English proficiency in Switzerland is declining again. In the global rankings, compared to Switzerland, we are only in 31st place, with Ticino and the French-speaking part of Switzerland lagging particularly behind.
International education company EF Education First uses the EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) to rank the English proficiency of more than 2.1 million adults in 116 non-native English speaking countries around the world each year. The index is based on the 2023 EF Standard English Test, which is comparable to the TOEFL required by many English-speaking universities.
The Swiss' English skills score of 551 was rated “good”, but this is not enough to top the international rankings in 2024. Our country ranks only 31st, while Europe ranks 23rd. Worryingly: Swiss English language skills have declined for the fourth time in a row.
The Netherlands ranks first, followed by Norway, Sweden and Croatia. Portugal (6th), Austria (9th) and Germany (10th) are also significantly ahead of Switzerland. We also have to admit losing to most of the former Eastern Bloc countries such as Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Serbia and the Czech Republic. Italy (46th) and France (49th), two immediate neighbors, are still behind us.
Switzerland is not the only country experiencing decline: “We are observing a decline in English skills across the world,” said Sophie Holenstein, managing director of EF Switzerland. 60% of countries scored lower than last year.
The EF EPI also shows that younger generations speak worse English than their elders. EP employee Laurent Morel explains that the pandemic has allowed young Swiss people to learn English again. “Among older age groups, the trend is almost reversed,” he added. “English is becoming increasingly important in professional areas, which requires strong skills from the working-age population.”
Basel is the first in Switzerland
In the regional comparison, as in previous years, German-speaking Switzerland (567 points) performed significantly better than French-speaking Switzerland (534 points) and Ticino (517 points). The reason: German-speaking areas tend to integrate English into the curriculum earlier and more deeply than French-speaking areas. In Ticino, people pay more attention to German than English.
However, many German-speaking regions in Switzerland have also seen significant declines in English proficiency: while in 2022, Zurich (619 points), Basel-Stadt (615 points) and Thurgau (600 points) were the three German-speaking cantons. English proficiency in the cantons remains “very high” (over 600 points), with only Basel-Stadt topping the list this year with 611 points.
After all, nine cantons (Zug, Zurich, Aargau, Thurgau, Lucerne, Schwyz, St. Gallen, Basel and Solothurn) still achieved a decent rating (550 to 600 points). In eight cantons (St. Gallen, Graubünden, Basel, Bern, Neuchâtel, Vaud, Geneva, Valais and Freiburg) English skills are only classified as “medium”. This time, it’s not Ticino that’s at the bottom, but Friborg.
However, English skills improved in only eight states compared with the previous year. “The slow but constant decline in English skills in Switzerland is definitely an alarm sign,” says Laurent Morel. He therefore demands: “English remains an important skill and we must intensify our efforts to overcome regional and generational problems.” international differences.”
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