No other people in the world speak English better as a second language than the Danes, according to the Education First (EF) English Proficiency Index (EPI) report.
The study, which included 63 non-Commonwealth countries, ranked Denmark as one of only seven nations that had ‘very high proficiency’, with Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Austria and Poland being the other six. Denmark gained a proficiency score of 69.3, with the average EF EPI score being just 56.92.
The Scandinavian country has now seen its proficiency score increase by 2.72 points in just seven years, while analysts think that figure could continue to rise as a result of public school system reforms implemented earlier in the year that mean Danes are now been taught English from first grade.
EF Denmark chief Christen Bagger noted that English was powerful in terms of both cultural and commercial exchange. He explained that language was so important, and that in learning English to a “world-class level”, Danes would have an advantage over people from other countries.
Denmark climbed back to the top of the index after falling behind Norway, the Netherlands and Estonia in 2013. Scandinavia consistently performs well, with Sweden topping the rankings in 2012, one spot above Denmark.