Nigeria Ranks 29th Globally in English Proficiency — EF Index

Nigeria has been ranked 29th globally in English language proficiency, according to data released by the English Proficiency Index (EF Index).

The ranking, which assessed English language skills across countries and regions, was based on tests conducted on 2.2 million adults in 123 countries and regions, with Nigeria recording a high proficiency score of 568 points.

The global ranking places Nigeria behind countries such as the Philippines, Zambia, Argentina, Serbia, Malaysia, Czechia, Hungary, Greece, Kenya, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Latvia, Poland, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Finland, Romania, Slovakia, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal, Norway, Germany, Austria, Croatia and the Netherlands.

On the African continent, Nigeria ranked fifth, trailing South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Zambia, which occupied the first to fourth positions respectively.

The EF Index ranking comes amid ongoing debates about the requirement for Nigerians to take international English proficiency tests when applying to foreign institutions.

In January 2022, an online petition calling for an end to compulsory English proficiency tests for Nigerians garnered at least 26,000 signatures on Change.org.

The petition, initiated by Policy Shapers and titled “Stop asking Nigerians to write IELTS”, argued that Nigerians should be exempted from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) requirement, given that English is the primary language of instruction at various levels of education in the country.

Nigerians seeking admission into foreign universities are often required to take English proficiency tests as proof of language competence.

However, the petition, which was addressed to the then United Kingdom Home Secretary, Priti Patel, argued that no Anglophone African country was exempted from the test despite their membership of the Commonwealth.

It further noted that the UK Home Office had exempted several countries, including Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and others, from the English language test requirement.