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Friday, October 11, 2024
CEOWORLD magazine - Latest - Special Reports - Best Non-Native English Speaking Countries In The World, 2024

Special Reports

Best Non-Native English Speaking Countries In The World, 2024

William Shakespeare

The Netherlands has been named as the top non-native speakers of English in the world, according to an annual international ranking. It has overtaken Sweden, which was the winner last year, and has now been pushed down to second place. Norway has taken the third spot, followed by Denmark and Singapore. The ranking is based on comparing English language skills measured by testing 1.45 million people across 100 countries, and over 400 cities and regions. The test was taken voluntarily by the participants.

English is the most widely spoken language in the world, but it’s worth noting that most English speakers are not native speakers. Out of the 1.45 billion people who speak English, 380 million people speak it as their first language (L1), while over 1 billion people speak it as their second language (L2).  Fourteen countries have been placed in the “very high” category, with the Netherlands being ranked first, followed by Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Singapore, South Africa, Finland, Austria, Luxembourg, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Belgium, and Croatia in the fourteenth place. The country with the lowest English proficiency is Libya, followed by Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, and Uzbekistan.

Which EU countries are the worst at speaking English?

Italy has been ranked as the country with the lowest level of English proficiency in the European Union. In the English Proficiency Index, Italy was placed 36th overall and classified in the “moderate proficiency” group. Spain (35th), Latvia (32nd), and France (31st) were also ranked in the “moderate proficiency” group and were placed at the bottom of all EU countries.

Which Countries Speak The Best English As A Second Language?
If you’re able to understand this text, then you probably have a good understanding of the English language. Have you ever wondered which country has the most fluent non-native English speakers? According to the English Proficiency Index, which is based on a free online test taken by 4.2 million volunteers, the Dutch have the highest fluency. Sweden came in second place with a score of 74.63 out of 100, while Norway took third place with 72.68 points. Although the countries with “very high proficiency” were predominantly European, Singapore and South Africa also scored exceptionally well, securing the fifth and sixth positions, respectively.

The Netherlands is a country with high living standards and levels of life satisfaction. The Dutch attach great importance to mastering English, so you’ll likely find locals responding in English to your attempts at speaking Dutch. This is because they feel it’s easier for both of you. It might interest you to know that Dutch is another Germanic language with many similarities to English. In fact, it’s one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn!

It is important to keep in mind that locations with better access to computers and the Internet are likely to have a higher number of participants, which could have skewed the results. The study also discovered that English is by far the most commonly studied second language in the world. The poll conducted by CEOWORLD magazine involved testing non-native English speakers in 100 countries and over 400 cities and regions who willingly agreed to take the test.

Best Non-Native English Speaking Countries In The World, 2024

RankCountryScoreProficiency
1Netherlands74.74 Very high
2Sweden74.63 Very high
3Norway72.68 Very high
4Denmark72.42 Very high
5Singapore71.91 Very high
6South Africa71.52 Very high
7Finland71.33 Very high
8Austria70.83 Very high
9Luxembourg70.67 Very high
10Germany70.62 Very high
11Poland70.54 Very high
12Portugal69.57 Very high
13Belgium69.47 Very high
14Croatia69.42 Very high
15Hungary69.31High
16Romania69.30High
17Serbia68.94High
18Kenya68.75High
19Switzerland68.18High
20Philippines68.00High
21Lithuania67.94High
22Greece67.11High
23Czech Republic66.86High
24Bulgaria66.59High
25Slovakia66.55High
26Malaysia66.28High
27Argentina65.71High
28Estonia65.68High
29Nigeria65.36High
30Costa Rica64.88Moderate
31France64.63Moderate
32Latvia64.18Moderate
33Hong Kong64.09Moderate
34India63.78Moderate
35Spain63.50Moderate
36Italy63.38Moderate
37South Korea63.28Moderate
38Taiwan62.79Moderate
39Uruguay62.67Moderate
40China62.54Moderate
41Macau62.48Moderate
42Chile62.13Moderate
43Cuba61.94Moderate
44Dominican Republic61.64Moderate
45Paraguay61.55Moderate
46Guatemala61.38Moderate
47Belarus61.21Low
48Russia60.44Low
49Ukraine60.39Low
50Albania60.16Low
51Bolivia59.49Low
52Vietnam59.22Low
53Japan59.20Low
54Islamic Republic of Pakistan58.65Low
55Bahrain58.63Low
56Georgia58.59Low
57Honduras58.41Low
58Peru57.78Low
59Brazil57.75Low
60El Salvador57.64Low
61Indonesia57.23Low
62Nicaragua57.18Low
63Ethiopia55.35Low
64Panama54.31Low
65Tunisia53.99Low
66Nepal53.97Low
67Mexico53.76Low
68Colombia52.64Low
69Iran52.48Low
70U.A.E.52.24Very low
71Bangladesh51.92Very low
72Maldives51.62Very low
73Venezuela51.60Very low
74Thailand51.55Very low
75Jordan51.11Very low
76Morocco50.78Very low
77Egypt50.61Very low
78Sri Lanka50.39Very low
79Turkey49.61Very low
80Qatar49.38Very low
81Ecuador49.23Very low
82Syria49.19Very low
83Cameroon48.92Very low
84Kuwait48.91Very low
85Azerbaijan48.71Very low
86Myanmar48.69Very low
87Sudan48.49Very low
88Mongolia48.44Very low
89Afghanistan48.18Very low
90Algeria47.60Very low
91Angola47.05Very low
92Oman46.77Very low
93Kazakhstan46.69Very low
94Cambodia46.13Very low
95Uzbekistan46.02Very low
96Ivory Coast46.01Very low
97Iraq45.21Very low
98Saudi Arabia45.17Very low
99Kyrgyzstan45.07Very low
100Libya45.00Very low

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CEOWORLD magazine - Latest - Special Reports - Best Non-Native English Speaking Countries In The World, 2024
Lila Jones
Senior News Editor at CEOWORLD Magazine. I'm a veteran correspondent for the CEOWORLD Magazine. During my career, I've been based in New York, Washington, DC, Brussels and London. Over the years I've written about everything from the debt crisis to Brexit and the rise of populism in Europe. I did a stint in London as the CEOWORLD Magazine's Europe News Editor and Deputy World News Editor. In my current post I try to capture life in a changing banking to finance landscape.