EF English Proficiency Index

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2021: Russia drops 10 places in English language proficiency ranking

Russia dropped 10 places in the ownership rating English maintained by EF Education First. In 2020, the Russian Federation was located in 41st position, and a year later - already in 51st.

The rating is based on data obtained from 2 million people from 100 countries and regions for which English is not a native language. The top three included the Netherlands, Austria and Denmark.

According to the study, English is spoken best in Russia in St. Petersburg. In general, the country has an average level of language proficiency - the same as in Spain, Lebanon, Italy. Analysts believe that it has been achieved thanks to the availability of the Internet in Russia, it is 82.8%.

Russia dropped 10 places in the ranking of English language skills, which leads EF Education First

However, according to analysts, in Russia, the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has led to a drop in interest in learning English. People became less interested in new knowledge, and the practical need for knowledge of the language decreased due to restrictions on travel and business trips.

Despite the restrictions and the situation in the world, the demand for quality education abroad is growing faster than before the pandemic. In 2021 alone, graduates of our schools received 1,052 offers from the best universities in the world. We believe that the wave of attention to learning English will not subside and in the future Russia will rise again in the EF EPI rating, "says Irina Kharlakina, director of the admissions committee at EF Academy in New York and Oxford.

The study also concluded that compared to 2020, in 2021, tangible progress was noticeable in people over 30 years old, and 40-year-olds were first included in the moderate language proficiency group. These trends prove the ability of adults to acquire language skills throughout their careers, experts say. In most industries, English proficiency is on average lower than required for optimal performance.^[1]

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