EF EPI 2021
Ranking of Countries and Regions
Proficiency Bands
Very High
High
Moderate
Low
Very Low
Very High Proficiency
High Proficiency
01 Netherlands
663
14 Serbia
599
32 Hong Kong, China
545
44 Paraguay
520
Moderate Proficiency
02 Austria
641
15 Romania
598
33 Spain
540
47 Chile
516
03 Denmark
636
16 Poland
597
34 Lebanon
536
48 India
515
04 Singapore
635
17 Hungary
593
35 Italy
535
49 China
513
05 Norway
632
18 Philippines
592
36 Moldova
532
50 Georgia
512
06 Belgium
629
19 Greece
591
37 South Korea
529
51 Russia
511
07 Portugal
625
20 Slovakia
590
38 Belarus
528
52 Tunisia
510
08 Sweden
623
21 Kenya
587
39 Albania
527
53 Uruguay
509
09 Finland
618
22 Estonia
581
40 Ukraine
525
54 El Salvador
508
10 Croatia
617
23 Bulgaria
580
41 Bolivia
524
55 Honduras
506
616
24 Lithuania
579
42 Ghana
523
56 Peru
505
12 South Africa
606
25 Switzerland
575
43 Cuba
521
57 Macau, China
504
13 Luxembourg
604
26 Latvia
569
44 Costa Rica
58 Iran
501
27 Czech Republic
563
44 Dominican Republic 520
11 Germany
6
28 Malaysia
562
29 Nigeria
560
30 Argentina
556
31 France
551
520
www.ef.com/epi
Low Proficiency
59 Armenia
Very Low Proficiency
499
73 Panama
475
87 Afghanistan
60 Brazil
497
73 Venezuela
475
88 Uzbekistan
61 Guatemala
493
75 Algeria
474
89 Syria
62 Nepal
492
76 Nicaragua
470
90 Ecuador
440
103 Tajikistan
405
63 Ethiopia
491
77 Madagascar
469
90 Jordan
440
104 Saudi Arabia
404
403
63 Pakistan
100 Thailand
419
447
101 Kyrgyzstan
418
445
102 Oman
417
448
491
78 Japan
468
92 Mexico
436
105 Haiti
65 Bangladesh
490
79 Qatar
467
93 Myanmar
429
106 Somalia
401
66 Vietnam
486
80 Indonesia
466
94 Angola
428
107 Iraq
399
67 Tanzania
485
81 Colombia
465
94 Cameroon
428
108 Libya
390
68 Mozambique
482
82 Sri Lanka
464
96 Kazakhstan
426
109 Rwanda
389
69 United Arab Emirates
480
83 Mongolia
461
97 Cambodia
423
478
84 Kuwait
458
98 Sudan
421
71 Morocco
477
85 Egypt
455
99 Ivory Coast
110 Democratic
Republic of
the Congo
386
70 Turkey
72 Bahrain
476
86 Azerbaijan
451
420
111
South Sudan
363
112 Yemen
360
7
EF EPI 2021 City Scores
Proficiency Bands
Very High
High
Moderate
Low
Very Low
8
Very High Proficiency
High Proficiency
Amsterdam
682
Bruxelles
Copenhagen
668
Helsinki
659
Vienna
Stockholm
Porto
Moderate Proficiency
598
Ha Noi
Davao City
597
Kuala Lumpur
596
658
Manila
595
646
Paris
595
643
Bratislava
Johannesburg
641
Sofia
Lisbon
638
Zagreb
635
Oslo
548
Tirana
Hyderabad
548
Brasília
517
São Paulo
546
Tokyo
516
Hong Kong
545
Montevideo
515
Minsk
538
Shenzhen
515
594
Saint Petersburg
537
Tunis
515
591
Shanghai
537
Tehran
514
Prague
590
Moscow
535
Rio de Janeiro
513
Chennai
586
Santo Domingo
535
Bandung
512
633
Mumbai
586
Accra
534
Dhaka
512
Budapest
628
Lyon
580
Lima
532
Monterrey
512
Berlin
622
Bangalore
579
Kiev
531
Dubai
511
Hamburg
622
Lagos
576
Guadalajara
528
Karachi
511
Warsaw
621
Milan
571
Havana
527
Kazan
Athens
616
Seoul
571
Delhi
524
San Salvador
510
Zurich
616
Barcelona
569
Beijing
523
Jakarta
506
Bucharest
612
Madrid
569
Tblisi
523
Chengdu
505
Belgrade
604
Buenos Aires
567
Dar Es Salaam
522
Panama City
505
Nairobi
601
Córdoba
561
Surabaya
522
Caracas
504
San José
553
Addis Ababa
521
Macau
504
Rome
552
Taipei
521
Santiago
552
520
511
www.ef.com/epi
Low Proficiency
Very Low Proficiency
Guangzhou
498
Managua
475
Tashkent
446
Wuhan
498
Mexico City
475
Khartoum
441
Guatemala City
497
Doha
472
Yangon
Maputo
493
Bangkok
471
Kabul
Algiers
492
Nur-Sultan
470
Bishkek
437
Ankara
489
Almaty
466
Luanda
436
Medellín
489
Tijuana
464
Riyadh
432
Bogotá
486
Amman
460
Baghdad
431
Casablanca
482
Baku
459
Jeddah
424
Istanbul
482
Cali
458
Mogadishu
423
Cairo
480
Ulaanbaatar
454
Abidjan
421
Ho Chi Minh City
480
Damascus
451
Tripoli
Quito
480
Yaoundé
Dushanbe
441
440
English proficiency scores for
over 400 regions and cities,
as well as country and regional
gender, age, and industry data,
are available for download at
www.ef.com/epi.
