Sweden at Top, Middle East at Bottom of EF's Global Ranking of English Skills

ZURICH, Nov. 3, 2015 /CNW/ - The EF English Proficiency Index 2015 Shows the State of Worldwide English Proficiency

EF Education First released today the 5th annual edition of its EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI), the world's largest ranking of countries by English skills. The report identifies global and regional English language learning trends and analyzes the relationship between countries' English proficiency and their economic competitiveness. This year's EF EPI report profiles all 70 ranked countries, using test data from 910,000 adult English language learners.

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"The EF EPI shows the power of big data to inform education policy, investment decisions, and classroom practices," said Minh Tran, EF's Director of Research. "We are thrilled that this year the EF EPI has started incorporating data from the EF Standard English Test (EFSET), which is revolutionizing the testing industry as the world's first free standardized English test."

EF launched the EFSET to offer the world's two billion English learners a high-quality standardized English test that is convenient and accessible. Offered for free online at http://www.efset.org, the EFSET is a valuable tool for individuals, governments, universities, and companies.

Two recent correlation studies revealed that the EFSET is as reliable as the TOEFL and the IELTS at measuring test takers' English skills. Researchers from the Harvard Graduate School of Education have used the EFSET for language research, and LinkedIn now prompts its members to certify their English with the EFSET. EFSET data will improve the EF EPI as an international benchmark of adult English proficiency.

Key findings of this year's EF EPI include:

• The report reveals for the first time the connection between countries' English levels and their innovation metrics such as countries' high-technology exports and expenditures on R&D.
• Although the rankings shift every year, the correlations between countries' English ability and Gross National Income per capita, quality of life, Internet connectivity, and a range of other indicators remain strong and stable.
• Women speak English better than men in almost every country surveyed, but this gender gap is absent in the very high proficiency countries in Northern Europe.
• European countries, particularly the Nordic nations, continue to outperform other regions, claiming the top ten slots in the ranking.
• The Middle East and North Africa is the only region to experience declining English proficiency.

The full EF EPI 2015 ranking is below. The EF EPI report and additional analysis are available at http://www.ef.com/epi/.

EF Education First is an international education company that focuses on language, academics, and cultural experience. Founded in 1965, EF's mission is "opening the world through education." With more than 500 schools and offices in 53 countries, EF is the Official Language Training Supplier of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.

EF English Proficiency Index 2015  

Rank	Country	EF EPI Score
1	Sweden	70.94
2	Netherlands	70.58
3	Denmark	70.05
4	Norway	67.83
5	Finland	65.32
6	Slovenia	64.97
7	Estonia	63.73
8	Luxembourg	63.45
9	Poland	62.95
10	Austria	61.97
11	Germany	61.83
12	Singapore	61.08
13	Portugal	60.61
14	Malaysia	60.30
15	Argentina	60.26
16	Romania	59.69
17	Belgium	59.13
18	Czech Republic	59.01
19	Switzerland	58.43
20	India	58.21
21	Hungary	57.90
22	Latvia	57.16
23	Spain	56.80
24	Dominican Republic	56.71
25	Slovakia	56.34
26	Lithuania	55.08
27	South Korea	54.52
28	Italy	54.02
29	Vietnam	53.81
30	Japan	53.57
31	Taiwan	53.18
32	Indonesia	52.91
33	Hong Kong	52.70
34	Ukraine	52.61
35	Peru	52.46
36	Chile	51.88
37	France	51.84
38	Ecuador	51.67
39	Russia	51.59
40	Mexico	51.34
41	Brazil	51.05
42	United Arab Emirates	50.87
43	Costa Rica	50.53
44	Uruguay	50.25
45	Pakistan	49.96
46	Guatemala	49.67
47	China	49.41
48	Panama	48.77
49	Sri Lanka	47.89
50	Turkey	47.62
51	Yemen	47.60
52	Morocco	47.40
53	Jordan	47.33
54	Kazakhstan	47.04
55	Egypt	46.73
56	Iran	46.59
57	Colombia	46.54
58	Oman	46.34
59	Venezuela	46.14
60	Azerbaijan	46.12
61	El Salvador	45.52
62	Thailand	45.35
63	Qatar	43.72
64	Mongolia	43.64
65	Kuwait	42.65
66	Iraq	40.69
67	Algeria	40.34
68	Saudi Arabia	39.93
69	Cambodia	39.15
70	Libya	37.86

SOURCE EF Education First