There isn't one single "best" English speaker, but the Netherlands consistently ranks highest for non-native English proficiency in global studies like the EF EPI, with countries like Croatia, Austria, and Germany also showing very high levels. For native speakers, the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are key, but individual proficiency varies, with some reports highlighting Nigerian student Nafisa Aminu winning global English awards.
Who are the best English speakers in the world?
In a yearly international study of English proficiency, the EPI (English Proficiency Index) once again, and for the 4th year in a row, has seen the Netherlands, with a score of 661, come out on top and been ranked the world's best non-native speakers of English.
Ireland tends to perform the best of the English speaking countries on the Human Development Index. It probably depends on your own preferences too though and what type of work you want to do and what lifestyle you want.
1. Chinese — 1.3 Billion Native Speakers. Numbers vary widely — Ethnologue puts the number of native speakers at 1.3 billion native speakers, roughly 900 million of whom speak Mandarin — but there's no doubt it's the most spoken language in the world.
There's no single "hardest" language, but Mandarin Chinese is consistently ranked #1 for English speakers due to its tonal nature (four tones change word meanings) and complex logographic writing system requiring thousands of characters. Other top contenders often cited include Arabic (right-to-left script, complex sounds, grammar) and Japanese (multiple writing systems like Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana, plus honorifics). The difficulty depends heavily on your native language, with languages like Tibetan, Estonian, and Polish also challenging learners with unique grammar or cases.
The top 3 languages to speak, based on the total number of speakers (native and non-native), are consistently English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi, followed closely by Spanish, making them essential for global communication, business, and culture, though their ranking can shift slightly by source.
Top 10 Countries that Speak English the Best!
Frisian is the closest language to English
The closest language to English is Frisian. This Germanic language is spoken by about 400,000 people in an area historically known as Frisia—now within the modern regions of Netherlands and Germany.
Some people believe that RP (Received Pronunciation) is the most standard or general accent in British English. Many EFL (English as a Foreign Language) schools teach it because it is supposed to be the most “polished” pronunciation. It is typically referred to as “Queen's English” or “BBC English”.
Taking the crown for the most linguistically diverse country is Papua New Guinea. This island nation boasts a staggering 840 languages spoken by its population of approximately 9.4 million.
Geordie. People from Newcastle speak a dialect called Geordie, which is one of the strongest and most distinctive accents in England.
20 Most Fluent English Speaking Countries In The World
Perhaps the best general reference point is the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), which divides proficiency into six levels: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2. In my view, B2 is the benchmark level for fluency. At a B2 level, you can understand and express yourself in a wide variety of contexts and subjects.
There are many good inspirational speakers around the world, including Duncan Stevens, Tony Robbins, Simon Sinek.
Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language which was spoken in England around the year 1000. It is a West Germanic language, and is therefore similar to Frisian and Old Saxon. It is also quite similar to Old Norse (and, by extension, to modern Icelandic).
English vocabulary comprises 29% French, 29% Latin, 26% Germanic, and 6% Greek.
20 Countries With The Best English Accent in The World
Seventeen-year-old Nafisa Abdullah Aminu from Yobe State has been crowned World's Best in English at the 2025 TeenEagle Global Finals in London, triumphing over more than 20,000 contestants from 69 countries.
Most native Portuguese speakers know at least two languages. They learn English as a Foreign Language (EAFL) at school from an early age. Later, they study another romance language, like French or Spanish. In fact, Portugal ranked 8th in the 2023 world's largest ranking of countries and regions by English skills.
And the most beautiful languages in the world are…
Powell Alexander Janulus (born 1939) is a Canadian polyglot who lives in White Rock, British Columbia, and entered the Guinness World Records in 1985 for fluency in 42 languages.
The CIA needs pretty much every major language that you can think of. Their biggest concerns recently have been Middle Eastern languages, but they had a director (Leon Panetta) that basically said everyone who works at the CIA had to learn another language.