Croatians in the world’s Top 5 non-native English speakers

by croatiaweek
November 19, 2024
in News

(Photo credit: M. Gašaparović/Zagreb Tourist Board)

Croatia now ranks among the top 5 in the world for English proficiency among non-native English-speaking countries.

Croatia has jumped from 11th place to 5th on 2024 edition of the EF English Proficiency Index, which is based on test results of 2.1m adults aged 18 and over in 116 countries & regions.

Croatia’s EF English Proficiency score in 2023 was 603, and now it has jumped to 607, putting it in the ‘very high proficiency’ band.

The latest index was topped by the Netherlands who scored 636. Norway and Singapore were in second and third place respectively, followed by Sweden, Croatia and Portugal.

Denmark, Greece, Austria and Germany rounded out the Top 10.

At the bottom of the list were Yemen, Somalia and Cote d’Ivoire.

The index also broke down the data to reveal the cities with top non-native English speakers.

The Croatian capital Zagreb has ranked in 6th place, with 626 points and in the ‘very high proficiency’ band. Zagreb moved up from 12th spot since the last index.

Amsterdam topped the ranking, followed by Copenhagen, Vienna, Helsinki and Lisbon.

Zagreb

The worldwide level of English proficiency has however declined for the fourth year running, with 60% of countries in the index scoring lower this year than last, the report said.

The downward trend appears to indicate a slackening of interest in developing English proficiency beyond current levels in many parts of the world.

The exceptional capabilities of English-based AI services could enhance the importance of English proficiency over time rather than diminish the need to learn the language.

This is because English speakers benefit from significantly more robust, dependable, and diverse AI support compared to non-English speakers.

EF English Proficiency Index