For the past 13 years, the EF English Proficiency Index has been ranking countries and regions on their English skills. In the very first survey in 2011, Japan ranked quite highly at 14, though at that time only 40 nations provided testing data. Since then, the number of participating countries has continued to increase and Japan’s position has fallen every year, except for 2013 when it ranked 26th, the same position as 2012. In this year’s survey, which covered 116 countries and regions, Japan ranked 92nd; a new low. In 2023, it ranked 87.
Japan’s English Proficiency Down Three Points From 2023
According to NHK, the rankings are based on data collected from online tests involving more than 2 million people in places where English is not the native language. The highest score a nation can receive is 800. This year, Japan scored 454, considered low proficiency. That is down three points from 2023. Tokyo ranked the highest in Japan with a total of 496 points, ahead of Osaka (488) and Kawasaki (482). “It may not be that English skills are declining in Japan, but that the country can’t keep up with the growth in proficiency in other countries and regions,” said a representative from the Japanese subsidiary of EF Education First.
The Netherlands Crowned the Best Non-Native English Speakers for a Sixth Consecutive Year
For the sixth year in-a-row, the Netherlands topped the list, though its score of 636 was down 11 from 2023. Norway (610), Singapore (609), Sweden (608) and Croatia (607) made up the top five. According to the report, 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. It found that Asia’s English proficiency declined more than any other region in the world compared to 12 months ago.