421
420
412
Kigali
405
Kinshasa
403
Juba
375
9
Participate in the EF EPI: take the free EF SET at efset.org
Modern businesses are increasingly
non-hierarchical with borderless teams
and an emphasis on agility and innovation.
When professionals lack the English skills
they need to evolve into new roles, their
career development is curtailed. For
their employers, the result is structural
inefficiency. With ever more rapidly
evolving business needs, a company’s
ability to reskill and upskill becomes key
to its competitiveness. English should be
a driver of inclusion rather than a barrier
for career progression.
EF EPI by Job Function
EF EPI Score
350
550
450
Marketing
Legal
Strategy & Planning
Human Resources
Information & Technology
Customer Service
R&D
Purchasing & Procurement
Accounting & Finance
Sales
Operations
Admin & Clerical
Technicans & Maintenance
Proficiency Bands
Although managers continue to have
slightly better English proficiency
worldwide, they are not the best English
speakers in three of the five regions
studied, and the gaps are unusually
narrow. This democratization of English
proficiency across seniority levels is in
line with the steadily improving English
of adults over 30. Wider seniority gaps
in Asia and the Middle East are likely to
close as proficiency improves.
Very High
High
Moderate
Low
Very Low
EF EPI by Seniority
EF EPI Score
350
450
550
World
Europe
Asia
Latin America
Africa
Middle East
Executive
Manager
Staff
15
Kazakhstan
Mongolia
Uzbekistan
Kyrgyzstan
China
Tajikistan
South Korea
Japan
Afghanistan
Pakistan
India
Nepal
Bangladesh
Macau, China
Vietnam
Hong Kong, China
Myanmar
Thailand
Philippines
Cambodia
Sri Lanka
Malaysia
Singapore
Indonesia
ASIA
EF EPI Rankings
04 Singapore
635
63 Pakistan
18 Philippines
592
65 Bangladesh
28 Malaysia
562
66 Vietnam
32 Hong Kong, China
545
37 South Korea
48 India
49 China
429
490
96 Kazakhstan
426
486
97 Cambodia
423
78 Japan
468
100 Thailand
419
529
80 Indonesia
466
101 Kyrgyzstan
515
82 Sri Lanka
464
103 Tajikistan
513
83 Mongolia
461
57 Macau, China
504
87 Afghanistan
448
62 Nepal
492
88 Uzbekistan
447
Proficiency Bands
20
93 Myanmar
491
Very High
High
Moderate
Low
418
405
Very Low
www.ef.com/epi
Cuba
Mexico
Guatemala
Haiti
Dominican Republic
Honduras
Nicaragua
El Salvador
Costa Rica
Venezuela
Panama
Colombia
Ecuador
Peru
Bolivia
Brazil
Paraguay
Chile
Uruguay
Argentina
LATIN
AMERICA
EF EPI Rankings
30 Argentina
556
56
41 Bolivia
524
60 Brazil
497
43 Cuba
521
61
Guatemala
493
44 Costa Rica
520
73
Panama
475
44 Dominican Republic
520
73
Venezuela
475
44 Paraguay
520
76
Nicaragua
470
516
81
Colombia
47 Chile
53 Uruguay
509
90 Ecuador
54 El Salvador
508
92
55 Honduras
506
105 Haiti
Proficiency Bands
22
Peru
Very High
High
505
Mexico
Moderate
465
440
436
403
Low
Very Low
www.ef.com/epi
Tunisia
Algeria
Morocco
Libya
Egypt
Sudan
Nigeria
Ivory Coast
Ethiopia
Ghana
South Sudan
Cameroon
Somalia
Kenya
Democratic Republic
of the Congo
Rwanda
Tanzania
Angola
Madagascar
Mozambique
AFRICA
South Africa
EF EPI Rankings
12 South Africa
606
85 Egypt
455
21 Kenya
587
94 Angola
428
29 Nigeria
560
94 Cameroon
428
42 Ghana
523
98 Sudan
52 Tunisia
510
99 Ivory Coast
63 Ethiopia
491
106 Somalia
401
