Mallorca fails English test

The next worst-ranked regions are La Rioja, with 512 points, Castilla-La Mancha, with 526 points, Murcia, with 526 points, and the Balearics, with 526 points, all of which are also in the middle range of proficiency levels. On the other hand, Galicia, with 564 points, and Madrid, with 551 points, are the autonomous communities with the best level of English in Spain, with only these two autonomous communities in the high level of knowledge range.

Asturias, Catalonia, the Basque Country, Navarre and Aragon, although belonging to the intermediate range of knowledge of English, have a score above the national average (538 points) with 548, 546, 545, 545, 545 and 543 points, respectively. The remaining regions, which are also in the intermediate level of knowledge, are the Canary Islands, Andalusia, Cantabria and Castile and Leon, all of which are below the Spanish average. Also in this intermediate range is the Valencian Community, which with 538 points equals the Spanish average.

In terms of cities, Vigo is in first position, with a score of 585, followed by Gijón and Zaragoza, which, with 575 and 565 points, are in second and third position. These four are followed by Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid and Malaga, all of which are above the national average and in the upper range of competition. The lowest scoring cities, starting at the bottom, are Tarragona, with 517 points, Murcia, with 523 points, Salamanca, with 531 points, and Burgos, with 537 points, in the middle range of competence and the only four cities below the Spanish average.

They are followed by Valladolid, Seville, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Granada, Alicante, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Bilbao, located in the intermediate level of the range, but with scores above the Spanish average. The study highlights that no Spanish region or city obtains a ‘Very High’ classification in terms of language proficiency, as is the case in other European countries such as the Netherlands, Germany and Portugal.

According to the report, Spain is ranked 36th in the world in terms of English proficiency. It has an EF EPI score of 538, which classifies it as having a ‘Medium’ level of English. Compared to previous years, in 2024, Spain has lost one position compared to last year: in 2023 it was ranked 35th in the world in English proficiency. In Spain, the level of English proficiency continues to decline in some age groups. In the 18-20 age group, the level has worsened from a score of 514 in 2023 to 509 this year, remaining at the ‘Medium’ level.

Similarly, in the 31-40 age group, the level of English has also worsened from 561 to 557, and remains at the ‘High’ level. Another age group with a slightly lower English score is the 41+ age group, which, while remaining at the medium level, has dropped from 532 to 531 points. Finally, the 26-30 age group remains stable at the ‘High’ level, with 563 points, while the 21-25 age group has slightly increased its level, categorised as ‘High’, from 551 to 552 points.

In Spain, the gender gap follows the same trend as in the last five years (since 2019), i.e. men’s level of English remains slightly higher than that of women. In this 2024, both genders have slightly improved their English proficiency, from 542 to 543 points for men, and from 528 points to 534 for women, with both remaining at a ‘Moderate’ level. The regions of Spain with English proficiency categorised as ‘High’ in 2024 are Galicia and Madrid. By cities, those that have obtained a ‘High’ categorisation of language proficiency are Vigo, Gijón, Zaragoza, La Coruña, Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid and Málaga, in that order.