Lisbon, Nov. 19, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese come 6th in a ranking of English proficiency, according to an international study carried out in 123 countries, in which Portuguese students and teachers stand out.
On an 800-point scale, the Portuguese scored 612 points, well above the world average of 488 points, according to the Education First English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) 2025 ranking, released on Wednesday and which involved 2.2 million participants.
In the English test, which assessed reading, listening, speaking and writing skills, Portugal came 6th, only slightly below the Netherlands, which came 1st with 624 points, followed by Croatia, Austria, Germany and Norway.
The study shows that oral expression remains the biggest challenge. In more than half of the countries assessed, speaking English is the weakest skill. In Portugal, for example, speaking is 130 points below reading, the skill in which the Portuguese were strongest, scoring 632 points.
The differences between men and women are also increasingly blurred, with men doing slightly better, according to the data that Lusa had access to.
Looking at the country, most knowledge is in the centre and north: Coimbra, Braga, Aveiro and Viseu are the districts where English is best spoken. In terms of cities, Coimbra leads the national ranking with 639 points, followed by Guimarães and Aveiro.
Among the regions with the worst results, Bragança and Viana do Castelo stand out, both with a district average below 600 points. Setúbal has the lowest national score (596).
Younger people, aged 18 to 20, are the best at English, according to the online test, which shows that as respondents' age increases, their scores drop.
In Portugal, students and teachers obtained the best results, with averages of around 650 points. They were followed by legal and IT professionals, according to the study to which Lusa had access.
Constança Oliveira e Sousa, from EF in Portugal, emphasised the impact of translation tools based on artificial intelligence (AI) on oral and written expression skills: "These tools allow instant translations, which can decrease motivation to learn a language from the start," she said.
On the other hand, she recognised that AI can also offer new opportunities for language learning, namely through personalised exercises accessible at any time of day.
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