Philippines second only to Singapore in English proficiency in Asia
The Philippines is second only to Singapore in terms of English proficiency in Asia, according to an international education company, Education First (EF) Ltd. In results from the EF English Proficiency Index (EPI) for 2018, Singapore is still the first Asian country to have the highest proficiency band for English, placing third overall in the index, and up from last year’s sixth place. English is the first language in the city-state, which operates a bilingual language policy in state schools. Sweden ranked first, while Netherlands got the second spot in the index. In Asia, Singapore was followed by Philippines, Malaysia, India and Hong Kong. The Philippines also placed 14th in the global ranking with “high” English-language proficiency. EP said Asian countries with strong English proficiency are thriving. The EPI ranking was based on test data from 1.3 million people across 88 countries and regions.
