英孚：2023年英语水平指数报告 EF English Profi ciency Index A Ranking of 113 Countries and Regions by English Skill

EducationFirst

EFEPI

EFEnglishProficiencyIndex

ARankingof113CountriesandRegionsbyEnglishSkills

/epi

EFSET

EFStandardEnglishTest

Takethefreetestat

2023

Participatein

theEFEPI:takethefreeEFSETat

TableofContents

04ExecutiveSummary

06EFEPI2023RankingofCountriesandRegions

08EFEPI2023CityScores

10EFEPI2023FactsandFigures

12EnglishandtheEconomy

13EnglishandInnovation

14EnglishandWork

16EnglishandSociety

17EnglishandtheFuture

18Europe

20Asia

22LatinAmerica

24Africa

26MiddleEast

28ProficiencyDetail

40Conclusions

42Recommendations

44AppendixA:AbouttheIndex

46AppendixB:EFEPIProficiencyBands

47AppendixC:CEFRLevelsandCan-DoStatements

48AppendixD:EFEPICountryandRegionRankings

/epi

2

3

ExecutiveSummary

Learningalanguageisn'tabouttranslatingwords;it'saboutcomingtounderstandothercultures.Aswelearn,wecometounderstandthebroadercontext,see

thingsfromnewperspectives.Thesearevaluableskillswhich,alongwithempathyandinnovation,remainbeyondthereachofAI.

Thesamebenefitscomewithanyadditional

Anillusionofglobalstability

Englishproficiencyisrising

IsEastAsiaturningawayfromEnglish?

LatinAmericaisimproving,

NorthAfricaisimproving

languagewelearnbutEnglishisinaunique

Thepopulation-weightedworldwide

intheworkforce

AdultEnglishproficiencyhasbeenwaningin

exceptitsyoungpeople

EnglishproficiencyinNorthAfricahasbeen

positioninthemodernworld,notbecause

averageEnglishproficiencylevelamong

Workingadultshavebeenimproving

EastAsiathepast4years,andinJapanfor

InregardtoEnglish,LatinAmericaisa

improvingsteadilyoverthepastdecade,

ofthelanguageitselfbutbecausesomany

adultshasnotchangedsince2011,but

theirEnglishsince2015,thefirstyearin

anentiredecade.Thatdeclineaccelerated

regioninflux.CentralAmerica’slevelhas

althoughthepaceofimprovementhas

peoplespeakit.ThelargertheEnglish-speakingpopulation,themoreusefulspeakingEnglishbecomes.

Thevalueofasharedlanguageismost

perceptibleintheworkplace,whereEnglishopensupopportunitiesforindividuals

andboostsbothdiversityandefficiency

fororganizations.Butinfact,asweface

theclimatecatastrophe,warandother

globalchallengestogether,theneedfor

internationalcommunication,cross-culturalunderstandingandhumanempathyinall

areasofourliveshasneverbeengreater.ItisinthiscontextthatwecontinuetogatherdataaboutEnglishproficiencyandpublishthisannualreportinvestigatinghowand

whereEnglishproficiencyisdevelopingaroundtheworld.

Tocreatethe2023editionoftheEFEnglishProficiencyIndex,wehaveanalyzedthe

resultsof2.2millionadultswhotookourEFSETEnglishtestsin2022,witha

particularemphasisonproficiencytrendsaroundtheworldsincethepublicationofthefirstEFEPIin2011.

lookingbackoverthepastdecade,the

pictureisnotoneofaworldinwhich

everyone’sEnglishstaysaboutthesame.

Instead,gainsinonegroupareoffsetby

lossesinanother,ascircumstanceschangeandprioritiesshift.We’realongwayfromthecatastrophicpredictionsofworldwideEnglishhegemony,butwe’realsononearertoequalizingaccesstotheopportunities

speakingEnglishaffords.

