Vietnam jumped three places to rank 28 th out of 60 participants in the 2013 English Proficiency Index (EPI) recently announced by the EF Education First – a global language training company.

At a press briefing on January 18 in Hanoi , Education First said the rankings are based on tests taken by 750,000 adults from 60 countries in 2012.

The analysis of evolving English proficiency over a six-year period (2007-2012) uses test data from nearly five million adults.

EF Vietnam research leader Minh Tran said Vietnam is one of the five countries with highest EPI increase, together with Turkey, Kazakhstan, Hungary and Indonesia.

Overall, the study shows that European countries, with the exception of France, have the best English proficiency.

The EF EPI is the world’s most comprehensive ranking of English ability. It also addresses correlations between the English skills of a nation’s workforce and the country’s economic outlook.

EF Education First was established in 1965 with the mission to break down barriers of language, culture and geography. With 460 schools and officers in over 50 countries, EF specialises in language learning, educational travel, academic degrees and cultural exchange programmes.-VNA