Where in Europe speaks the best English and where will Anglophones struggle?

Moving to a new country can be daunting, especially if you don’t speak the language.

With English being the world’s most common second language, it’s often the de facto fallback while you’re still learning the local tongue.

So where in Europe will you be best understood - and in which countries do you need some local language proficiency from the get go?

Each year, global education company Education First (EF) pulls together the top (and bottom) countries when it comes to English speaking in its English Proficiency Index (EPI). Analysing the results of 2.2 million adults who took EF’s Standard English Tests in 2022, it gives each country a ranking out of 800 points.

Here’s how Europe fared in 2023.

As in 2022, the Netherlands once again took the top spot with 647 points, having the best second-language English skills both in Europe and of 113 countries globally.

But there are plenty of other places in Europe where you’re likely to be understood if you speak English.

Also among the top countries boasting ‘very high proficiency’ were Austria, which made it to 3rd place globally with 616 points. Nordic countries Denmark, Norway and Sweden dominated the next three spots, followed by Belgium, Portugal, Germany, Croatia and Greece.

European countries with a ‘high proficiency’ in English included Poland (13th globally), Finland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Estonia, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Switzerland (30th place).

Some of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations, however, only have ‘moderate proficiency’ in English.

France has dropped down the scale since 2021, when it sat in the ‘high proficiency’ category in 31st place globally. In 2022, it dropped to ‘moderate proficiency’ with 541 points,