Youngpeople’sEnglishisdeclininginsomeplaces

Ouryoungestagegroup(18-20)has

decliningEnglishproficiency.However,thisisacasewherewhatlookslikeaworldwidetrendisactuallyonlyatrendinafewlarge

countries.Inmostplaces,youthEnglish

proficiencyhasbeenstable,orifithas

declined,thatdropalignsneatlywiththe

interruptionofeducationsystemsduring

thepandemic.Itisnotyetcleariflearning

lossduetoCOVIDwillself-correctover

time,butinsubsequentcohortswewould

expecttoseearebound.Themoredifficultchallengeisforthosecountriesexperiencingalongerdeclineamongtheyoungestcohort,whereeducationsystemsareteaching

Englishlesswellthanbefore.Readerscanconsultcountry-specificproficiencytrendsbyagegroupontheEFEPIwebsite.

whichwereportedscoresbyagegroup.

Thesegainsarehappeningtooquicklytobeexplainedentirelybyyounger,more

proficientEnglishspeakersagingup.Adultsarebuildingproficiencyintheworkplace

too,eitherthroughsanctionedtraining

schemesorpersonaldevelopmentontheside.ThisfindingcoincideswithincreasingdemandforprofessionalEnglishcourses

overthepastdecadeascompaniesand

employeesseektobridgethegapbetweentherequirementsofaglobalizedworkplaceandtheEnglishskillslearnedinmainstreameducation.

Thegendergapiswideningagain

Worldwideoverthepastdecade,men’s

Englishproficiencyhasimprovedwhile

women’shasdeclinedslightly,inversingtheirrelativepositions.Althoughthemajorityofcountriesdonothaveasignificantgender

gap,ofthosethatdo,38favormenandonly5favorwomen.Theworkplacewouldseemlikeanobviousculprit:ifpeoplearebuildingproficiencyatwork,that’sanareawhere

womenarestillunderrepresented,especiallyinhigherpaying,moreinternationaljobs.Butthegendergapamongthoseaged18-25

isthreetimesaswideasamongworkingadults,indicatingaproblemengenderedbyeducationalsystemsthemselvesorasocietalproblemschoolsarefailingto

address.Thisissurprisinggivenprogressinequalizingaccesstoeducation,femaleoverrepresentationinhighereducation

andgirls’overallbetteracademicresults.Countrieswithhighandrisinglevelsof

gender-basedskillimbalancewillneedtoinvestigatefurther.

thisyearwithbothJapanandChina

experiencingsignificantchanges.Duringthesameperiod,thenumberofuniversitystudentsfromEastAsiaenrolledinUS

universitiesdroppedsignificantly(-20%forSouthKoreain2023comparedto2020;-30%forChina).Pandemic-relatedtravelrestrictionsplayedarole,butdeclining

EnglishproficiencyislikelysymptomaticofbroaderpoliticalanddemographicshiftsaswellasgrowingconfidencequestioningWesternculturalhegemonyineducation.

TheMiddleEastlooksstuck

TheaveragelevelofEnglishproficiency

intheMiddleEasthasimprovedoverthe

pastdecade,butonlyduetotheadditionofhigherproficiencycountriestotheindex.Atanationallevel,we’veseenfewsignificantchanges,apartfromLebanon—thepast

twoyearshavebeendevastatingandthisisreflectedintheirtestscores.

Theregionhassomeofthenarrowestage-relatedproficiencydifferencesintheworld,withallagegroupstestingatsimilarlevels.Thisistypicalofapopulationwithstable

skills,asanyeffectiveeducationalreform

wouldbereflectedamongtheyoung,and

anyeffectiveworkplacetrainingscheme

wouldraiselevelsinworkingadults.Stabilitywouldnotbeproblematicifproficiency

levelswerehigher,butasitis,thelevelofEnglishintheregionisinsufficientformostprofessionalandhighereducationsettings.

improvedmorethananyotherregionintheworldoverthepastdecadeatanaverage

paceof6pointsayear.SouthAmericahasalsoimprovedsteadily.Ontheotherhand,Mexicohasseenasignificantdeclineand

bothMexicoandArgentinaaredriversof

theworldwidedropamong18–20-year-oldssince2015.Theregionasawholesawa

larger-than-averageerosioninyouthEnglishproficiencyduringthepandemic,from

whichithasnotyetrecovered.

Europeplateaus

Despitedominatingthetopoftheindex,

Europeisinabitofaslumpthisyearwithanumberofhighandveryhighproficiencycountriesreportingslightlylowerscores.

