Thailand has fared poorly in the English Proficiency Index 2023 from EF, the global English teaching institute.
The index is compiled by testing 2.2 million adults across 113 countries and regions. There are five levels of English proficiency according to the EF rankings – very high, high, moderate, low and very low.
Guess where Thailand ranked…
The test examined English proficiency across ASEAN nations and worldwide, and Thailand has been ranked “very low”, faring the worst of all ASEAN countries included in the test.
According to a Bangkok Post report, Thailand came in at number 8 among ASEAN nations and 101 globally.
It will come as no surprise that Singapore and the Philippines performed better than Thailand in the region, but so did Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar and Cambodia. Brunei, Laos and Timor-Leste were not included in the test.
Singapore’s English proficiency was ranked “very high”, earning the city state the number 1 spot in ASEAN, with a score of 631. Singapore was also ranked second out of 113 countries and regions.
The Philippines had a score of 578 or “high proficiency” coming in second in ASEAN and 20th worldwide.
Next on the ASEAN list is Malaysia, which also ranked 25th worldwide, followed by Vietnam, number 4 in ASEAN and 58th worldwide. Indonesia is number 5 in ASEAN and 79th worldwide, followed by Myanmar at number 6 in ASEAN and 90th worldwide.
Cambodia ranked number 7 in ASEAN and 98th worldwide, while Thailand came in last out of all the ASEAN countries tested, with a score of 416, giving the kingdom a “very low” English proficiency ranking.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
