Although there are thousands of languages spoken in the world, English is one that is particularly well-liked due to its large speaker base, its importance in international diplomacy and cross-border communication, and its ability to facilitate global dialogue regardless of one’s place of birth.
Around 53 nations use English as their official language, and some of these also use it as their lingua franca.
Being proficient in it has become essential in today’s society as it allows one to explore chances, overcome linguistic divides, and obtain information.
According to the most recent figures from the UN, there are currently over 1 billion people living in Africa, and roughly 130 million of them understand English.
Although English is a secondary or official language in 27 of the 54 countries on the continent, there are differences in the skill levels between them.
African nations secured spots across various proficiency levels in the 2023 English Proficiency Index (EPI), which was released by EF Education First, an international education company that specialises in language training, educational travel, academic degree programmes, and cultural exchange.
The index examined the English-speaking proficiency of nations worldwide.
The information used to compile the ranking comes from 2.1 million adult tests conducted in 113 different countries. The evaluations are divided into five proficiency tiers: very high, high, moderate, low, and very low.
Only 22 African nations were ranked overall out of the 113 countries that were evaluated globally, with South Africa at the top of the list.
With a ranking of 9th in the category of “Very high proficiency,” South Africa has the greatest level of English proficiency in Africa, ranking alongside countries such as the Netherlands, Singapore, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, and Portugal.
Kenya, ranked 19th in the “High proficiency” category, is closely followed by Nigeria, ranked 27th, also in the same category, by South Africa.
Ghana has secured its position at number 34 in the “Moderate proficiency” category, followed by Uganda at number 47, both of which are in the same group.
Check out the list below:
Rank Country Global ranking Score
1 South Africa 9 605
2. Kenya 19 584
3. Nigeria 27 562
4. Ghana 34 537
5. Uganda 47 529
