What about the countries who rank #1 to #19
Almost all are European countries with a small English Speaking population and, more important perhaps, high programmer salaries. An exception, and the only other Asian country to score high with English First, is Singapore. But with a population of 5.6 million it would likely be difficult to assemble a sizable team of talented programmers. Also Singapore, with a cost of living 5 times higher than the Philippines would not be a good choice for outsourcing companies looking for lower cost.
This brings us to the heavy-weights with enormous populations and a high percentage of English speakers. They are listed below together with their English First ratings.
| Country |
English Speakers |
EF Score |
EF Rank |
EF Rating |
| Philippines |
113,000,000 |
578 |
20 |
High |
| Nigeria |
121,544,394 |
562 |
27 |
High |
| India |
129,000,000 |
504 |
60 |
Moderate |
| Bangladesh |
19,838,772 |
504 |
60 |
Moderate |
| Pakistan |
108,000,000 |
497 |
64 |
Low |
| Countries |
Details |
| Country |
Philippines |
| English Speakers |
113,000,000 |
| EF Score |
578 |
| EF Rank |
20 |
| EF Rating |
High |
| Country |
Nigeria |
| English Speakers |
121,544,394 |
| EF Score |
562 |
| EF Rank |
27 |
| EF Rating |
High |
| Country |
India |
| English Speakers |
129,000,000 |
| EF Score |
504 |
| EF Rank |
60 |
| EF Rating |
Moderate |
| Country |
Bangladesh |
| English Speakers |
19,838,772 |
| EF Score |
504 |
| EF Rank |
60 |
| EF Rating |
Moderate |
| Country |
Pakistan |
| English Speakers |
108,000,000 |
| EF Score |
497 |
| EF Rank |
64 |
| EF Rating |
Low |
Philippines vs India, Pakistan, Nigeria and Bangladesh
Nigeria is making efforts in this market. They may emerge as a significant competitor for the Philippines in future years. They are held back now by government regulatory issues and inadequate infrastructure.
India ties Bangladesh at #60, just ahead of Pakistan at #64. The proficiency ratings are an average over the English speaking population and you would expect half the population to be above the average and half below. India, Bangladesh and Pakistan are clustered around the dividing point between “Moderate” and “Low Proficiency”.
Imagine the proficiency distribution to be a bell curve centered between 60 and 64. The lower half of these populations will be in the Low category. Most of the rest will be in the Moderate category and a small percentage in the High category.
Conclusion: It should be obvious
The above is a stark contrast to the Philippines where the Average is High Proficiency, and the score is at the upper end of the High Proficiency range.
Consequently, we would expect most of the Philippine population to be in the High Proficiency range but with a significant number in the Very High category. Some studies say 14% of Filipinos speak English as their first language ,,, a finding that is consistent with this conclusion.
So choose the Philippines and you can count upon being able to talk directly with programmers on the project. This is important. It is sometimes hard enough to communicate your wishes to programmers in your own office without having to go through a middle man or struggle with the language.