67 Tanzania
485
108 Libya
390
68 Mozambique
482
109 Rwanda
389
71 Morocco
477
110 Democratic
Republic of
the Congo
386
111 South Sudan
363
75 Algeria
474
77 Madagascar
469
Proficiency Bands
24
Very High
High
Moderate
421
Low
420
Very Low
www.ef.com/epi
Iran
Lebanon
Syria
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Bahrain
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Oman
Yemen
MIDDLE
EAST
EF EPI Rankings
34 Lebanon
536
89 Syria
445
58 Iran
501
90 Jordan
440
69 United Arab Emirates 480
102 Oman
417
72 Bahrain
476
104 Saudi Arabia
404
79 Qatar
467
107 Iraq
399
84 Kuwait
458
112 Yemen
360
Proficiency Bands
26
Very High
High
Moderate
Low
Very Low
www.ef.com/epi
EF EPI 2020
EF EPI 2021
Edition
Edition
Netherlands
652
663
+11
Austria
623
641
+18
Denmark
632
636
+4
Singapore
611
635
+24
Norway
624
632
+8
Belgium
612
629
+17
APPENDIX D
EF EPI
Country and
Region Rankings
A look at changes
in English skills over
the past year:
Portugal
618
625
+7
Sweden
625
623
-2
Finland
631
618
-13
Croatia
599
617
+18
+0
Germany
616
616
South Africa
607
606
-1
Luxembourg
610
604
-6
Serbia
597
599
+2
Romania
589
598
+9
Poland
596
597
+1
Hungary
598
593
-5
Philippines
562
592
+30
+13
Greece
578
591
Slovakia
577
590
+13
Kenya
577
587
+10
Estonia
566
581
+15
Bulgaria
579
580
+1
Lithuania
570
579
+9
Switzerland
588
575
-13
Latvia
555
569
+14
Czech Republic
580
563
-17
Malaysia
547
562
+15
Nigeria
537
560
+23
Argentina
566
556
-10
France
559
551
-8
Hong Kong, China
542
545
+3
Spain
537
540
+3
Re-entry
Lebanon
—
536
547
535
-12
—
532
New
South Korea
545
529
-16
Belarus
513
528
+15
+16
Italy
Moldova
36
Score Change
Albania
511
527
Ukraine
506
525
+19
Bolivia
504
524
+20
Ghana
—
523
New
Cuba
512
521
+9
Costa Rica
530
520
-10
Dominican Republic
499
520
+21
Paraguay
517
520
+3
Chile
523
516
-7
India
496
515
+19
China
520
513
-7
Georgia
503
512
+9
Russia
512
511
-1
Tunisia
489
510
+21
Uruguay
494
509
+15
El Salvador
483
508
+25
Honduras
498
506
+8
Peru
482
505
+23
www.ef.com/epi
EF EPI 2020
EF EPI 2021
Edition
Edition
Macau, China
505
504
-1
Iran
483
501
+18
+5
Score Change
Armenia
494
499
Brazil
490
497
+7
Guatemala
476
493
+17
Nepal
480
492
+12
Ethiopia
477
491
+14
Pakistan
478
491
+13
Bangladesh
476
490
+14
Vietnam
473
486
+13
Tanzania
—
485
New
Mozambique
—
482
New
United Arab Emirates
472
480
+8
Turkey
465
478
+13
Morocco
453
477
+24
Bahrain
453
476
+23
Panama
483
475
-8
Venezuela
471
475
+4
Algeria
442
474
+32
Nicaragua
455
470
+15
—
469
New
-19
Madagascar
Japan
487
468
Qatar
459
467
+8
Indonesia
453
466
+13
Colombia
448
465
+17
Sri Lanka
466
464
-2
Mongolia
446
461
+15
Kuwait
461
458
-3
Egypt
437
455
+18
+19
Azerbaijan
432
451
Afghanistan
445
448
+3
Uzbekistan
430
447
+17
Syria
431
445
+14
Ecuador
411
440
+29
Jordan
456
440
-16
Mexico
440
436
-4
Myanmar
411
429
+18
Angola
444
428
-16
Cameroon
419
428
+9
Kazakhstan
412
426
+14
Cambodia
435
423
-12
Sudan
434
421
-13
Ivory Coast
414
420
+6
Thailand
419
419
+0
Kyrgyzstan
405
418
+13
Oman
398
417
+19
+24
Tajikistan
381
405
Saudi Arabia
399
404
+5
Haiti
—
403
New
Somalia
—
401
New
Iraq
Libya
Rwanda
383
399
+16
—
390
Re-entry
408
389
-19
Democratic Republic of the Congo
—
386
New
South Sudan
—
363
New
Yemen
—
360
Re-entry
37