The level of English in the Canary Islands is not advancing and occupies twelfth place among the autonomous communities, according to the latest report from the language training school, Education First (EF), on the level of English in adults by countries and regions in 2024 (EF English Proficiency Index).
The Canary Islands has obtained 532 points, and remains in the same position as the previous year, and also in the average range of English knowledge at the national level.
Nor has there been great progress at the national level. Niccolo Del Monte, general director of the company promoting the study, said in this regard: “We have not noticed major changes in Spain's scores since 2013, while, for example, Portugal has advanced 20 places in the same period.”
The report collects the results of tests carried out on 2.1 million non-native English speakers from 116 countries and regions, which makes it the international survey with the largest sample in relation to English proficiency.
In first and second place among the autonomous communities are Galicia and Madrid with 564 and 551 points, with only these two communities being in the high level of knowledge range.
In third place is Asturias, which has obtained a score of 548 points, in fourth place, Catalonia, with 546 points, and in fifth place the Basque Country, with 545 points, all three being in the average level of knowledge range.
Navarra and Aragon, although they belong to the intermediate range of English knowledge, have a score above the national average (538 points) with 545 and 543 points.
The autonomous community that obtains the worst position, on the contrary, is Extremadura, with 501 points, so it belongs to the intermediate level of English knowledge range.
The following communities that obtain the worst position are La Rioja, with 512 points; Castilla-La Mancha, with 526 points, Murcia, with 526 points, Balearic Islands, with 526 points, all of them also located in the average level of knowledge range.
The rest of the communities, which are also located in the intermediate level of knowledge range are Canary Islands, Andalusia and Cantabria, all of them below the level of the Spanish average.
In this intermediate range we also find the Valencian Community, which with 538 points equals the Spanish average.
The Canary Islands capitals obtained a better score
As for the cities, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, with scores of 549 and 546 points, occupy positions 10 and 13 in the ranking by cities.
Vigo, with 585 points, is the city with the best level of English in Spain. Gijón, Zaragoza and La Coruña, with 575, 565 and 562 points, are in second, third and fourth position. They are followed by Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid and Málaga, all of them above the national average and in the high competition range.
The ones that worst score, starting from the tail, are Tarragona, with 517 points, Murcia, with 523 points, Salamanca, with 531 points, and Burgos, with 537 points, in the average competition range and being the only four cities that are below the Spanish average.
They are followed by Valladolid, Seville, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Granada, Alicante, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Bilbao, located at the intermediate level of the range, but with scores higher than the average of Spain.
It is important to note that no Spanish region or city obtains the classification
