According to the 2023 EF English Proficiency Index, Kazakhstan, with a score of 415 points, ranked 104th among 113 countries worldwide and 22nd out of 23 Asian countries. This result reflects a very low level of English language proficiency in the republic compared to the world average of 493 points, QazMonitor reports citing the EF’s publication.
Kazakhstan was represented by 830 test takers, including 387 women and 443 men across different age groups from 18-20 to 41 and above. Their language skills were assessed across proficiency levels, ranging from very high (600 and above points) to very low (below 450 points).
City-wise, the best result was recorded in the capital city, which scored 485 points. Following Astana, other cities achieved the following scores: Aktobe (450 points), Almaty (438 points), Aktau (413 points), Taraz (352 points), Shymkent (347 points), Karagandy (343 points), and Kyzylorda (337 points).
Region-wise, the Pavlodar region showed the best level of English proficiency with 476 points, while the worst indicator was recorded in the Turkistan region with 335 points.
Kazakhstan ranks as the least proficient in English among its neighbors, with the highest proficiency observed in China and Hong Kong (558 points), indicating a high proficiency level; followed by Russia (532 points), the Kyrgyz Republic (450 points), and Uzbekistan (442 points). Turkmenistan was not represented in the ranking.
Globally, the highest levels of English proficiency were recorded in the Netherlands (647 points), Singapore (631 points), and Austria (616 points), while the lowest were recorded in Yemen (392 points), Tajikistan (388 points), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (385 points).
The 2023 edition of the EF EPI is based on data from over 2,100,000 test takers worldwide who took the EF Standard English Test (EF SET) or one of the EF’s English placement tests in 2021. The test itself is an online assessment of English reading and listening skills designed to evaluate takers’ language abilities into one of the six levels established by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages – from A1 to C2. These levels reflect language proficiency from a basic level to full bilingual proficiency.
EF notes that the sampling in the test is self-selected and not guaranteed to be representative. Only those who want to learn English or are curious about their English skills participate in such tests, which could potentially skew scores either lower or higher than those of the general population.
