"Everyone speaks English": Here are the rankings

Well French and Spanish are global languages just like English, it's true most of Spain does not speak or even understand English, but if you take into account our regional languages, many us know multiple languages. Besides Spanish is the second most natively spoken language in the world, English is important, but is not so essential as it's made out to be.

Carlos, let me clarify. Posting this chart, I wasn't intending to praise or denigrate any country but rather to help inform discussions that often take place here about whether or not a traveler who speaks only English will have problems in a specific country they are traveling to.

It more or less confirms my experience:
- Northern Europe more than Southern Europe;
- small countries more than large countries.

Marcia, no offense taken, I just wanted to provide some local context on languages in Spain :)

Besides Spanish is the second most natively spoken language in the
world, English is important, but is not so essential as it's made out
to be.

Mandarin and English are the top business languages in the world (plus they're the main language in major world universities), so I'm not sure this "not so essential" reference is correct. There are also more English speakers in the world (native and non-native) than Spanish. I don't think the native distinction is that important- two people communicate using common language, whether native or not native. For better or worse, more people in the world have English in common.

As far as travel goes, more Americans go to Mexico and the Dominican Republic (plus Canada) than anywhere in Europe. Whether those countries rank low in spoken English is immaterial since the tourist sector allows anyone to get by easily (most people go through the all inclusive resort route, not exactly mingling with the locals or people who they may not be able to communicate with unless they speak Spanish). I think the largest barrier is not (English) language, but lack of familiarity with what less obscure countries/regions/ places in the world have to offer. It's not that hard to get around anywhere these days, including places where English is not widely spoken.

Many people live perfectly happy productive lives without speaking an ounce of English, important yet not essential.

Then again see how far English can take you, you can start in a small village in Slovenia and become the First Lady of the USA lol ;)

After Brexit the relevance of English in EU is considered to decrease.

After Brexit the relevance of English in EU is considered to decrease.

Why? And considered by whom? English is the current lingua franca of international business, education, science, technology, diplomacy, entertainment, radio, seafaring, and aviation. Why would that change simply because the UK leaves the EU? English isn't spoken in the EU simply because of the UK's presence, that's a ridiculous notion. What language would replace it? I know the French would love it for their language to be the replacement, they've never got over the fact that it's steadily become irrelevant but for many, French isn't a second language. Are you going to expect all MEP's and other staff within Brussels and Strasbourg to become fluent in French simply because the UK has left? Do you think businesses in the EU are going to stop conducting business in English? Do you think English is going to stop being taught in schools? Perhaps it should be switched to Hungarian or Polish or maybe Catalan (but certainly not Castillian)?

It all sounds a bit petulant and childish.

Anyway, why is South africa included in the list when its official language is English?

After Brexit the relevance of English in EU is considered to decrease
Without the British there is a good case for making English the official EU language: except for the Irish it is nobody's first language, making it a linguistic level playing field.

Anyway, why is South africa included in the list when its official language is English?

English is an official language of India as well, and it's on the list.

Both India and South Africa are officially multi-lingual countries.

I would like to see a statistic on how many Americans speak a foreign language. I bet we would fall into the very low category for having knowledge of any other language but English.

Thanks for posting this, marcia. Things that stand out to me as of particular interest:

1. Slovenia's rate of English speakers is slightly higher than that of Germany and Austria and is the highest of all the former Eastern Block countries. Is that a function of Tito's independence during the Soviet days and his relative openness to the West? Or was Slovenia particularly eager to align itself with the West after the end of the Soviet Union?
2. Poland is right behind Austria. I had a spectacular guide in Krakow who not only showed me sites, but also gave me great insight into Polish culture and the general Polish mindset. He said that English became mandatory in schools (starting in 4th grade, as I recall) shortly after Poland gained its independence because Poland wanted to align itself with the West, and he wanted to make sure I understood that Poland was part of Central Europe, not Eastern Europe (a subject I never brought up).

marcia, I appreciate your intent, too -- not to spark verbal battles over English, but to present interesting data to inform intelligent conversation regarding the "Everyone speaks English" topic. Strong work!

