Morocco recorded the strongest improvement in English proficiency in North Africa in 2025, rising 13 points year-on-year in the latest Education First English Proficiency Index (EF EPI), but the country remains in the “low proficiency” band and ranks behind Tunisia in the region.
The annual index, published by Switzerland-based Education First, assesses more than two million test-takers worldwide.
Morocco scored 492 points in 2025, up from 479 in 2024, climbing to 68th globally. By contrast, Tunisia posted only a two-point improvement to 498 and maintained its 66th place, while Egypt showed no measurable progress, remaining in the mid-450s.
The three countries form the core of North Africa’s English-learning landscape, but Morocco was the only one to register a double-digit gain this year.
Inside the country, the index shows marked geographic disparities. Fès-Meknès tops regional scores, followed by Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma and Rabat-Salé-Kénitra. Casablanca-Settat, which led the national table last year, fell to fifth. Drâa-Tafilalet ranked last.
City-level data places Rabat first, ahead of Fès, Ben Guerir, Khemisset, Marrakech, Tangier, Safi, Essaouira, Casablanca and Berkane, while Beni Mellal, Ouarzazate and Nador sit at the bottom.
Globally, the Netherlands again leads the index (624 points), followed by several northern and central European states. In Africa, South Africa and Zimbabwe remain the only countries with “high proficiency”, while Morocco ranks tenth on the continent and second in the Maghreb.
The EF report notes a persistent global weakness in speaking skills, with only three countries, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe, scoring highly in oral communication.
English-speaking performance, it says, remains the hardest to develop in school systems and is often excluded from national assessments.
The study urges governments to adopt broad-scale teacher and student assessments, standardise minimum teaching-proficiency levels, expand communicative-method training, and integrate English into employment, retraining and unemployment-reduction programmes.
It also calls for clearer guidance on the use of AI in classrooms and stronger critical-thinking instruction.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.