Filipinos are world’s best in business English

In Australia, the Philippines is often referred to as a non-English speaking country. Some years ago, a former mayor of the City of Blacktown used this term with reference to the Philippines. Well, people will now have to think twice before mocking the Filipino’s use of the English language.

The Philippines was named the world’s best country in business English proficiency, even beating the United States, according to a recent study by Global English Corporation.

Global English has released early this month the results of its annual Business English Index (BEI), the only index that measures business English proficiency in the workplace.

For 2012, results showed that from 76 represented countries worldwide, only the Philippines attained a score above 7.0, “a BEI level within range of a high proficiency that indicates an ability to take an active role in business discussions and perform relatively complex tasks.”

“This is particularly interesting because the Philippines, a country with one-tenth of the population of India, recently overtook India as a hub for call centers. Over 400,000 Filipinos are now employed in call centers, roughly 50,000 more than in India,” the study said. Global English noted that a country’s business English capability is an indicator of its economic growth
and business success.

“It is not surprising that both the Philippines and Norway—the only two countries in the top five in both 2011 and 2012—are improving their economies, based on the latest GDP data from the World Bank,” it added.

Meanwhile, struggling economic powers (Japan, Italy and Mexico) and fast-growth emerging markets (Brazil, Columbia and Chile) scored below a 4.0 in business English proficiency, placing them at a disadvantage when competing in a global marketplace, the study said.

With its headquarters in Brisbane, California, Global English works with multinational companies – including Cisco, Procter and Gamble, HSBC, Pfizer – to support performance in business English across the workforce around the world. Here’s the list of the 10 best and worst countries in the world for business English proficiency based on Global English’s 2012 BEI:

Philippines, Top; Norway, 2nd; Serbia, 3rd; Slovenia, 4th; Australia, 5th; Malaysia, 6th; India, 7th; Lithuania, 8th; Singapore, 9th; and Canada, 10th.

Among the 10 worst countries in business English proficiency are Armenia, Ivory Coast, Taiwan, Honduras, and Brazil.

Updated: 2012-11-06 — 18:53:47