Hong Kong News
Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Saturday, Feb 22, 2025
Real, Diverse, Unbiased.
Hong Kong climbs one spot in English proficiency index
Hong Kong ranks fourth in Asia in an English proficiency index, one spot higher than last year.
EF Education First will release the 2021 edition of the English Proficiency Index on Tuesday, which ranks 112 countries and regions by the English proficiency of more than 2 million non-native English speakers worldwide.
The index is derived from the EF Standard English Test scores, which is used by schools, companies and governments for large-scale testing.
Hong Kong ranked 32nd globally and fourth in Asia this year, both one position higher than last year.
Singapore topped average proficiency in Asia, while the Philippines and Malaysia ranked 2nd and 3rd. All three fall into the category of “high level” proficiency.
The average English proficiency of Hong Kong people, however, was only “moderate” -- on par with countries like Spain and Lebanon.
Mainland China and Macau ranked 7th and 8th in Asia respectively, both falling into the “moderate” group.
Jeannie Tse, Country Manager at EF Education First, said that as a cosmopolitan city, biliteracy and trilingualism should be a major competitive advantage for Hong Kong people.
"This year's results showed that this advantage is narrowing, as other Asian countries are developing rapidly. Despite the increasing importance of mandarin proficiency, Hongkongers should not lose sight of the importance of English proficiency in the workplace," Tse said.
As English language standards improved globally, Scandinavian countries no longer held the top spots in the global ranking. This year, the Netherlands topped English proficiency by a significant margin.
The ability was also rising in Central and East Asia, while performance in South Asia and countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations varied.
Kate Bell, the author of the annual EF EPI, said that despite a decline in international travel, English continued to facilitate cross-border communication and collaboration which enabled new work patterns.
"This year's EF EPI is more comprehensive than ever, providing governments with practical advice and strategic ways to improve their language learning policies," said Bell.
The index is derived from the EF Standard English Test scores, which is used by schools, companies and governments for large-scale testing.
Hong Kong ranked 32nd globally and fourth in Asia this year, both one position higher than last year.
Singapore topped average proficiency in Asia, while the Philippines and Malaysia ranked 2nd and 3rd. All three fall into the category of “high level” proficiency.
The average English proficiency of Hong Kong people, however, was only “moderate” -- on par with countries like Spain and Lebanon.
Mainland China and Macau ranked 7th and 8th in Asia respectively, both falling into the “moderate” group.
Jeannie Tse, Country Manager at EF Education First, said that as a cosmopolitan city, biliteracy and trilingualism should be a major competitive advantage for Hong Kong people.
"This year's results showed that this advantage is narrowing, as other Asian countries are developing rapidly. Despite the increasing importance of mandarin proficiency, Hongkongers should not lose sight of the importance of English proficiency in the workplace," Tse said.
As English language standards improved globally, Scandinavian countries no longer held the top spots in the global ranking. This year, the Netherlands topped English proficiency by a significant margin.
The ability was also rising in Central and East Asia, while performance in South Asia and countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations varied.
Kate Bell, the author of the annual EF EPI, said that despite a decline in international travel, English continued to facilitate cross-border communication and collaboration which enabled new work patterns.
"This year's EF EPI is more comprehensive than ever, providing governments with practical advice and strategic ways to improve their language learning policies," said Bell.
