Rabat – Morocco’s capital Rabat has ranked as the most English-proficient city in the country, according to a new report from international education and language learning company EF Education First.
With a score of 506, the capital’s residents have a “moderate proficiency” in the language, according to the report which ranked Morocco 76th globally, with “low proficiency.”
Rabat was the only city to rank with a “moderate proficiency.” El Jadida came in second place with a score of 497, followed by Oujda with 493, Casablanca with 486, and Tetouan with 481.
Overall, Morocco has shown a steady improvement in the level of English throughout the country over the past few years, with a current score of 478, just below the global average of 502.
On average, the 21-25 year-old age group also proved to be the most proficient with the language, with them being moderately proficient on average according to the report.
Globally, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Austria ranked as the countries with the most English proficiency in the report. Meanwhile, Yemen, Tajikistan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo ranked dead last.
English has been gaining more ground in Morocco in recent years, with young people especially being more proficient in the language and consuming more content made in it.
Last year, British Ambassador to Morocco Simon Martin emphasized this in an interview with Morocco World News (MWN), speaking about how prevalent English has become among Morocco’s youth, especially with the internet.
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This has carried over to education, with officials announcing plans to strengthen the academic position of the language in Morocco by hiring more teachers and putting in place certain English requirements for students.
Martin also pointed out the record numbers of Moroccan students who now visit the UK to further their education.
