Portugal in top 10 best English speaking countries

Portugal remains in the top 10 list of countries that speak English the best in the world reports Human Resources Portugal.

But if you thought that the places where English is spoken the best and most was Lisbon or Porto, you’d be wrong on both counts.

Coimbra boasts the highest level of spoken English, followed by Braga, the Azores, Porto, Aveiro, Castelo Branco, Madeira, Faro, and Viseu in that order when it comes to speaking the King’s English.

This is according to data in the report EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) that analyses data from more than 2.2 million non-native English speakers across 113 countries and regions.

That Coimbra, Braga and Guimarães have such good levels of English may not be surprising given the high level of startups and good universities, but what is surprising is that Lisbon, given the amount of universities, business schools, and hotels catering to mostly overseas tourists where English is often the common language for many nationalities when abroad, was not higher up the list of Portuguese cities.

Lisbon lost 18 points, falling four places on the list. Porto had won the honour in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Braga won in 2022.

Coimbra’s proficiency in English (636 points) sets it alongside other cities in the world like Amsterdam (646 points), Vienna (640 points), and Copenhagen (639 points).