European countries with the best and worst English language skills: where does Ukraine stand?

The annual English Language Proficiency Index survey has been published online. The Netherlands took first place with a score of 636 points, while Ukraine was ranked 40th. In total, our country received 535 points, which indicates an average level of knowledge and is 5 points higher than last year.

In total, 116 countries participated in the EF Education First study. The last place was taken by Yemen (394 points), and among European countries - Azerbaijan (465 points) and Turkey (497 points).

The organizers took into account the English language, as it is the second most widely spoken language in the world and the language of international communication. This year's study involved 2.1 million people whose native language is not English.

The maximum number of points in the ranking is 800. This means that 79.5% of citizens in the Netherlands know English, and 66.9% in Ukraine, meaning that three out of five people speak it. At the same time, Euronews claims that in 2024, the results showed an overall decline in English proficiency, with women and students being the weakest.

Top 10 European countries with the best English language proficiency:

1. Netherlands (636).
2. Norway (610).
3. Sweden (608).
4. Croatia (607).
5. Portugal (605).
6. Denmark (603).
7. Greece (602).
8. Austria (600).
9. Germany (598).
10. Romania (593).

Despite the fact that Europe dominates the top of the rankings, it turned out that this year English proficiency levels across the continent fell in 60% of countries. They all reported lower results than they did last year. At the same time, the long trend of declining language proficiency among young people aged 18 to 20 has stopped.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA reported that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) named the European countries with the longest life expectancy. The best situation with demographic indicators was found in Switzerland, but Ukraine is noticeably lagging behind.

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