Startingfromanalreadyhighbase,the

longer-termtrendinEuropehasbeenoneofsteadyimprovement,bothinandoutsidetheEU.Still,severalofEurope’slargest

economies(France,Spain,Italy)havenotreachedthesameproficiencylevelas

theirneighbors,andsomeofthehighestproficiencycountriesinNorthernEuropehavegendergapsinfavorofmenofmorethan40points.

TherestofAsiaispredominantlystable

SouthandSoutheastAsiahaveseenaslightdropintheirlevelofEnglishonaverage,

althoughmanycountriesintheregion

havestableormodestlyrisingscores.TheregionalaveragesareimpactedbyIndia’slevelofEnglishproficiency,whichhas

beendecliningslowlyoverseveralyears.Inaddition,theprogressThailandwas

makinguntil2020hasbeenerasedbythepandemic.EnglishproficiencyinCentralAsiaislowandstable,withhigher-than-averagegendergapsinfavorofmenin

almosteverycountry.

slowedsince2021.It’stooearlytosayifproficiencywillsettleatthisnewlevelorcontinuerise.Universitiesappeartobe

contributingtothesegainsasproficiencyishighestamong20-25yearolds.DiscussionscontinuearoundtherolesofEnglishand

Frenchintheeducationsystemsoftheregion.

AcrossAfrica,Englishproficiencylevelsarelargelystablewithallagegroupstesting

atsimilarlevelsinmostcountries.The

gapbetweenmenandwomeninAfricaisthenarrowestofanyregionand,withfewexceptions,gendergapsarenarrowatthenationallevelaswell.

Languageisanessentialpartofsharingperspectivesandbuildingunderstanding.Thisistrueofalllanguages,butbecauseEnglishisspokenbypeoplearoundtheworld,it'suniquelypositionedtodraw

uscloseracrossborders.Morepeople

deservetheopportunitytobepartofthatconversation.

4/epi5

EFEPI2023

RankingofCountriesandRegions

b

ProficiencyBands

VeryHighHigh

.ModerateLow

VeryLow

VeryHighProficiencyHighProficiency

13Poland

14Finland

15Romania

16Bulgaria

17Hungary

18Slovakia

19Kenya

20Philippines

21Lithuania

22Luxembourg

23Estonia

24Serbia

25Malaysia

26CzechRepublic

27Nigeria

28Argentina

29HongKong(China)

