In the recent Education First (EF) English Proficiency 2023 Index, Singapore ranks second globally out of 113 other countries and first in Asia with the highest English proficiency. This however, comes as no surprise to Singaporeans or those who have visited the country at least once, given the widespread use of the English language alongside our mother tongue languages Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil.
There are twelve countries that fell under the “high proficiency” category. The Netherlands takes the win, with Singapore in second place, and Austria ranking third. Within Asia, Singapore leads the region, followed by the Philippines and Malaysia, which hold the 20th and 25th positions globally, respectively.
The English proficiency test was taken by 2.2 million subjects across 113 countries, with an average age of 26 years old. Of the participants, 55 percent were female.
According to EF, more efficient workforces generally exhibit better English proficiency. Over the past century, English has emerged as a global language, and its global adoption across the globe has contributed to creative advancements such as Artificial Intelligence.
Here are the top 12 countries with the highest English proficiency:
- Netherlands
- Singapore
- Austria
- Denmark
- Norway
- Sweden
- Belgium
- Portugal
- South Africa
- Germany
- Croatia
- Greece
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