Do you speak English?

Foreign language proficiency remains a key skill for education, careers, and international interaction. However, proficiency in these languages varies significantly across countries. According to the EF English Proficiency Index 2025, which assesses adult English proficiency, Uzbekistan ranked 104th out of 123 countries and regions, with a score of 429. This result is classified as "very low proficiency," while the global average is 488.

The ranking is based on test results from 2.2 million adults who took the EF Standard English Test in 2025. The EF EPI scale has an upper bound of 800. Scores between 600 and 800 indicate very high English proficiency, 550 to 599 indicate high proficiency, 500 to 549 indicate moderate proficiency, 450 to 499 indicate low proficiency, and scores below 450 indicate very low proficiency.

It's important to note that the EF EPI score does not reflect the percentage of correct answers or the proportion of the population that speaks English. National scores are calculated based on the EF Standard English Test. Scores for individual country groups, including regional and gender data, are calculated using a three-year rolling average. Test participants take the test voluntarily, so the data is not representative of the entire national population.

The top performers in the 2025 ranking are the Netherlands (624), Croatia (617), Austria (616), Germany (615), and Norway (613).

Among Central Asian countries, Turkmenistan showed the best result, ranking 91st with 456 points. It was followed by Kyrgyzstan (101st, 443 points), Uzbekistan (104th, 429 points), Kazakhstan (107th, 417 points), and Tajikistan (110th, 409 points). Turkmenistan was categorized as having low English proficiency, while Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan were categorized as having very low proficiency.

Despite this, interest in learning English remains high. According to the Duolingo Language Report 2025, English was the most studied language on the platform in 154 countries, representing 79% of the countries included in the study. A year earlier, it ranked first in 134 countries. In the global ranking of most studied languages, English was followed by Spanish and French. Japanese rose to fourth place in 2025, surpassing German, and Korean took sixth place, ahead of Italian.

In Central Asian countries, English was also the most studied language. In Kazakhstan, French ranked second, while in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, Russian ranked second.