I didn't download and read the actual report. How exactly did they come up with these numbers? Self-reporting survey, actual test measurements, or based on schooling?

Stan - it's a self-selecting sample who then take a test, it's biased to those interested in learning English and the young. The criteria for a country appearing in the results is that at least 400 residents took part.

@ Dave
1. Slovenia was the first one to break from the Yugoslav republic. As a tiny independent state - a population of a mere 2,5 million - I can well imagine their realising the future was with Europe, and a command of English an essential key. At present almost everyone seems to speak English, from the girl in the supermarket to the old men at the railway station of Nova Gorica.
2. With Russia almost as a neighbour, alignment with Europe - and NATO - is almost a safety issue for Poland. I am amazed how much and how excellent English is spoken in Poland, even in small provincial towns far away from tourist traffic.

Zooming in on individual countries there are other remarkable things:
1. In former East-Germany the level of English is markedly lower than in West-Germany, with Berlin an English-speaking island.
2. North and south Italy also vary wildly, with predictably much more in the rich north than in the poor south.

Thank you Nick. To me that changes the perspective on what the data means. Its not that 71% of Swedes speak English proficiently, its that 71% of Swedes who answered the survey (who likely participated because they believe they do speak English) met a minimum proficiency level). In other words, their English education was better than the English education in other places. Is that wrong? Look at Russia in the middle of the pack! That doesn't make sense.

I am always skeptical of data like this because I see the difference between studying language in school and maintaining proficiency in daily life, if you're not in a job that requires it. Maybe its just me, but I always find plenty of people who don't (or won't) speak any English, if you go off the beaten path.

I wonder how the US would rank, given the high level of functional illiteracy here.

From what I understand this is not a list of what % of a country's population understand or speak at least some English. It's based on the proficiency of those that do speak English - how precisely they understand and speak using the nuances of English, using proper syntax, grammar, etc.. So, it's not necessarily saying the higher ranked countries have more English speakers, but that they speak (and understand it) better. At least that's how I read the explanations of the table.

Thanks Nancy. That's what I was trying to say, but you did it much more succinctly. You must score higher on the test than me. 🙂

Singapore speaks English. It doesn’t belong in the study.

From Wikipedia:

The Singapore government recognises four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil.

So it belongs in the same category as South Africa and India, both of which are also in the study. In those countries English is also one of two or more official languages.

There are no street signs or announcements in other languages.

Well, in Hawaii almost all the street signs are in Hawaiian. That doesn't mean much, as in fact there are very few people in Hawaii who speak Hawaiian fluently. There was one college professor who even made a court case out of his right to speak Hawaiian in court and have a Hawaiian interpreter.

In addition, if Singapore were as English-focused as you claim, why isn't it #1 on the list?

A country claiming its official language is English, or Spanish or French or whatever, does not guarantee fluency in that language by the residents. India is a prime example . English is just used as a common denominator because it is understood sufficiently enough by a large enough percentage of the population. Just because all the street signs are in English doesn't guarantee you will be able to find anyone who will understand your questions asked in English well enough to provide you with an answer that you understand..

Interesting but not what I'd call a really scientific study. What stood out to me was the disparity between Argentina at #27 and its neighbor Chile at #46. What would account for this difference?

Reminds me of a conversation I had with a Finnish couple in Mexico some years back. I complimented them on their excellent English, and they said "we have to learn languages, there are only five million of us."

Americans in general are pathetically ignorant about other languages. We benefit greatly from the widespread use of English, which of course is partly due to our country's economic dominance in the world over many decades. As the economic future unfolds, we may find that the linguistic future brings more challenges for American travelers.

"...pathetically ignorant about other languages." How very true.

True , no doubt that English has become the lingua franca, no doubt about that. Whether you like that is another story. There is also the perception that everyone speaks English regardless of the accurate statistics but what if you as a visitor, tourist, traveler (pick one), come across someone who knows English at a certain level but refuses to speak with you.

