EF Education First released today the 5th annual edition of its EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI), the world's largest ranking of countries by English skills. The report identifies global and regional English language learning trends and analyzes the relationship between countries' English proficiency and their economic competitiveness. This year's EF EPI report profiles all 70 ranked countries, using test data from 910,000 adult English language learners.

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"The EF EPI shows the power of big data to inform education policy, investment decisions, and classroom practices," said Minh Tran, EF's Director of Research. "We are thrilled that this year the EF EPI has started incorporating data from the EF Standard English Test (EFSET), which is revolutionizing the testing industry as the world's first free standardized English test."

EF launched the EFSET to offer the world's two billion English learners a high-quality standardized English test that is convenient and accessible. Offered for free online at http://www.efset.org, the EFSET is a valuable tool for individuals, governments, universities, and companies.

Two recent correlation studies revealed that the EFSET is as reliable as the TOEFL and the IELTS at measuring test takers' English skills. Researchers from the Harvard Graduate School of Education have used the EFSET for language research, and LinkedIn now prompts its members to certify their English with the EFSET. EFSET data will improve the EF EPI as an international benchmark of adult English proficiency.

Key findings of this year's EF EPI include:

The report reveals for the first time the connection between countries' English levels and their innovation metrics such as countries' high-technology exports and expenditures on R&D.

Although the rankings shift every year, the correlations between countries' English ability and Gross National Income per capita, quality of life, Internet connectivity, and a range of other indicators remain strong and stable.

Women speak English better than men in almost every country surveyed, but this gender gap is absent in the very high proficiency countries in Northern Europe .

. European countries, particularly the Nordic nations, continue to outperform other regions, claiming the top ten slots in the ranking.

The Middle East and North Africa is the only region to experience declining English proficiency.

The full EF EPI 2015 ranking is below. The EF EPI report and additional analysis are available at http://www.ef.com/epi/.

EF Education First is an international education company that focuses on language, academics, and cultural experience. Founded in 1965, EF's mission is "opening the world through education." With more than 500 schools and offices in 53 countries, EF is the Official Language Training Supplier of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.

EF English Proficiency Index 2015

Rank Country EF EPI Score 1 Sweden 70.94 2 Netherlands 70.58 3 Denmark 70.05 4 Norway 67.83 5 Finland 65.32 6 Slovenia 64.97 7 Estonia 63.73 8 Luxembourg 63.45 9 Poland 62.95 10 Austria 61.97 11 Germany 61.83 12 Singapore 61.08 13 Portugal 60.61 14 Malaysia 60.30 15 Argentina 60.26 16 Romania 59.69 17 Belgium 59.13 18 Czech Republic 59.01 19 Switzerland 58.43 20 India 58.21 21 Hungary 57.90 22 Latvia 57.16 23 Spain 56.80 24 Dominican Republic 56.71 25 Slovakia 56.34 26 Lithuania 55.08 27 South Korea 54.52 28 Italy 54.02 29 Vietnam 53.81 30 Japan 53.57 31 Taiwan 53.18 32 Indonesia 52.91 33 Hong Kong 52.70 34 Ukraine 52.61 35 Peru 52.46 36 Chile 51.88 37 France 51.84 38 Ecuador 51.67 39 Russia 51.59 40 Mexico 51.34 41 Brazil 51.05 42 United Arab Emirates 50.87 43 Costa Rica 50.53 44 Uruguay 50.25 45 Pakistan 49.96 46 Guatemala 49.67 47 China 49.41 48 Panama 48.77 49 Sri Lanka 47.89 50 Turkey 47.62 51 Yemen 47.60 52 Morocco 47.40 53 Jordan 47.33 54 Kazakhstan 47.04 55 Egypt 46.73 56 Iran 46.59 57 Colombia 46.54 58 Oman 46.34 59 Venezuela 46.14 60 Azerbaijan 46.12 61 El Salvador 45.52 62 Thailand 45.35 63 Qatar 43.72 64 Mongolia 43.64 65 Kuwait 42.65 66 Iraq 40.69 67 Algeria 40.34 68 Saudi Arabia 39.93 69 Cambodia 39.15 70 Libya 37.86

SOURCE EF Education First