English is the world’s most widely spoken language but is unusual in the fact that the vast majority of speakers are not ‘native’.
Of the approximately 1.5 billion people who speak English, less than 400 million use it as a first language. That means over 1 billion speak it as a secondary language.
Innovation and wealth
Better English in a country correlates with higher income, higher levels of innovation and a better quality of life
In nearly all countries surveyed, women had stronger English skills than men.
Originally published at www.weforum.org.
