EF English Proficiency Index

The EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) is a report which attempts to rank countries by the average level of English skills amongst adults. It is the product of EF Education First, a global language training company, and draws its conclusions from data collected via English tests available for free over the internet. The report was published for the first time in March, 2011 based on the results of over 2 million test takers. The most recent, fifth edition was released in November, 2015.

Methodology

The EF EPI fifth edition was calculated using test data from 900,000 test takers in 2014. 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. 68 countries and 2 territories appear in the fifth edition of the index. In order to be included a country was required to have at least 400 test takers total.

Findings

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 2015 report and accompanying country fact sheets include a retrospective look at evolution in English proficiency over the period from 2007 and 2014, 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 Ease of doing business 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, the Middle East the worst.
4. The size of the investment in English training does not necessarily correspond to the amount of progress made over time.

2015 Rankings

Map of the results of the 2015 EF English Proficiency Index.

Country	2015 Rank	2015 Score	2015 Level	2014-2015 Trend
Sweden	1	70.94	Very High Proficiency	+3.14
Netherlands	2	70.58	Very High Proficiency	+1.59
Denmark	3	70.05	Very High Proficiency	+0.75
Norway	4	67.83	Very High Proficiency	+3.50
Finland	5	65.32	Very High Proficiency	+0.92
Slovenia	6	64.97	Very High Proficiency	+4.37
Estonia	7	63.73	Very High Proficiency	+2.34
Luxembourg	8	63.45	Very High Proficiency
Poland	9	62.95	Very High Proficiency	-1.31
Austria	10	61.97	High Proficiency	-1.24
Germany	11	61.83	High Proficiency	+0.94
Singapore	12	61.08	High Proficiency	+1.50
Portugal	13	60.61	High Proficiency	+3.78
Malaysia	14	60.30	High Proficiency	+0.57
Argentina	15	60.26	High Proficiency	+1.24
Romania	16	59.69	High Proficiency	+1.06
Belgium	17	59.13	High Proficiency	-2.08
Czech Republic	18	59.01	High Proficiency	+1.59
Switzerland	19	58.43	High Proficiency	+0.14
India	20	58.21	High Proficiency	+4.67
Hungary	21	57.90	High Proficiency	-0.66
Latvia	22	57.16	Moderate Proficiency	-2.27
Spain	23	56.80	Moderate Proficiency	-0.38
Dominican Republic	24	56.71	Moderate Proficiency	+3.05
Slovakia	25	56.34	Moderate Proficiency	+0.38
Lithuania	26	55.08	Moderate Proficiency
South Korea	27	54.52	Moderate Proficiency	+0.90
Italy	28	54.02	Moderate Proficiency	+1.22
Vietnam	29	53.81	Moderate Proficiency	+2.24
Japan	30	53.57	Moderate Proficiency	+0.69
Taiwan	31	53.18	Moderate Proficiency	+0.62
Indonesia	32	52.91	Moderate Proficiency	+0.17
Hong Kong	33	52.70	Moderate Proficiency	+0.20
Ukraine	34	52.61	Moderate Proficiency	+4.11
Peru	35	52.46	Low Proficiency	+1.00
Chile	36	51.88	Low Proficiency	+3.13
France	37	51.84	Low Proficiency	-0.86
Ecuador	38	51.67	Low Proficiency	+0.62
Russia	39	51.59	Low Proficiency	+1.15
Mexico	40	51.34	Low Proficiency	+1.51
Brazil	41	51.05	Low Proficiency	+1.09
United Arab Emirates	42	50.87	Low Proficiency	-0.93
Costa Rica	43	50.53	Low Proficiency	+2.00
Uruguay	44	50.25	Low Proficiency	+0.64
Pakistan	45	49.96	Low Proficiency
Guatemala	46	49.67	Low Proficiency	+3.90
China	47	49.41	Low Proficiency	-0.74
Panama	48	48.77	Low Proficiency	+5.07
Sri Lanka	49	47.89	Very Low Proficiency	+1.52
Turkey	50	47.62	Very Low Proficiency	-0.18
Yemen	51	47.60	Very Low Proficiency
Morocco	52	47.40	Very Low Proficiency	+4.97
Jordan	53	47.33	Very Low Proficiency	-0.49
Kazakhstan	54	47.04	Very Low Proficiency	+4.07
Egypt	55	46.73	Very Low Proficiency	+4.60
Iran	56	46.59	Very Low Proficiency	+4.76
Colombia	57	46.54	Very Low Proficiency	-2.01
Oman	58	46.34	Very Low Proficiency
Venezuela	59	46.14	Very Low Proficiency	+0.02
Azerbaijan	60	46.12	Very Low Proficiency
El Salvador	61	45.52	Very Low Proficiency	+2.06
Thailand	62	45.35	Very Low Proficiency	-2.45
Qatar	63	43.72	Very Low Proficiency	-4.10
Mongolia	64	43.64	Very Low Proficiency
Kuwait	65	42.65	Very Low Proficiency	+0.85
Iraq	66	40.69	Very Low Proficiency	+2.67
Algeria	67	40.34	Very Low Proficiency	+1.83
Saudi Arabia	68	39.93	Very Low Proficiency	+0.45
Cambodia	69	39.15	Very Low Proficiency	+0.90
Libya	70	37.86	Very Low Proficiency	-0.34

Criticism

The EF English Proficiency Index has been criticized for its lack of representative sampling in each country. The report states that participants in the tests are self-selected and must have access to the internet. This pushes the index towards the realm of an online survey rather than a statistically valid evaluation.

However, there are few alternative comparisons available of countries by their English skills, and those that exist are smaller in scale, as is the case with a reported British Council study, or they have other sampling flaws, as is the case with rankings of countries by standardized English test scores such as the TOEFL. The European Commission performed a language survey, SurveyLang, which tests a representative sample of 15-year-old European students on their foreign language skills. The first report and data sets were released for 13 European countries in June 2012.

References

The official webpage of the ranking