The Swiss have slipped slightly - down to 19th place - in an annual ranking of English-language skills. The Dutch once again came first in the survey by EF Education First.
Nordic countries again dominated in the English language ranking: the Netherlands came top, followed by Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Saudi Arabia, Kyrgyzstan and Libya occupied the bottom of the ranking.
Switzerland remains in the group of countries with “high” English language skills, but EF observed a small decline across all Swiss language regions (German-, French-, Italian- and Romansh-speaking). International cities like Geneva and Zurich were no exceptions. Lausanne was the only place showing progress.
“The Swiss education system is progressive when it comes to the teaching of English, but there is still not a very strong practical emphasis,” said EF Switzerland Director Christopher Hein.
“Efforts must be made to ensure the gap between Switzerland and the top countries doesn’t widen.”
The EF English Proficiency Index is a global ranking based on a survey of 2.3 million adults in 100 countries. The index draws its conclusions from data collected via online EF English reading and listening tests.
More
More
Swiss maintain ‘good’ English skills
This content was published on
According to a survey of 88 nations, Switzerland remains stable in its command of English, though it isn’t one of the four national languages.
Should raw milk sales be banned or should consumers decide?
Swiss food regulations do not allow raw milk to be sold for direct consumption. However, a loophole allows 400 raw milk vending machines to do just that.
Should Switzerland take measures to support its struggling industries?
Industrial policies are back in fashion, not only in the United States but also in the EU. Should Switzerland, where various industries are struggling, draw inspiration from such policies?
This content was published on
Swiss Black Friday revenues failed to live up to retail expectations. But sales throughout the week proved more successful.
This content was published on
The Swiss army will have CH 530 million more than expected for armaments investments after a parliamentary chamber approved the increase.
This content was published on
Swiss citizens could have access to an e-ID from 2026 as parliament has agreed to the idea in principle despite still having to iron out some minor issues.
Switzerland mulls S status restrictions for Ukrainian refugees
This content was published on
Switzerland’s parliament wants in future to restrict the issuance of Ukrainian S permits to refugees fleeing parts of the war-torn country.
Solar energy covers 11% of Switzerland’s electricity needs
This content was published on
Solar power covers eleven percent of the electricity demand in Switzerland. The industry's turnover for the current year is around CHF 3.7 billion, as shown by the first ever publication of the Swiss Solar Monitor.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss maintain ‘good’ English skills
This content was published on
According to a survey of 88 nations, Switzerland remains stable in its command of English, though it isn’t one of the four national languages.
This content was published on
Switzerland had improved its absolute score for the third consecutive year, but because other countries had improved more, it fell two places to 18th out of 63 countries – or 15th out of 24 European countries – surveyed for the fourth edition of the EF English Proficiency Index. The studyExternal link, released on Wednesday by…
This content was published on
Switzerland just barely maintained the designation “good knowledge”. It ranked behind neighbouring Austria (10th place) and Germany (11th), as well as Portugal (13th) and Romania (16th). But it performed distinctly better than its other neighbours Italy (28th) and France (37th). The survey, carried out for the fifth time by EF, measured the English knowledge of…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.