30Switzerland

598

597

596

589

588

587

584

578

576

575

570

569

01Netherlands647

02Singapore631

03Austria616

04Denmark615

05Norway614

06Sweden609

07Belgium608

08Portugal607

09SouthAfrica605

10Germany604

11Croatia603

12Greece602

568

565

562

560

558

553

6

ModerateProficiency

31Honduras544

32Georgia541

33Belarus539

34Ghana537

35Italy535

35Moldova535

35Spain535

38CostaRica534

39Albania533

39Uruguay533

41Bolivia532

41Russia532

43Cuba531

43France531

45Paraguay530

45Ukraine530

47Uganda529

48Armenia528

49SouthKorea525

50ElSalvador524

51Peru521

52Chile518

53Guatemala515

54Israel514

55DominicanRepublic512

56Venezuela508

57Nepal507

58Iran505

58Vietnam505

60Bangladesh504

60India504

62Nicaragua503

63Tunisia502

/epi

LowProficiency

64Pakistan497

65Lebanon496

66Turkey493

67SriLanka491

67Tanzania491

69Ethiopia490

70Brazil487

71Panama486

71UnitedArabEmirates486

73Mongolia482

73Qatar482

75Colombia480

76Morocco478

77Algeria475

78Madagascar474

79Indonesia473

80Ecuador467

80Syria467

82China464

83Azerbaijan463

83Egypt463

85Kuwait461

86Malawi460

87Japan457

88Afghanistan456

89Mexico451

90Kyrgyzstan450

90Myanmar450

VeryLowProficiency

105

106

107

108

109

110

110

112

113

92Palestine445

93Uzbekistan442

94Cameroon438

94Senegal438

96Jordan431

97Sudan430

98Cambodia421

98Haiti421

100Oman418

101Angola416

101Benin416

101Thailand416

104Kazakhstan415

SomaliaIraq

Côted'IvoireSaudiArabiaRwanda

Libya

Yemen

Tajikistan

Democratic

RepublicoftheCongo

411

410

409

408

405

392

392

388

385

7

EFEPI2023CityScores

ProficiencyBands

VeryHighHigh

.Moderate.Low

VeryLow

VeryHighProficiency

Amsterdam646Vienna640Copenhagen639Stockholm637Oslo629Berlin625Sofia622Bern621Talinn621Helsinki617CapeTown614Zagreb612Athens611Vilnius610Lisbon609Warsaw605Bucharest602Budapest600

HighProficiency

Belgrade594

Bratislava592

BuenosAires592

Brussels589

Prague589

Manila587

Nairobi586

Paris579

Lagos578

Chi§inău573

KualaLumpur564

LaPaz562

Seoul559

Tirana559

Madrid558

Rome555

Santiago553

Accra552

Tblisi551

Tegucigalpa551

LowProficiency

PanamaCity491

Nur-Sultan485

Bishkek484

Doha484

Damascus477

Cairo476

Guangzhou475

Amman470

Baku466

MexicoCity462

Kabul458

Bangkok457

Delhi451

VeryLowProficiency

Englishproficiencyscores

forover1200regionsandcities,aswellasnationalandregionalgenderandagedata,are

availableat/epi.

ModerateProficiency

KuwaitCity446

Tashkent445

Mogadishu442

Khartoum440

Muscat436

Yaoundé436

NayPyiTaw433

Luanda428

Port-au-Prince427

Abidjan425

Dhaka521

GuatemalaCity521

Tehran521

Kampala520

AddisAbaba515

DarEsSalaam515

Beijing514

Algiers513

Quito513

RiodeJaneiro513

Shanghai512

Managua511

Dubai510

Rabat506

Ankara503

Tokyo503

Jerusalem500

Medellín500

Ulaanbaatar500

Baghdad425

PhnomPenh422

Kinshasa421

Tripoli410

Kigali409

Sana'a408

Riyadh400

Dushanbe392

Asunción549

Minsk549

Montevideo549

SanJosé549

Kiev547

Beirut545

Havana543

Brasilia542

Moscow542

Hanoi538

Islamabad538

Erevan536

Lima536

SanSalvador534

Tunis533

Jakarta531

Colombo528

SantoDomingo528

Kathmandu527

Caracas521

8/epi9

ParticipateintheEFEPI:takethefreeEFSETat

EFEPI2023FactsandFigures

Whoarethetesttakers?

MiddleEastEurope

1334

Latin

America

20

Asia

Africa

23

23

2.2M

TotalTestTakers

113

CountriesandRegions

55%

Female

45%

Male

99%

aged18-60

Yearsold

26

MedianAge

Regionaltrends(2011-2023)

600

+50pt

+15pt+42pt+9pt

+36pt

550

500

450

400

EuropeAsiaLatinAmericaAfricaMiddleEast

Globalagetrends(2015-2023)

550

+12pt

+19pt

+14pt

-5pt

-89pt

500

450

400

18-2021-2526-3031-4041+

Female

Male

550

500

450

Globalgendertrends(2014-2023)

+14pt

-19pt

2014201520162017201820192020202120222023

10/epi11

ParticipateintheEFEPI:takethefreeEFSETat

EnglishandtheEconomyEnglishandInnovation

Simplemeasuresofwealthand

tradecorrelateconsistentlywith

Englishproficiency,however,thoserelationshipsaren’tasstrongastheoneswithmorecomplexindicatorsofeconomicbalance,productivity,andpotential.InthiswayEnglishislikeotherskillsinamodern

workforce:Englishalonedoesn'traisewagesorincreasetrade,butmoreefficientworkforcestendtospeakbetterEnglish.

