Education First (EF), an international education company that specializes in language training, recently issued its English Proficiency Index (EPI) report for the year 2024 in which it ranked 116 countries and regions across the world according to their population’s English proficiency skills. The report looks at how and where English proficiency is developing worldwide. In details, the report noted that the English language is, and by far, the most common language of information exchange, rendering it as such vital to accessing knowledge and expertise, explaining the strong correlation between the English language and several measures of innovation and competitiveness. As far as the methodology is concerned, EF analyzed the test results of circa 2.1 million adults who took English tests in the year 2023, 54% of whom were females and 46% were males. Accordingly, countries were ranked into 5 proficiency bands namely, the Very High Proficiency Band (score >600), the High Proficiency Band (score between 550 and 599), the Moderate Proficiency Band (score between 500 and 549), the Low Proficiency Band (score between 450 and 499) and the Very Low Proficiency Band (score <450). On the results front, EF noted that individuals aged between 18 and 20 have shown a severe deterioration in their English proficiency levels, while those aged between 26 and 30 have showcased the largest improvement. In addition, the report stated that English proficiency for women has remained stable, while that for men has generally worsened, noting that men now have higher scores than women in every region of the world except in Africa. Always according to the report, Europe maintained pole position with a score of 550, followed by Africa (498), Latin America (487), Asia (477) and the Middle East (456), with the global average standing at 477. On an international level, the Netherlands maintained its leading position for the sixth consecutive year with a score of 636, followed by Norway (score of 610) and Singapore (score of 609), noting that all three countries fell under the “Very High Proficiency” category.

On a regional level, the report unveiled that the average level of English proficiency in the Middle East region has been improving slowly over the past decade. When it comes to results, Iran came first in the Middle East region and 62^nd in the world in the 2024 EF English Proficiency Index, falling under the “Low English Proficiency” category with a score of 499. Lebanon came in 2^nd in the region and 68^th in the world with a score of 492, followed by the United Arab Emirates (70^th international rank with a score of 489), Qatar (75^th international rank with a score of 480) and Syria (77^th international rank with a score of 473), all of which were categorized under the “Low Proficiency Band”. On the bottom end of the scale, came each of Saudi Arabia (105^th international rank & 10^th regional rank with a score of 417), Iraq (107^th international rank & 11^th regional rank with a score of 414) and Yemen (116^th international rank & 12^th regional rank with a score of 394), each of which falling under the “Very Low Proficiency” band.

Concerning Lebanon, the report revealed that the Mount Lebanon region was the only region in the country enjoying a “moderate” proficiency level (score: 528) and was followed by the North (“low” proficiency level, score: 480), Bekaa (“low” proficiency level, score: 451), Baalbek-Hermel (“very low” proficiency level, score: 444), South (“very low” proficiency level, score: 417), and Akkar (“very low” proficiency level, score: 378). Beirut was the only city with a “moderate” level of English proficiency (score: 544) and was trailed by Tyre (“low” proficiency level, score: 472), Sidon (“low” proficiency level, score: 471), Tripoli (“low” proficiency level, score: 466), Akkar (“very low” proficiency level, score: 443), and Zahle (“very low” proficiency level, score: 434). The report also mentioned that Lebanese aged between 31 and 40 enjoyed the highest average score of 504, while those aged between 18 and 20 had the lowest average score of 485.