English is the world’s most spoken language, with between 1.5 and 2 billion people being able to speak it across the globe. While there are roughly 380 million native speakers, the majority speak English as a second language.
However, despite being the birthplace of the English language, the UK does not actually have the highest percentage of people that can speak the language fluently. Data shows that around 98% of the UK population speaks fluent English. Meanwhile, there is one surprising country where 100% of inhabitants are fluent in the language.
According to Infodex, 100% of people in Gibraltar can speak English fluently. It is the official language of Gibraltar, used in education and government.
Gibraltar became a British territory in 1713 and English immediately became the language of governance and the military. After World War Two, the national education system adopted the British curriculum and promoted English for job opportunities.
Meanwhile, a total of 98.3% of people in the UK speak fluent English. This is down to a number of factors, including immigration and varying levels of English language education.
Elsewhere on the list, 97.8% of people in New Zealand speak fluent English while 96.4% of people in Singapore can speak the language. This figure is 95.5% in the USA, 92.8% in Australia and 90.9% in the Netherlands.
It was previously reported that the UK is fourth on the list of countries with the highest number of English speakers. A study, showed that while English is a primary or widely used language across much of the globe, population size and historical influence have a huge impact on where the language is most spoken.
At the top of the list is the USA with 297.4 million English speakers. India is in second with 265 million while Nigeria has over 111 million English speakers.
The UK comes fourth with 60 million speakers. While nearly the entire population speaks English, the UK’s relatively modest population keeps it below larger English-speaking nations.
