Slovakia has slipped, almost unobtrusively, into the global elite of English-speaking non-native nations. The latest EF English Proficiency Index 2025 places the country in tenth position worldwide — its best result yet — earning a “very high proficiency” rating and improving its score to 606, a tidy 22-point rise on last year.
The survey, conducted annually by EF Education First, assessed 2.2 million participants across 123 countries using the widely recognised EF SET test, a tool deployed by governments, companies and schools to gauge linguistic competence, according to SITA. Slovakia’s top-tier score means its citizens can switch registers with ease in conversation and tackle more complex texts without much fuss.
This year’s domestic champion is Košice, whose residents outperformed all other regions. Bratislava, last year’s winner, slipped four spots but still sits comfortably among the world’s twenty most fluent capitals. Within the Visegrád Group, Slovakia now leads decisively. The Netherlands retains its habitual first place, followed by Croatia and Austria. Italy, Russia and Ukraine fare worst in Europe; globally, Libya, Côte d’Ivoire and Cambodia bring up the rear.
Young people worldwide are losing ground
Yet the picture is not uniformly rosy. Among the young, English proficiency is weakening. Globally, those aged 21–25 have seen an 11-point drop over the past decade, while the youngest adults, 18–20, suffered a dramatic fall of 87 points. In Slovakia, this cohort is still the strongest, though students overall rank near the bottom by profession.
Monika Barboráková, EF’s country manager, attributes Slovakia’s progress to greater exposure: travel, study abroad, employment in multinational firms, and a steady diet of English-language media. Such immersion, combined with access to quality courses and online learning, appears to be paying dividends. She argues that students need far more chances to speak — through projects, competitions and classroom activities — and should be encouraged to engage with English outside school, whether through music, online content or language courses that build confidence.
Related article
Bratislava among capitals with very high English proficiency
Read more
Professions: IT leads, public sector lags behind
The survey also probed differences across professions and genders. Women’s proficiency has dipped by 17 points over the past decade, though it improved year-on-year; men have gained slightly since 2015 but worsened since last year. IT professionals lead the field, followed by those in professional services, media, sport, entertainment, construction and hospitality. Strong performance was recorded in strategic management, R&D, IT, customer service, marketing and teaching, while civil servants, NGO workers, tourism staff and maintenance employees lagged behind.
For the first time, the index assessed writing and speaking, using AI developed by Efekta Education Group. Barboráková calls it a more “holistic perspective”, reminding that English is no longer a mere skill but, increasingly, the operating system of the modern world.