"It's still trailing far behind countries like the Netherlands or Croatia, but France has leapt six places in the European rankings for levels of English language proficiency, the latest ranking shows. Each year, Education First publishes a report on global English-language skills. For their 2025 edition, France showed significant year-on-year improvement. The country jumped to 38th place internationally, up from 49th place in 2024."
"Last year, France was third-worst in Europe for English levels, scoring in 33rd place - it has now moved up to 27th place, ahead of Cyprus, Belarus, Albania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, Italy, Türkiye and Azerbaijan. The authors of the study wrote that "Europe's average English level plateaued this year, while the EU gained modestly, with France, Germany, and Poland posting larger than average improvements." Notably, France saw improvements in all age brackets under 30, while global averages dropped in these categories."
"What does the score mean? The score encompasses average reading, speaking, listening and writing scores. The categories are: Very high (600 and up), High (550-600), Moderate (500-550), Low (450-500), and Very low (450 and below). In these areas, France performed best at reading English (in the 'high' category), followed by 'moderate' scores in listening and writing, with a 'low' score in speaking."
France rose notably in global English proficiency, moving to 38th internationally from 49th in 2024 and advancing from 33rd to 27th in Europe. Improvements were strongest among people under 30, while ages 30–40 showed little change and those aged 41 and above declined slightly. Reading scored highest in France, placing in the 'high' category; listening and writing were 'moderate'; speaking was 'low'. The scoring combines reading, speaking, listening and writing and uses five categories from 'very high' to 'very low'. The report also examined industries and noted R&D and strategy roles as top-performing sectors.
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