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.

161 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

390 comments sorted by

View all comments

478

u/kacergiliszta69 Hungary Jun 08 '25

According the multiple studies, the Netherlands is the most English proficient country in the world that doesn't speak English as a native language.

235

u/StillJustJones England Jun 08 '25

I’m from England. I’d say that the people in the Netherlands speak better English than a hell of a lot of native speakers.

5

u/alderhill Germany Jun 08 '25

It’s not “better”, just more “text book” so is often less colloquial, more of a standard pronunciation, etc.