Today we’re looking at the level of English around the world.
The results are in! Education first is a massive company that works in the English language teaching industry and they have completed their English proficiency index report for 2021. In this test they tested over 2 million people over 100 different countries. 21 in Africa, 20 in Latin America, 24 in Asia ,12 in the Middle East and 35 in Europe, which is the most. 53 percent of the test takers were female and 47 percent of the test takers were male.
Disclaimer
Before we go any further this test is only of people’s reading and listening skills. If a country or region could not produce a minimum of 400 test takers then they were not included in the report. I think it’s important to say at this point that only people who are interested in their own level of English took this test. We’re going to be visiting every continent and finding out which country has the best level of English. At the end I’m going to tell you which country has the best level of English in the world.
The level of English in Europe
Let’s start with Europe and let’s go through the top 10 countries in Europe which have the best level of English starting with
- Croatia
- Finland
- Sweden
- Portugal
- Belgium
- Norway
- Denmark
- Austria
- and number one is the Netherlands.
The three countries with the lowest level of English in Europe are Azerbaijan, Turkey and Armenia.
The country with the lowest level of English which is in traditional Europe is actually Russia. Now the country that has improved their English the most since the last time this report was made is Ukraine, so congratulations Ukraine! And the country that has dropped the most since the last reports the Czech Republic, what’s going on Czechs?
Where I live in Spain is actually up three points compared to last year’s report but Spain is still below average in Europe. The average level of English in Europe is about a b2 or c1, which according to the report is b2. So, if you are studying English at a a2 or b1 level then you would be considered to be below average.
The level of English in Asia
Moving on to Asia let’s find out who has the best level of English in Asia starting with the top ten and
- number ten is Pakistan
- number nine is Nepal
- number eight is Macau
- number seven is China
- number six is India
- number five is South Korea
- number four which is Hong Kong
- number three is Malaysia
- number two is the Philippines
- number one is Singapore
The three countries with the lowest level of English in Asia are Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Thailand. The three countries that have improved the most since the last report are the Philippines, Tajikistan, and Singapore.
The average level of English according to the test is a b2 or b1. This is because the average in Asia is 504 points so again, if your level of English is not a b1 or a b2 then you would be considered to be below average. Now don’t get down Asia! This test has only been testing in Asia for the last three years and it actually is the continent that has improved the most over the last three years.
The level of English in Latin America
Now let’s take a look at Latin America starting with the top 10 countries with the best level of English starting with
- number ten which is Honduras
- number nine is El Salvador
- number eight is Uruguay
- number seven is Chile
- number six is Paraguay
- number five is the Dominican Republic
- number four is Costa Rica
- number three is Cuba
- number two is Bolivia
- The best English-speaking country in Latin America is Argentina.
The three countries with the lowest level of English in Latin America are Haiti, Mexico and Ecuador. But stop! Ecuador, you’re actually the country that’s improved the most since the last report so you’re obviously doing a good job! The three other countries have also improved a lot since the last report are, El Salvador Peru and the Dominican Republic Although Argentina and Costa Rica are in the top five, those two countries have actually dropped their level of English since the last report.
One of the problems in Latin America with English is that there is a big gender gap between men and women. Around the world on average there is little difference between the proficiency of women and men however in Latin America it has one of the biggest differences. So, if you’re living in Latin America have an English level that is a b2 then you can consider yourself above average.
The level of English in Africa
The penultimate continent we’re going to be taking a look at is Africa. Now the report has never been able to fully test the continent of Africa. Let’s take a look at the top 10 countries in Africa with the best level of English
- number ten is Algeria
- number nine is Morocco
- number eighties Mozambique
- number seven being Tanzania
- number six is Ethiopia
- number five Tunisia
- number four being Ghana
- then number three is Nigeria
- number two is Kenya
- number one, well you probably guessed it, South Africa.
The three countries with the worst level of English in Africa is South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. Now the four countries that have improved the most from the last report is Tunisia, Nigeria, Morocco and Algeria and the countries that have dropped in the level of English the most are Rwanda, Angola and Sudan.
The average level of English in Africa in this test was 489 points which is between a b1 and a b2. The average in Africa along with Latin America is below the world average. If you are living in Africa and currently studying at an upper intermediate level then you can consider yourself to be above average.
The level of English in the Middle East
Now the final continent we’re going to be taking a look at in this video is the Middle East. Now compared to other continents we do not have as many countries or regions that were tested so, let’s just focus on the top five countries that have the best level of English in the Middle East. Starting with;
- number five which is Qatar
- number four is Bahrain
- number three is the United Arab Emirates
- number two is Iran
- The country with the best level of English is Lebanon
Three countries with the lowest level of English are Yemen, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Since the report was done last year the country with the best improvement since the last report is Bahrain. The two countries that have dropped in the level of English the most are Jordan and Kuwait.
Latin America and the Middle East have something in common and it’s not positive but the gender gap is just as big as it is in Latin America.
Also, the level of English in young people is extremely low compared to other continents. The average level of English in the Middle East is 445 points according to the report, which is a b1 this is the lowest average in the whole world. However, if you’re studying English at a b1 or b2 level, then you would be above average.
In which professions do you need English?
Now obviously English is the lingua franca of the world but why do you need to improve your English?
Let’s look at a few conclusions from this report. If you’re planning to work in information technology, marketing or engineering then you’re going to need a good level of English. So, an interview for a market research analyst or an advertising director or even an engineer, you’re going to need to demonstrate your level of English. You’ll also be expected to use English in those jobs on a daily basis.
If your country has a medium to high level of proficiency in English this means that your country is going to be in a better position to tackle the problems that we’re facing with climate change. This is because the communication between countries on issues like this is done in English.
Another really important conclusion from this report is that if your country has a medium to high level proficiency in English then it means that your country is going to be more innovative.
If you want to be an English teacher, you’ll need a good level of English and a good CV. Read my post on how to build an amazing teaching CV here.
The country with the best level of English
Now the country with the best level of English is…you’ve probably guessed it by now, the country is the Netherlands!
The Netherlands scored 663 points which is over 150 points above the world average. So, we’ve come to the end I hope you’ve enjoyed looking across the world and all the different levels of English.
If you are from any of the countries that we’ve mentioned, I’d love to hear back from you in the comments section below