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Which EU country speaks the best English as a second language?

English remains the world's international language of communication, yet new research shows that EU citizens' reading and listening skills are better than their speaking and writing.

READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/12/04/which-eu-country-speaks-the-best-english-as-a-second-language

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Transcript
00:00Which EU country speaks the best English as a second language?
00:07English remains the world's international language of communication,
00:11despite tensions and doubts about stability of the world order.
00:15People in the Netherlands are the most proficient in English in the EU,
00:18although its global score has fallen 12 points since 2024.
00:23Croatia and Austria follow the top three,
00:25seeing their score rise by 10 and 16 points since last year, respectively.
00:31By contrast, Italy, Cyprus and France rank the lowest among EU countries,
00:36falling into the moderate proficiency category.
00:38This is according to the EF English Proficiency Index,
00:42based on test results of more than 2 million adults in 123 countries and regions.
00:48Between 2014 and 2025, English proficiency in Europe increased 40 points for men
00:54and 20 points for women.
00:56Reading and listening are the strongest language skills among all EU countries
01:00compared to speaking and writing.
01:02Proficiency among the youngest adults remains lower than before the COVID pandemic, however,
01:07and in 2025, more countries saw further declines in this group
01:11than those that saw improvements.
01:14In the past 10 years, only Europeans aged between 18 and 20
01:18have seen a decrease in their level of English.
01:20However, European countries with relatively high proficiency
01:24have among the widest gaps between receptive and productive English skills in the world.
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