I've seen a couple of these rare instances, where American tourists at the restaurant table reply upon being addressed in the local language (here German), and waitress ignores them and walks away.

Then there is this specific point a German woman I told me some 15 years ago regarding speaking English...." I'm 50 years old, you (meaning US tourists) expect me to speak English, when I learned that at 14-17, some thirty-five years ago and I never used/use it at work or in daily life. " I never thought of it in that manner.

I find the that general notion that "everyone speaks English" based on even on all recent trips since 2009 is a myth. That doesn't mean "they" may not know it to some degree, but whether "they" are willing to use it and help you with it is another story. I don't count on it. Plus, why should "they" only because you have the problem of not being able to communicate in "their" language?

Well, in Hawaii almost all the street signs are in Hawaiian. That doesn't mean much, as in fact there are very few people in Hawaii who speak Hawaiian fluently. There was one college professor who even made a court case out of his right to speak Hawaiian in court and have a Hawaiian interpreter.

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-the-official-language-of-the-united-states.html

What Is The Official Language Of The United States? The United
States technically has no official language.

As stated above, the US does not have an official or national language
at the federal level. However, English is considered the official
language in 32 states in what has been referred to as “English-only
movement.” 30 of the 50 states use English as the official language
while Hawaii established both English and Hawaiian as the official
language. Alaska recognizes 20 indigenous languages alongside
English as official languages. English is also one of the official
languages of the territories of the US.

In some countries, such as the Greek subway system and museums, information is posted in both the local language and English, acknowledging the fact that when people from other European nations travel, the language(other than their own) that they are most likely to speak is English. As a monolingual American, the thing I most deplore about my high school education is that I didn't take a modern foreign language and no one(counselor or parent-despite the fact that my mother's college minor was Spanish) even suggested that I do so.

Lots of interesting points being made in this thread! I got curious about what percentage of people in the U.S. speak a foreign language (a question raised above) and then realized that many people I know are fluent in a LOTE (language other than English; the word "foreign" seems to be frowned upon in these parts) but that is b/c they were raised in a household in which that language was spoken or they are recent immigrants – in other words, they aren't native-born English-speakers who voluntarily learned a foreign language (which I think is what is being asked in previous posts). I know this wasn't the original point of the thread, but I did find it interesting to investigate, including these two studies:

Almost half speak a foreign language in America's largest cities

About one in four Americans can hold a conversation in a second language

[in the first study it says 44% of Californians speak a foreign language at home]

I myself was raised in a household in which a "foreign" language was spoken, along with English, but I voluntarily learned German in school and then French at Migros (and lived in countries in which those languages were spoken, which is when I became somewhat fluent), along with Latin and other fun languages, haha, and am working on Spanish and Hebrew now. I can be fully immersed without leaving my small town – there are Mexican grocery stores and markets, for example, where I can speak with a wide variety of native Spanish speakers (from México, primarily, but also El Salvador, Ecuador, Colombia, etc.) and hear only Spanish being spoken, which is a huge help in learning a language. It is much harder to find native German- and French-speakers here, but when I hear one of those languages being spoken, I pounce! lol and have made some good friends that way.

Better hope your pilots speak English and are proficient in Aviation English.

This list is silly given that South Africa with ENGLISH as an official language made the list and came in 6th!

Not New Zealand or Canada too?? 😂

I find the that general notion that "everyone speaks English" based on even on all recent trips since 2009 is a myth. That doesn't mean "they" may not know it to some degree, but whether "they" are willing to use it and help you with it is another story. I don't count on it. Plus, why should "they" only because you have the problem of not being able to communicate in "their" language?

I don't think I've ever met anyone who genuinely believes that everyone speaks English and I'd be surprised if there are many people who do although perhaps the young lad on a supermarket checkout somewhere in Georgia (US) who asked me if we had money in the UK and wasn't convinced until I produced a £20 note would probably believe it.

I would like to see a statistic on how many Americans speak a foreign language. I bet we would fall into the very low category for having knowledge of any other language but English.

Don't worry, us Brits would be very close bedfellows.

