Moving to Europe and worried about the language barrier? Here are the top European countries for English speakers
29th June 2022
If you are planning on moving to Europe or travelling around Europe in the foreseeable future, but are not great at speaking foreign languages, we’ve put together a list of European countries with high English proficiency so you can move around and communicate effortlessly.
While learning the language of the country you are moving to should be your top priority, knowing that English is a widely spoken language can be quite comforting. At least while you are still learning.
The good news is that Europe has roughly 212 million English speakers, and nearly every country in the continent has a sizable ex-pat population.
The bad news is that Britons are pretty bad at learning languages. A study by the European Commission in 2020 discovered that 62 percent of those surveyed in the UK couldn’t speak a second language, in comparison to 56 percent of people in the EU who can speak at least one.
With that in mind, the global education company Education First (EF) published the best and worst countries in Europe when it comes to English speaking in its latest English Proficiency Index. The report can be found here.
To create the 2021 edition of the EF English Proficiency Index, Education First analysed the results of two million adults who took their English tests in 2020.
The key findings are:
- Adults are getting better at speaking English. 16 countries moved up a proficiency band while only one moved down.
- Men’s English proficiency has outpaced women’s for the first time since 2014.
- Since 2015, adults in their 30’s have improved their English three times as much as those aged 21-25.
- English increases economic competitiveness.
- English is increasingly a job requirement in all industries and at all seniority levels.
- English proficiency is higher in almost every large city than in its surrounding region and capitals outperform their country as a whole. This is most likely influenced by better career prospects in the city.
- Places with higher English proficiency are fairer and more open.
- English proficiency is high and rising in Europe. It remains higher than in any other region and has risen significantly since 2011.
Which European countries have the best English language skills?
Countries with very high proficiency include:
- Netherlands (took the lead with an impressive 663 points out of 800)
- Austria
- Denmark
- Norway
- Belgium
- Portugal
- Sweden
- Finland
- Croatia
- Germany
Countries with a high proficiency include Romania, Poland and Hungary.
Which European countries speak the least English?
There is nothing wrong with sticking to you mother’s tongue and not bothering much with English. However, if you can only speak English, it might be worth taking a few language classes before you move to Italy or Spain.
