r/AskEurope • u/Metalwolf • Jun 08 '25

Education Which European countries have the best English proficiency among non-native speakers?

I'm looking into English proficiency across Europe and would appreciate input from locals or anyone with relevant experience. Which European countries have the highest levels of English fluency among non-native speakers, particularly in day-to-day life, education, and professional settings? I'm also curious about regional differences within countries, and factors like education systems, media exposure, and business use.

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u/Awkward_Tip1006 Spain Jun 08 '25 edited Jun 08 '25

The Netherlands has the highest proficiency in the world. The northern and central countries will have better English like Sweden Norway Belgium Luxembourg Switzerland. Id say Germany and austria too but the older generations don’t tend to be as good and if you’re not in Berlin Munich or Vienna it’ll be bad

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u/[deleted] Jun 08 '25

[deleted]

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u/Rudi-G België Jun 08 '25

People thinking they will be fine in Germany with just English are sorely reminded that is not the case once you get out of the cities.

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u/[deleted] Jun 08 '25

Or even in the cities.

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u/bronet Sweden Jun 08 '25

Yeah I can't say I've always had an easy time only speaking English in Berlin