopje 600 Very high proficiency Nairobi 595 High proficiency Belgrade 594 High proficiency Buenos Aires 594 High proficiency Lusaka 593 High proficiency Warsaw 591 High proficiency Brussels 588 High proficiency Kuala Lumpur 588 High proficiency Sarajevo 587 High proficiency Abuja 583 High proficiency Paris 583 High proficiency Tallinn 582 High proficiency Santiago 578 High proficiency Prague 576 High proficiency Chișinău 572 High proficiency Vilnius 569 High proficiency Tegucigalpa 565 High proficiency Asunción 563 High proficiency Madrid 560 High proficiency Tirana 557 High proficiency Lima 555 High proficiency Accra 552 High proficiency Nicosia 552 High proficiency Seoul 550 High proficiency Tbilisi 550 High proficiency Minsk 549 Moderate proficiency San José 546 Moderate proficiency Brasília 544 Moderate proficiency Montevideo 544 Moderate proficiency Colombo 543 Moderate proficiency Kyiv 543 Moderate proficiency La Paz 543 Moderate proficiency Rome 538 Moderate proficiency San Salvador 538 Moderate proficiency Moscow 537 Moderate proficiency Dhaka 532 Moderate proficiency Hanoi 532 Moderate proficiency Kathmandu 531 Moderate proficiency Yerevan 530 Moderate proficiency Caracas 529 Moderate proficiency Islamabad 529 Moderate proficiency Havana 529 Moderate proficiency Tunis 528 Moderate proficiency Santo Domingo 526 Moderate proficiency Kampala 525 Moderate proficiency Beirut 523 Moderate proficiency Jakarta 523 Moderate proficiency Managua 523 Moderate proficiency Addis Ababa 522 Moderate proficiency Guatemala City 519 Moderate proficiency Algiers 518 Moderate proficiency Quito 517 Moderate proficiency Rabat 517 Moderate proficiency Beijing 514 Moderate proficiency Bogotá 513 Moderate proficiency Ankara 508 Moderate proficiency Dar es Salaam 508 Moderate proficiency Jerusalem 498 Low proficiency Panama City 492 Low proficiency Vientiane 486 Low proficiency Bishkek 485 Low proficiency Tehran 485 Low proficiency Abu Dhabi 484 Low proficiency Maputo 482 Low proficiency Tokyo 480 Low proficiency Doha 479 Low proficiency Cairo 478 Low proficiency Thimphu 477 Low proficiency Lilongwe 474 Low proficiency Phnom Penh 472 Low proficiency Damascus 470 Low proficiency Tashkent 469 Low proficiency Bangkok 467 Low proficiency Baku 464 Low proficiency Ashgabat 463 Low proficiency Antananarivo 461 Low proficiency Astana 460 Low proficiency Dakar 460 Low proficiency Kabul 457 Low proficiency Ulaanbaatar 454 Low proficiency Yaoundé 450 Low proficiency Amman 447 Very low proficiency Port-au-Prince 444 Very low proficiency Kuwait City 441 Very low proficiency Muscat 441 Very low proficiency Dushanbe 440 Very low proficiency Riyadh 440 Very low proficiency Naypyidaw 438 Very low proficiency Khartoum 432 Very low proficiency Mexico City 428 Very low proficiency Kigali 426 Very low proficiency Bamako 425 Very low proficiency Luanda 421 Very low proficiency Tripoli 411 Very low proficiency Sana'a 410 Very low proficiency Baghdad 407 Very low proficiency New Delhi 407 Very low proficiency Kinshasa 404 Very low proficiency Lomé 402 Very low proficiency Porto-Novo 400 Very low proficiency Abidjan 399 Very low proficiency Mogadishu 391 Very 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.SurveyLang project . European Commission. Retrieved on 2012-09-20.

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.

See also English as a second or foreign language Test of English as a Foreign Language

References

External links