There are certainly North Americans who are surprised in Europe when their interlocutor happens not to know English. This I have seen in Germany, ie, specifically in eastern Berlin. Maybe that American woman just lucked out in getting a waitress who did not know English and walked away from her when she said, " English, English?" to the waitress. I have numerous examples to relate, recent and dated.

If you want to be in active in SF in French and German language activities, join the Alliance Français and the Goethe Institute, check them out, and you will meet native speakers, Americans or other nationalities who speak French and German with near fluency or fluently, as if these languages were indeed their native languages.

Better hope your pilots speak English and are proficient in Aviation English.

It's a requirement if you want to fly international routes- all conversation between ATC and pilots on international routes is supposed to be in English under specific international agreements.

There are many places from businesses to entire countries where English is supposed to be the most commonly used way to communicate because it's seen as the neutral language option when the selection and use of a more 'indigenous' language can have political connotations that are trying to be avoided.

Omitting Israel is telling, especially since all our neighbors (Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia) are included. BTW it's hard to find someone here who doesn't speak, at a minimum, basic conversational English. I know because often, Israelis start to speak to me in English as soon as I open my mouth and they hear my American accent. Sometimes they are trying to be helpful, sometimes they just want to practice their English :-)

marcia,

This article and the replies in this thread have been most interesting. Based on my experiences over the years, I've found that the percentages for various countries seem to be reasonably accurate. I haven't been to Sweden yet, but have found that everyone I dealt with in the Netherlands had excellent English skills.

I'd be interested to see charts on English fluency in Quebec and French fluency in the rest of Canada. We may "officially" be a bilingual country but in reality that's not entirely true. I'd also be interested in the level of Spanish fluency in the U.S.

I'd also be interested in the level of Spanish fluency in the U.S.

There were many occasions during our visit to Florida last year when we were addressed in Spanish and only reverted to English when we replied. Whilst many of those people were likely to have been migrants from Latin America it was interesting to note how much Spanish was in use.

Florida was a Spanish colony, even the word Florida is a Spanish derivative (if you've been to St. Augustine, you'd probably learn about this). With the third highest population in the US and largest state with Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican population (and that of other Latin countries) in South Florida and elsewhere, it's not a surprise that Spanish is widely spoken. Also, wealthy Latin Americans buy luxury properties in the Miami area, and Miami in particular feels very Latin American.

I'd also be interested in the level of Spanish fluency in the U.S.

Very high in the most populous states (including those bordering Mexico for obvious reasons) - CA, TX, FL, and NY.

Just a thought on languages in Spain.

I went around much of Spain and was surprised people don't speak Spanish there, at least not the Castilian Spanish we're taught in school, as a first language.

In Barcelona area, Catalon is the first language. People understood my Spanish and responded in Spanish, but they were being kind by speaking a second language I could communicate in. Further north, people's first language might be Aranes (a form of Gascon/Occitan).

Along the north coast, the local language is Vasco, as most Spanish say, or Euskara, as the Basque refer to their own language.

Northwest is Galician.

In Andalucia, they speak something that's definitely not Castilian Spanish. We could understand each other but the accent is significantly different.

I didn't hear "formal" Castilian until three weeks into the trip on a Bodega tour in Jerez.

Even in Castilla y Leon and Castilla la Mancha, most people don't speak the formal Castilian Spanish I learned in school, let alone the Baja California Mexican I grew up with.

One thing with so many languages, no one seems bothered by having to speak a second language with tourists.

Florida was a Spanish colony, even the word Florida is a Spanish derivative (if you've been to St. Augustine, you'd probably learn about this).

Yes, I knew about it, not from visiting St. Augustine though or even Florida itself. I learnt it simply from my interest in anthropology. Not that it would have any bearing on the common language today. Florida became a British Colony in 1763 so there has been plenty of time for English to have become the dominant language. Texas only declared independence from Mexico in 1836 so you can't suggest that the reason for the dominance of Spanish being spoken in Florida is due in part to it's former colony status, not once was I addressed in Spanish in Texas. Florida simply has become a favoured destination for Spanish speaking migrants to the point where the demographics is some areas would show that Hispanics make up the greater proportion of residents.