ProficiencyBands

VeryHighHigh

ModerateLow

VeryLow

GRAPHA

EnglishandProductivity

ProductiveCapacitiesIndex

Throughouthistory,scholarshavelearnedeachother'slanguagesinordertokeepupwiththelatestideasandparticipateinacademicdiscussionsbeyondtheconfines

GRAPHC

EnglishandTalentCompetitiveness

GlobalTalentCompetitivenessIndex

60

50

40

30

20

10

r=0.66

350400450500550600650700

EFEPIScoreSource:UnitedNationsConferenceofTradeandDevelopment,2020

oftheirnation'sborders.Indeed,

innovationandresearchdepends

onthefrictionlessflowofideasandinformation.Overthepastcentury,asEnglishhasgainedtractionasa

globallanguage,itsusehasspreadintoincreasinglyvarieddomains,

furtheracceleratinginnovation.

ThankstothepowerofAI,wemayeventuallyinnovateourwayoutof

linguisticconstraints,butuntilwe

do,peoplecanonlycollaborate

effectivelytodriveresearchforwardwhentheyspeakthesamelanguage.

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

r=0.61

350400450500550600650700

EFEPIScoreSource:Lanvin&Monteiro,2022

GRAPHB

EnglishandHumanCapital

HumanDevelopmentIndex

ProficiencyBandsVeryHigh

High

GRAPHD

EnglishandGlobalInnovation

GlobalInnovationIndex

1.2

1

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

r=0.57

ModerateLow

VeryLow

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

r=0.59

350400450500550600650700

EFEPIScoreSource:UnitedNationsDevelopmentProgramme,2022

350400450500550600650700

EFEPIScoreSource:WorldIntellectualPropertyOrganization,2022

12/epi13

ParticipateintheEFEPI:takethefreeEFSETat

EnglishandWork

DifferencesinlevelsofEnglish

proficiencybetweenindustriesaremostlikelyadirectconsequenceofhiringpracticesandvaryinglevelsofinvestmentinEnglishtraining

programs.Theirpersistenceintheprivatesectorissomewhatsurprisinggiventhelevelof

internationalintegrationandcompetitioninallindustries.

Governmentandnon-profit

employersdotheirstaffadisservicebyprovidingthemwithfewer

upskillingopportunitiesthantheywouldgetelsewhere.

EFEPIbyIndustry

300400500

EFEPIScore

Aviation

Media,Sports&Entertainment

Professionalservices

Food&Beverage

InformationTechnologyEducation

Engineering

Logistics&Transportation

Fast-movingConsumerGoods

PharmaceuticalsMedicaldevicesAutomotive

ConstructionRetail

Banking&FinanceManufacturing

Mining&Energy

Apparel

InsuranceChemicals

Telecommunications

HealthcareElectronicsAgricultureNon-profit

Government

ProficiencyBandsoVeryHighoHighoModerateLowoVery

600

Low

Formanyprofessionals,havinga

lower-than-averagelevelofEnglish

proficiencyisabarriertocareer

progressionandlimitsaccessto

information.Whenapromotion

meansrelocatingtoamorecentral

officewithmoreinternationalteams,non-English-speakersarestuck.Theproblemisparticularlyacuteforthoseinmaintenanceandclericalroles

whereEnglishproficiencyisweakerandopportunitiestospeakEnglish

atworkmorescarce.Employers

canhelpbyidentifyingindividuals

whomaybestruggling,funding

targetedtrainingprogramsand

creatingopportunitiesforteamsfromdifferentcountriestocollaborate.

Fieldslikeprogramming,accountingandmarketing,whichappearnear

thetopofthislist,areespecially

suitedtoremotework,potentially

puttingcandidatesfortheserolesincompetitionwithamoreinternationalpoolofapplicants.

Overthepastdecade,English

proficiencylevelshavebecome

increasinglyhomogenousbetweensenioritylevels,perhapsasa

consequenceoftheclosingproficiencygapbetween

adultsofdifferentagesandtheinternationalizationoftertiaryeducationandcareerpaths.

Executivesareoftenrecruitedfromaborderlesspoolofcandidates,

especiallyinAsia,EuropeandLatin

Americawhereproficiencylevelsinthisgrouparenearlyidentical.We

wouldalsoexpecttoseeaclosingoftheproficiencygapbetweensenioritylevelsincountriesactivelyprioritizingthehiringandtrainingoflocaltalent.

EFEPIbyJobFunction

550

EFEPIScore350400450500

IT

Accounting&FinanceStrategy&Plann