Sweden at Top, Middle East at Bottom of EF's Global Ranking of English Skills

EF Education First released today the 5th annual edition of its EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI), the world's largest ranking of countries by English skills. The report identifies global and regional English language learning trends and analyzes the relationship between countries' English proficiency and their economic competitiveness. This year's EF EPI report profiles all 70 ranked countries, using test data from 910,000 adult English language learners.

EF Education First released today the 5th annual edition of its EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI), the world's largest ranking of countries by English skills. The report identifies global and regional English language learning trends and analyzes the relationship between countries' English proficiency and their economic competitiveness. This year's EF EPI report profiles all 70 ranked countries, using test data from 910,000 adult English language learners.

    
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"The EF EPI shows the power of big data to inform education policy, investment decisions, and classroom practices," said Minh Tran, EF's Director of Research. "We are thrilled that this year the EF EPI has started incorporating data from the EF Standard English Test (EFSET), which is revolutionizing the testing industry as the world's first free standardized English test."

EF launched the EFSET to offer the world's two billion English learners a high-quality standardized English test that is convenient and accessible. Offered for free online at http://www.efset.org, the EFSET is a valuable tool for individuals, governments, universities, and companies.

Two recent correlation studies revealed that the EFSET is as reliable as the TOEFL and the IELTS at measuring test takers' English skills. Researchers from the Harvard Graduate School of Education have used the EFSET for language research, and LinkedIn now prompts its members to certify their English with the EFSET. EFSET data will improve the EF EPI as an international benchmark of adult English proficiency.

Key findings of this year's EF EPI include:

The full EF EPI 2015 ranking is below. The EF EPI report and additional analysis are available at http://www.ef.com/epi/.

EF Education First is an international education company that focuses on language, academics, and cultural experience. Founded in 1965, EF's mission is "opening the world through education." With more than 500 schools and offices in 53 countries, EF is the Official Language Training Supplier of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.

EF English Proficiency Index 2015