– Sri Lanka has been ranked 73rd out of 123 countries and regions in the 2025 EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI), placing the country in the “Low Proficiency” category.

The index, published by EF Education First, assesses adult English proficiency based on test results from more than 2.2 million people worldwide Sri Lanka recorded an overall score of 486, slightly higher than India, which scored 484. However, Sri Lanka was ranked below Nepal (514), Bangladesh (506) and Pakistan (493) among the South Asian countries included in the index.

Writing was Sri Lanka’s strongest English skill, with a score of 508, while listening was the weakest at 470. The country recorded scores of 502 for reading and 501 for speaking.Within Sri Lanka, Colombo recorded the highest city-level score at 543, placing it in the “Moderate Proficiency” category. The Central Province recorded the highest score among provinces, at 515.

The 26–30 age group was the highest-performing age category in Sri Lanka, recording an average score of 520.Globally, the Netherlands retained the top position with a score of 624, followed by Croatia (617), Austria (616), Germany (615) and Norway (613). All five countries were placed in the “Very High Proficiency” category.

At the other end of the rankings, Cambodia recorded the lowest score at 390, placing 123rd. Côte d’Ivoire ranked 122nd with 393, followed by Libya (395), Togo (397) and Somalia (398).The EF EPI also highlights speaking as a major weakness across more than half of the countries measured, with speaking generally scoring lower than other skills.The report further notes that English proficiency is increasingly linked to international competitiveness, innovation, access to global opportunities and the ability of workforces to adopt emerging technologies, including AI-powered productivity tools.