[fngjdflmdflg]

>the bias of the people who organize this data.

It seems that IMD is based in Switzerland and Singapore.[0] Singapore and Switzerland hold ranks 1 and 2, respectively, in digital competitiveness.[1] Singapore has a high level of English proficiency.[2]

I don't think the mere fact that an English proficiency Index worth spending more than 10 words on exists shows that the people who organized this data are biased. English proficiency is important in business, science and programming, to name some examples. I think an argument as to why the inclusion of such a metric is biased should be given.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Institute_for_Ma...

[1] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/articl...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EF_English_Proficiency_Index#2...

[delta_p_delta_x]

Singapore is de facto part of the Anglosphere, ergo its 'high level of English proficiency'. Singaporeans are effectively bilingual, and English is used at all levels of interaction, from the wet markets and supermarkets, to the public and private schools and universities, to the highest levels of government administration and communication. Can't get more 'Anglo' than that.

It's natural for the citizens of a country that uses English as though it were its native language to be proficient in it.

[fngjdflmdflg]

To add, I've read about Singapore's English proficiency before in their 2020 census report, which notes that 48% of households speak mainly English at home which is definitely very high and clearly shows that Singaporeans speak English.[0]

[0] https://www.singstat.gov.sg/-/media/files/publications/cop20... p. 40

[AlchemistCamp]

It's somewhat ridiculous that Singapore is included in the English proficiency index given that is English is one of its four official languages. Not only that, but it's also the privileged official language that all children must use in school. The other official languages are widespread but not universal.

[fngjdflmdflg]

I think it makes sense to include it because not all Singaporeans are literate in English. For example 17% of Chinese Singaporeans were only literate in Chinese according to the 2020 census report.[0] Additionally, Singapore is not even highest on this list; Netherlands and Norway are slightly above it.[1] However, by the same token, the US should probably also be included due to its high level of non English-speaking immigrants.[2] It's worthwhile to note, however, that the EPI does not test a random sample of the population so the usefulness of these results is not certain.[3] This would be even more of an issue in the US were almost all EPI testers would be immigrants, so the results would look much lower than they actually are.

[0] https://www.singstat.gov.sg/-/media/files/publications/cop20... p. 42

[1] https://www.ef.edu/epi/

[2] https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publicatio... p. 8

[3] https://news.yahoo.co.jp/expert/articles/d4a8d621480672a1c99...

[AlchemistCamp]

Is that including people who immigrated or only those who grew up there? Your link [0] mentions "residents" throughout, which implies that it's counting Chinese people who moved to Singapore as adults. I've known a decent number of Singaporeans, including many ethnically Chinese Singaporeans I met while working in Beijing, and I've never met a single person who grew up there and can't read English.

If adult immigrants are included, then I strongly agree with the later part of your comment! There's no reason the US shouldn't similarly be included in the list as it has tens of millions of Spanish-speaking residents who immigrated as adults. Canada, Australia and New Zealand should probably be included too, if Singapore is.

[fngjdflmdflg]

I also assumed it was including mainland Chinese immigrants, especially since the rate of Chinese only is so much higher than Malay only and Tamil only. Lots of wealthy Chinese move to Singapore every year. (A bit different from immigration in the US.)

[dron57]

Why is Singapore even in an English language competition? It's the dominant language there.

[seanmcdirmid]

Both Switzerland (9m) and Singapore (6m) are tiny. Even if they are at the top of everything per capita, it isn’t very meaningful given that the scale of China, the USA, and the EU, just dwarfs either countries by far.