Considering the region depends on foreign tourists, in particular British and it has done for decades, it is rather poor that the Balearics is the fifth autonomous community with the worst command of English, the same position it held five years ago with an average level, although it has improved its score in the EF EPI 2025 world ranking, rising from 522 (in 2020) to 534 points in its assessment method.
Of the 20 Spanish cities included in the study, Palma ranks twelfth, with 549 points, in a list headed by Vigo, with 569 points. Spaniards are stagnating in their level of English, which is moderate, and only progressing in the 26-30 age group, according to the EF EPI 2025 world ranking, which shows Spain in 36th place out of 123 countries, below Portugal, Romania and Belgium and on a par with Ghana.
According to the report, to which EFE has had access, English proficiency is between B1 and B2, and although Spain has improved its score compared to 2024, the progress has been only two points. The EF EPI ranking, compiled by Education First (EF) and based on data from 2.2 million people who took the EF SET in 2024, places Spain at 540 points and indicates that while reading is the strongest skill, followed by reading comprehension and reading, speaking is the lowest-level skill.
The age group with the highest average score is 26 to 30 years old (575 points), well above young people aged 18 to 25, who have not yet recovered to their pre-pandemic level. However, this stagnation in English proficiency is in line with the European average, with only France, Germany and Poland recording significant progress compared to the previous year.
Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid, Navarre, Asturias, the Basque Country and Cantabria are the regions with the highest level of English, within the “high” proficiency band (above 550 points), while the rest of the regions are at an “average” level and Castile-La Mancha has the lowest score (509 points).
However, since 2011, the level of English among Spaniards has risen from “low” to “medium”, although in the last ten years it has stagnated, especially in the 21-30 age group. In fact, young people between the ages of 18 and 20 have seen their English skills decline, going from a “high” level in 2015 to a “medium” level in 2025. It is Spaniards over the age of 31 who have improved the most, going from low to medium and high levels.