I don't think this is the typical Florida experience.

Did I say it was?

It was my experience, after all one can only recount their own experience, make of it what you will.

Until 1819...the US bought Florida in 1819 when JQ Adams was Secretary of State.

True, in 1763 Florida was given to England by Spain while Spain got Louisiana.. The Mississippi was the dividing line, every west went to Spain, every thing east went to England.

A friend of my, originally from Uruguay, had a great time on his first visit to the US. They went coast to coast , NY, then FLA, then southern route west to LA, took 6 weeks. He understands English pretty well, but won't speak it. The first thing he told me when the family got back - everywhere he went, the Americans spoke Spanish :-)

That treaty was signed in 1819.

I grew up in San Diego and virtually everything there is labeled in Spanish and English. Not sure what is spoken most commonly now? Growing up, many of my friends spoke English without an accent but when I went to their homes all the conversation was in Spanish. Their parents spoke English well too, but generally not at home. It was usually their grandparents who spoke only Spanish.

When I tried to learn some Italian for a trip to Italy, I kept getting confused over whether a word was Spanish or Italian because they're pretty close. Ultimately, I decided it didn't matter, people in Italy understood what I was saying and praised my Italian.

The climate in Florida discouraged European settlement and the Spanish influence survives in only a few historic sites and street names. (It's a fraction of the lingering Spanish influence in the US Southwest)

While the state was colonized early, in a lot of ways, it was effectively a blank slate in many ways until Henry Flagler started building his railroads in the 1880s to transport the original snowbirds to the state and, more importantly, Willis Carrier's invention of the air conditioner in the early years of the 20th century that made it much more tolerable to live in the state year round.

While you could probably find a few people in Tampa or Pensacola who trace their families to Old Spain, the Latino influence in Florida, like most population growth in the state, is largely a post- WW2 affair.

Listening to the Q&A on Rick Steves' radio show, I have several times heard callers ask if there was a "language barrier" in some particular country, say Hungary. I could never help smiling when I heard that. Well yes, there is, and guess what: It's on your side!

What these callers were actually asking of course was "Do people speak English over there?" or "Will I get around with no knowledge of Hungarian?", and it would have been perfectly fine if they had asked just that.

They made it sound though like the people of Hungary were putting up a language barrier for them by not speaking English when they deigned to visit. It never seemed to occur to them that the language barrier was the fact that they themselves didn't speak any Hungarian, or whatever the language of the country they were visiting might be.

I have seen this attitude in Germans and find it disgusting, like in certain Mediterranean places that are frequented by lots of German tourists where they will simply address a waiter in German without so much as an attempt at a "Kalispera" or "Hola". I have overheard American tourists in Munich and Heidelberg directly addressing a store salesperson in English, without so much as an attempt at a "Guten Tag" or "Grüß Gott" or whatever. I find this attitude extremely arrogant in any nation and language.

No one will expect tourists to be fluent in their language, but anyone can be expected to at least learn the common greetings and "thank you" in the language of the country they are visiting. Possibly the above mentioned waitress would have been friendly and helpful with her few bits of English had the tourists shown a little bit more effort to at least address her in the local language.

.

As far as this study goes, I must admit that I have my doubts about these statistics.

It takes quite a bit of searching, but on their website they themselves admit that these numbers are not representative:

"The test-taking population represented in this index is self-selected and not guaranteed to be representative. Only those who want to learn English or are curious about their English skills will participate in one of these tests."

Selecting participants who already have an interest in the English language is a pretty strong bias. That means the test does not say anything about the size of that part of the population that is not interested in learning English. This, IMO, is a serious flaw in the methodology and in itself makes the study unscientific.

Also, internet access is required for participation, which again excludes a significant number of people.

My guess is that, with these two major biases, less educated people and people without access to modern technology are significantly underrepresented in this study, which IMO makes it pretty much worthless in judging the average English proficiency in any one country.