The results of this survey of the quality of the English language in countries where non-native English speakers live shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s ever visited Croatia: it ranks very near the top!
CNN writes about the report by international education company EF Education First. The top of the list of countries where English is not an official language is also not surprising. They calculated their English Proficiency Index based on a free online test taken by 2.3 million volunteers, and the four North-European countries (the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Denmark) are at the top. Croatia has managed to get the fourteenth position on the list, the last one in the tier of countries whose non-native English speakers still show high proficiency in the English language. Ranked before Croatia are two non-European countries (Singapore and South Africa), as well as a couple of other European countries (Finland, Austria, Luxembourg, Germany, Poland, Portugal and Belgium). Just below Croatia are some of the neighboring countries, such as Hungary and Serbia, as well as some far-away countries, such as Kenya and the Philippines.
In addition to ranking the countries, the educators from EF Education First also made the list of the capitals with best non-native English speakers, and Croatian capital was also ranked high on the list. Zagreb found itself in exactly the same position as Croatia, 14th, but interestingly enough, behind Budapest.
While there are obvious problems with the method used in this research (volunteers taking an online test is most certainly less than perfect sampling), the sample size of the number of volunteers who participated gives a strong indication that these results should be taken seriously. Even more so because most seasoned travellers would agree with these results, with maybe some objections to the positionings of some countries. Overall, it’s a result to be proud of, especially since an estimated 1.5 billion people speak English today, making it the most commonly used language in the world today.
For more lifestyle news, visit our Lifestyle section.
