Women are generally more proficient than men in learning English as a foreign language, a global education firm said Tuesday.
In English First’s “EF EPI: English Proficiency Index,” which surveyed 750,000 adults across 63 countries and territories, women from nearly every country scored higher than their male counterparts.
On average, women scored 53.53 worldwide while men scored 50.75. Korean women outscored men 54.18 to 52.83, while disparity in Asia was 51.58 to 50.67 in favor of women.
The report showed that Korea ranked 24th with 53.62. But it also indicated that Koreans’ English ability peaked in the 18-24 age group before sliding drastically.
In the 35-44 age group, the score was even lower than the average for all Asian countries.
Adults in Denmark are the best non-native English speakers in the world with a score of 69.3. They were followed by those in the Netherlands and Sweden with 68.99 and 67.8, respectively.
According to English First, Nordic countries were the most proficient in English and all top 10 countries were from Europe. Almost every country in Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa have a low or very low English proficiency.
By Yoon Min-sik (
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)
