The Top 9 Countries With the Highest English Proficiency in the World

English has quietly become the default language of global business, science, and travel, yet only a handful of nations have managed to turn that shared advantage into something close to a national skill. Each year, the EF English Proficiency Index tracks how non-native speakers around the world perform on standardized English tests, offering one of the clearest snapshots available of where fluency actually runs deepest. The newest edition, released in late 2025 using test data gathered from 2.2 million adults in 2024, reshuffled a few familiar names near the top and introduced a new methodology that finally accounts for speaking and writing, not just reading and listening. What emerges is a list dominated by small, trade-oriented European economies where English was never treated as an afterthought in the classroom. Here is how the nine highest scorers stack up, and why each one earned its place.

1. Netherlands

The Netherlands has not just led the rankings, it has dominated them for years running. In the 2025 EF EPI, the Netherlands remains number one globally, holding onto a lead that has now stretched across multiple editions. The index itself covers 123 countries and regions and is built from EF Skills Evaluation Technology test results, making it the most comprehensive ranking of adult English skills available anywhere.

Dutch schools begin English instruction early and treat it as a practical tool rather than a purely academic requirement, which shows up in everyday life across Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and beyond. English has even taken over much of Dutch higher education, with just a fraction of university courses still taught in Dutch. That kind of immersion, paired with widespread untranslated media, keeps the country firmly in the very high proficiency band year after year.

2. Croatia

Croatia’s rise into second place is one of the more notable shifts in the latest index. The 2025 EF EPI report lists Croatia right behind the Netherlands, noting that it improved its ranking compared to the previous year. That places a country of roughly four million people ahead of several much larger, wealthier nations in Europe.

Much of Croatia’s strength comes from a tourism economy that runs heavily on English conversation, along with a media landscape saturated with subtitled rather than dubbed English-language content. Younger Croatians in particular grow up hearing English constantly, whether through film, gaming, or online platforms, which builds a level of comfort that formal classroom instruction alone rarely produces. The country’s steady climb suggests this isn’t a one-year fluke but a longer-term educational trend.

3. Austria

Austria has quietly become one of the strongest English-speaking nations in continental Europe, and the 2025 data confirms it. The EF EPI 2025 places Austria third overall, noting it too improved its position from the prior ranking. That consistency reflects a national education system that treats English as a core subject from primary school onward.

Vienna’s role as a hub for international organizations, diplomacy, and business adds another layer of pressure and incentive to maintain strong English skills into adulthood. Austrian universities also offer a growing number of English-taught programs, drawing international students and pushing local students to keep their skills sharp. One recent comparative report combining EF EPI and TOEFL data even singled out Austria as the country showcasing what focused education and cultural integration can achieve.

4. Germany

Germany posted one of the more striking improvements in the 2025 edition, climbing into the top five. Germany climbed to fourth place, marking one of the biggest gains recorded anywhere in Europe this year. For Europe’s largest economy, that jump matters well beyond bragging rights, since it touches everything from trade negotiations to tech recruitment.

German schools have long required English instruction, but the country’s recent gains likely reflect broader digital exposure among younger workers and students, from streaming platforms to global online communities. Separate comparative data placed Germany second in TOEFL performance, further reinforcing its overall strength in formal academic English. With such a large population base, Germany’s improvement carries real weight in shifting European averages upward.

5. Norway

Norway has been a fixture near the very top of this index for over a decade, and 2025 is no exception. The country held second place as recently as the 2024 edition, trailing only the Netherlands at the time. Norwegian television, film, and publishing rely heavily on English-language content with subtitles rather than dubbing, a cultural habit that builds listening comprehension from a young age.

Beyond entertainment, Norway’s oil and shipping industries operate on an international stage where English functions as the working language of daily business. Combine that with a wealthy education system funding small class sizes and strong teacher training, and it becomes clear why Norwegian adults consistently test near the top of the global rankings. The country’s continued strong showing signals that its advantage is structural rather than seasonal.

6. Portugal

Portugal has steadily worked its way into the upper tier of European English proficiency, and the 2025 index places it sixth globally. A comparative EPI and TOEFL analysis ranked Portugal eighth in the EF EPI and noted it holds second place within Southern Europe specifically. That regional standing is notable, since Southern European countries have historically lagged behind their northern neighbors in English scores.

Portugal’s tourism-driven economy, along with a wave of remote workers and digital nomads settling in Lisbon and Porto over the past several years, has pushed everyday English use further into the mainstream. Portuguese television also favors subtitling over dubbing for English content, mirroring the pattern seen in Norway and the Netherlands. The result is a population that encounters spoken English far more casually and frequently than in many neighboring countries.

7. Denmark

Denmark rounds out the Nordic bloc’s strong showing, landing seventh in the 2025 rankings. Denmark leads the Nordic region this year, edging out Sweden and Norway by a fraction of a point, with the gap between the three countries remaining small but Denmark’s edge holding consistently. That kind of tight competition among neighboring countries shows just how uniformly strong the region has become.

Danish classrooms introduce English at an early age, often alongside a second foreign language, and cultural exposure through media reinforces that foundation well into adulthood. Copenhagen’s international business scene, along with a heavily English-integrated university system, keeps skills sharp long after formal schooling ends. Denmark’s position reflects a broader Scandinavian pattern of treating English fluency as a basic professional expectation rather than a specialized skill.

8. Sweden

Sweden has long been associated with exceptionally strong English skills, and while its ranking shifted slightly compared to earlier years, it remains firmly inside the top tier. As recently as the 2024 edition, Sweden ranked among the top five globally, part of a consistent Nordic presence near the very top of the index. The 2025 data places Sweden eighth, still comfortably within the very high proficiency band.

Swedish media culture leans almost entirely on original English-language content rather than dubbed versions, a habit that builds listening skills from childhood without any formal instruction at all. One comparative ranking that blended EF EPI results with TOEFL scores placed Sweden seventh overall in global English proficiency and second within the Nordic region. Combined with a heavily internationalized economy, Sweden’s strength in English looks less like an achievement and more like a simple byproduct of how the country consumes information.

9. Belgium

Belgium closes out the top nine, a fitting spot for a country whose linguistic complexity often gets overshadowed by its English strength. The 2025 EF EPI places Belgium ninth globally, keeping it within the very high proficiency category alongside the rest of this list. Given that Belgium already juggles Dutch, French, and German as official languages, its added competence in English reflects a genuinely multilingual national culture.

Brussels’ role as a de facto capital of the European Union means English functions as a practical lingua franca in daily professional life, even among people who grew up speaking Flemish or French at home. A separate comparative report ranked Belgium seventh in the EF EPI and fifth in TOEFL scores, placing it fifth overall in combined English proficiency measures. That blend of institutional pressure and multilingual habit keeps Belgium comfortably inside the world’s strongest English-speaking nations.

What ties these nine countries together isn’t size, wealth alone, or even geography, since the list spans Western Europe, Scandinavia, and the Balkans. It’s a shared habit of treating English as something to be used rather than merely studied, whether through subtitled television, English-taught university courses, or export-driven economies that simply require it. As EF’s own 2025 findings note, speaking remains the weakest skill in over half the countries measured worldwide, a reminder that even strong readers and listeners often need more practice with actual conversation. For now, though, these nine nations continue to set the benchmark that the rest of the world measures itself against.