Japan Slides Further in English Proficiency Ranking

Japan tumbled further in a global ranking of English proficiency. A 2024 survey by Swiss international education company EF Education First measuring the English proficiency of people in 116 non-English speaking countries and regions ranked Japan ninety-second overall and sixteenth among the 23 Asian countries and regions. Japan is at the fourth level out of five set by the company, equating to “low proficiency” (62–92).

The survey gathered and analyzed data from free tests taken online by a total of 2.1 million people worldwide for EF’s English Proficiency Index. By region, 35% of test takers were from Europe, 24% from Africa, 23% from Asia, 21% from Central and South America, and 13% from the Middle East. The median age was 26.

Countries that ranked alongside Japan included Cape Verde and Kuwait, both in eighty-ninth place, and China at ninety-first. In the first survey conducted in 2011, Japan placed fourteenth; however, at that time only 40 countries provided testing data. Japan has continued to fall in the rankings as the number of countries have increased with each survey.

The country with the highest English proficiency was the Netherlands and the majority of countries classed as having “very high” (1–9) or “high” (10–31) proficiency were in Europe.

Singapore was the highest ranked Asian country in third place, while the Philippines was twenty-second and Malaysia twenty-sixth. South Korea placed fiftieth and India sixty-ninth. EF noted that “the worldwide level of English proficiency has declined for the fourth year running, with 60% of countries in the index scoring lower this year than last” and suggested that “the downward trend appears to indicate a slackening of interest in developing English proficiency beyond current levels.” It also stated that “Asia’s English proficiency declined more than any other region in the world compared to last year,” attributing this mainly to worsening levels in India and China.

EF English Proficiency Ranking for 2024 (Selected Countries)

Created by Nippon.com based on data from the EF English Proficiency Index.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)