Jakarta. Indonesia’s English proficiency remains in the low-proficiency band, placing 80th out of 123 countries in the 2025 EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI). The report shows Indonesia scoring 471 in 2025 higher 3 points comparing to last year’s EF EPI Edition, trailing most of its Asian peers and far below leading European countries.

The findings are based on 2.2 million EF SET test-takers worldwide, including new assessments for writing and speaking skills.

Jakarta posted a capital-city score of 523, ranking in the moderate proficiency band, significantly higher than Indonesia’s national score. The capital also outperformed major Asian cities such as Bangkok (467), Beijing (514), and Vientiane (486), but remained behind Manila (603), Kuala Lumpur (588), and Hong Kong (541).

Indonesia Falls Behind Asian Peers

In Asia, Indonesia ranked 12th out of 25 countries. Malaysia (581), the Philippines (569), Hong Kong (538), and South Korea (522) dominated the upper tiers.  Nepal (514) and Bangladesh (506) are also above Indonesia (471).

Countries below Indonesia include China (464), Laos (461), Japan (446), Uzbekistan (439), and Thailand (402).

Among Southeast Asian neighbors:

• Malaysia: 24th globally
• Philippines: 28th
• Vietnam: 64th
• Thailand: 116th
• Cambodia: 123rd

Indonesia remains in the bottom half of ASEAN performers, ranked 80th globally.

European countries lead the global ranking, with the Netherlands (624), Croatia (617), and Austria (616) taking the top positions. Two African nations, South Africa (602) and Zimbabwe (602), scored in the very high-proficiency band thanks to English being widely used in education and administration.

The study notes that speaking skills remain the weakest globally, and Indonesia mirrors this trend. Indonesia scored 447 in speaking, lower than its reading (491) and writing (479).

Younger Indonesians Still Lag

The strongest-performing Indonesian cohort is the 21–25 age group, averaging 503. However, EF notes that the youngest learners worldwide, ages 18–20, are showing slower progress after the pandemic, a challenge also seen in Indonesia.

EF warns that the rise of AI tools may deepen gaps between English-proficient and non-proficient workers. Since most advanced AI features are released in English first, countries with stronger English skills are positioned for faster adoption.

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