Portugal is the most proficient country in Western Europe at speaking and writing English. The glowing report came from a recent study by international education company Education First (EF) which placed Portugal in 17th place of a 60-country list with “high-proficiency” in the English language.
Nordic countries like Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Estonia, Denmark, Austria and Finland came ahead of Portugal, however, with a “very high proficiency”, proving that northern nationalities continue to have a greater affinity with English.
EF came up with its results after testing nearly five million adults from all over the world between the years of 2007-2012.
“Some Asian countries, in particular Indonesia and Vietnam, have transformed their English proficiency over the six-year period. China has also improved, although less dramatically. Japan and South Korea, despite enormous private investment, have declined slightly,” the authors said.
The study also contends that Latin America’s poor English skills continue to compromise its development. Countries like Chile, Colombia, Guatemala and Venezuela appeared at the bottom of the list as countries with “very low proficiency”.
“More than half of the countries in the region are in the lowest EF EPI proficiency band. Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Chile have improved, but they still lack the large base of competent English speakers necessary for a globalised workforce.”
On a more sombre note, the study adds: “Some countries in the region, including Mexico and Guatemala, have declining English proficiency.”
