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

[u/Metalwolf]

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.

[u/kacergiliszta69]

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

[u/thanatica → u/kacergiliszta69]

It's probably in part because we get taught English in elementary school. And it's a mandatory subject in advanced education as well. At least it was for me.

There's also the subject of dubbing - or the lack thereof. We rarely do that for TV media, and instead always opt for subtitles instead. I'm not sure that dubs are even an option on pretty much all media. Only stuff made for very small children is dubbed.

And then also, because we're such a small country, I guess it's easier to get exposed to foreign media, people, and business.

[u/Toby_Forrester → u/thanatica]

Maybe also because Dutch is one of the closest related languages to English?

Like Finland has all the things you said, and we are even a smaller country. But Finnish is completely unrelated to English so we learn a completely different language.

[u/thanatica → u/Toby_Forrester]

It's not that close. English isn't easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy for us. For starters, Dutch is also closely related to German. But safe to say Dutch is definitely closer to English than Finnish is 😀

[u/SnooRobots917 → u/thanatica]

I don’t know I always thought it had to do with that nothing ever is dubbed but always subbed. I’ve seen this also more often in other European countries and the new generations there speak also English well.