SPAIN’s best English-speaking city isn’t Madrid or Barcelona, but a coastal hotspot topping the rankings thanks to its immersive approach to language learning.

When it comes to English proficiency in Spain, most would expect the frequently visited places like Barcelona or Madrid to take the top spot.

However, according to Education First’s (EF) recent English Proficiency Index, the Galician city of Vigo is once again leading the pack.

Vigo has topped the rankings with an impressive score of 569, placing it ahead of larger, more internationally known cities like Barcelona (566) and Valencia (564).

Spain makes massive strides in English proficiency

Madrid, the capital city often assumed to dominate such lists, trailed slightly behind with a score of 560.

Spain itself continues to show steady improvement.

The country now ranks 36th globally with a score of 540 – well above the worldwide average of 488 – and has seen a consistent upward trend in English levels since 2011.

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Graph of Spain’s English proficiency trend from 2011-2025, from EF’s official data.

Reading remains the strongest skill among Spaniards, while speaking still lags behind.

This isn’t the first time Vigo has placed at the top for Spanish cities, either.

The western city was also listed as the number one spot for English in all of Spain in 2024 as well.

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So what is behind Vigo’s continued success? Experts point to its long-running focus on immersive learning.

For years, local students have taken part in exchange programmes in the UK and Ireland, living with host families and attending school abroad.

The result is a shift from textbook learning to real-world communication – where English becomes a daily necessity rather than just another subject.

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Regionally, northern Spain dominates the rankings, with Galicia, Madrid, Navarre and Asturias all scoring highly.

Meanwhile, cities like Zaragoza, Granada and Gijon are also proving strong contenders for their level of English.
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A THIEF who plundered a tourist rental car in Valencia was arrested after one of the stolen items had its GPS locator activated.

The geolocator on some pilfered ‘AirPods’ allowed the Valencia Policia Local to follow the robber in real time as he moved through city streets on Saturday.

The female German victim opened up her phone app with a green dot showing her ‘AirPods’ on the move.

RECOVERED ITEMS

The dot’s speed showed the criminal was travelling in a vehicle.

Six police officers were then deployed in an operation that ended on Calle Bilbao where they spotted the suspect getting into a suspiciously parked car.

After identifying the thief- a 35-year-old Algerian national- officers opened up the vehicle’s trunk which was stuffed with belongings taken from the 27-year-old tourist’s rental car.

All of the items were identified and returned to the victim.

ARRESTED THIEF

She contacted the police at around 3.45pm to say her hire car’s rear-left window had been smashed and all her belongings stolen.

The woman had parked up her Toyota Yaris Cross near to the promenade on Calle Jose Ballester Gozalvo some two hours earlier.

The stolen goods included eight bags and suitcases including clothes, a MacBook laptop, two ‘AirPods’ headphones, an Osmo video camera, personal documents, sunglasses, and a pair of gold earrings.

The thief was brought before a judge on a charge of robbery.
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