Adeyemi Matthew
Nigeria has been ranked as the third best English-speaking African country behind South Africa and Kenya which emerge first and second respectively. The Education First English Proficiency Index ranks countries by the equity of English language skills amongst adults who took the EF test, and in the 2022 edition, the ranking was calculated using test data from 2.1 million test takers in 2021.
According to the ranking, Nigeria, with 564 English proficiency came ahead of Switzerland which took the 29th position, Argentina which came 30th, Hong Kong in China which came 31st, Italy which ranked 32nd, Spain which ranked 33rd and Ghana which emerged 41st globally respectively.
The ranking on the regional level, of 20 African countries captured in the Education First English Proficiency Index, put Nigeria in 3rd position after South Africa which ranked 12th globally and first in Africa and Kenya which ranked 20th globally and 2nd in Africa.
The Education First English Proficiency Index ranks countries by the equity of English language skills amongst adults who took the EF test, and in the 2022 edition, the ranking was calculated using test data from 2.1 million test takers in 2021.
According to the EF EPI ranking, a country is required to have at least 400 test takers to be included in the index.
In 2022, 0ver 25,000 people signed a petition to stop foreign institutions from demanding an English proficiency test, the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), from Nigerians.
The petition initiated by a youth-led open-source platform for policy ideas that address the world’s most pressing challenges called Policy Shapers, was addressed to the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom, Priti Patel.
The petitioners maintained that no country in Africa, out of the 27 who list English as one of their official languages, is on the Home Office list of countries exempted from taking the test, meanwhile, the UK Home Office has exempted Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and ten other countries from those who would require the test.
A few days ago, media space was filtered with the news of the British Council’s announcement of its decision to revise the fees for the Academic and General Training Modules of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) examinations for Nigerian candidates, starting September 2023.
Whereas the current cost of the IELTS examination in Nigeria ranges between N80,000 and N90,000, the British Council’s revised fees will rise to N107,500.
Here is the list of African countries by English skills:
1. South Africa (12 globally)
2. Kenya (20 globally)
3. Nigeria (28 globally)
4. Ghana (41 globally)
5. Uganda (55
globally)
6. Tunisia (56 globally)
7. Tanzania (63 globally)
8. Ethiopia (68 globally)
9. Morocco (76 globally)
10. Algeria (78 globally)
11. Egypt (85 globally)
12. Mozambique (86th globally)
13. Sudan (95 globally)
14. Cameroon (96 globally)
15. Somalia (100 globally)
16. Côte d’Ivoire (104 globally)
17. Angola (105 globally)
18. Rwanda (107 globally)
19. Libya (108 globally)
20. Democratic Republic of Congo (110 globally).
Here is the global ranking by English skills:
1. Netherlands
2. Singapore
3. Austria
4. Norway
5. Denmark
6. Belgium
7. Sweden
8. Finland
9. Portugal
10. Germany
11. Croatia
12. South Africa
13. Poland
14. Greece
15. Slovakia
16. Luxembourg
17. Romania
18. Hungary
19. Lithuania
20. Kenya
21. Bulgaria
22. Philippines
23. Czech Republic
24. Malaysia
25. Latvia
26. Estonia
27. Serbia
28. Nigeria
29. Switzerland
30. Argentina
31. Hong Kong, China
32. Italy
33. Spain
34. France
35. Ukraine
36. South Korea
37. Costa Rica
38. Cuba
39. Belarus
40. Russia
41. Ghana
42. Moldova
43. Paraguay
44. Bolivia
45. Chile
45. Georgia
47. Albania
48. Honduras
49. Uruguay
50. El Salvador
51. Peru
52. India
53. Dominican Republic
54. Lebanon
55. Uganda
56. Tunisia
57. Armenia
58. Brazil
58. Guatemala
60. Vietnam
61. Nicaragua
62. China
63. Tanzania
64. Turkey
65. Nepal
66. Bangladesh
67. Venezuela
68. Ethiopia
69. Iran
70. Pakistan
71. Sri Lanka
72. Mongolia
73. Qatar
74. Israel
75. Panama
76. Morocco
77. Colombia
78. U.A.E.
78. Algeria
80. Japan
81. Indonesia
82. Ecuador
83. Syria
84. Kuwait
85. Egypt
86. Mozambique
87. Afghanistan
88. Mexico
89. Uzbekistan
90. Jordan
91. Kyrgyzstan
92. Azerbaijan
93. Myanmar
94. Cambodia
95. Sudan
96. Cameroon
97. Thailand
98. Haiti
99. Kazakhstan
100. Somalia
101. Oman
102. Saudi Arabia
103. Iraq
104. Côte d’Ivoire
105. Angola
106. Tajikistan
107. Rwanda
108. Libya
109. Yemen
110. Democratic Republic of Congo
111. Laos