11 Non-English-Speaking Countries Rank Higher Than Some English-Official Nations in Global Proficiency

A new global English proficiency ranking has revealed that several countries where English is not an official language outperform some nations where it holds official status.

According to the 2025 EF English Proficiency Index (EPI), which assessed more than 2.2 million adult test-takers across 123 countries and regions, the Netherlands retained the top position with a score of 624. Croatia (617), Austria (616), Germany (615), and Norway (613) completed the top five.

The remaining countries in the top 11 are Portugal (612), Denmark (611), Sweden (609), Belgium (608), Slovakia (606), and Romania (605). All were rated in the "Very High" English proficiency category.

The report notes that these countries consistently outperform several nations where English is an official language, including Nigeria, the Philippines, Pakistan, and India, in terms of average adult English proficiency.

Researchers attribute the success of the top-performing countries to early English-language education, strong teaching standards, widespread exposure to English-language media, and international business and tourism.

However, the report emphasizes that countries such as Nigeria and India still have some of the world's largest English-speaking populations, producing highly proficient English speakers in business, education, and media. It adds that the rankings reflect national average proficiency rather than the total number of English speakers.

The EF EPI also cautioned that its findings are based on self-selected participants who voluntarily took an online English test, meaning the results may not fully represent each country's entire population.

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