Switzerland has been ranked 23rd in Europe and 29th internationally when it comes to speaking English, according to the English Proficiency Index of the EF language school.
The Index is based on standardised tests taken by international language school students around the world and leaves Switzerland just a stone’s throw from obtaining an ‘average’ rating.
The Index looked at 111 countries worldwide.
In 29th position internationally, Switzerland was just behind Serbia and Nigeria, and just ahead of Argentina and Hong Kong.
The Index shows that Swiss women are not as competent at speaking English as Swiss men, with women ranked below average and men just above. Those aged between 18 and 25 are less competent in the English language than those aged 31 and older.
One of the possible reasons why Switzerland lags behind other countries in learning English is that Swiss pupils tend to learn another national language, such as German, French or Italian, before they study foreign languages.
English is also unlikely to be on the school curriculum in primary education.
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