Communicating in English seems to be becoming more and more of a priority for Albanians.

Global education company Education First has, as every year, analyzed the results of 2.2 million adults who took standardized English tests in 2022, ranking countries from very high to very low when it comes to speaking English.

Albania ranks 39th globally, out of the maximum 800 points, the country has received 533 being included in the “Moderate Skills” category, but the capital makes the difference as it is rated with 559 points, moving into the “High Skills” category.

Positive is the fact that Albania has improved by 10 places compared to 2022.

Among the countries of the region, only Serbia is included, which ranks 24th with 569 points, in the “very high skills” category.

As in 2022, the Netherlands again ranks first with 647 points, having the best English language skills both in Europe and in 113 countries worldwide. Part of the countries with “very good skills” is Austria, which ranks 3rd globally with 616 points.

The Nordic countries Denmark, Norway and Sweden dominated, followed by Belgium, Portugal, Germany, Croatia and Greece.

Despite Spain, Italy and France ranking lower than many European countries, English language proficiency is highest in their capital cities.

Countries where you may really struggle to understand English include Turkey and Azerbaijan which are listed in the ‘poor skills’ category.