Pakistanis speak better English than Indians, according to the latest global English Proficiency Index, which ranks Pakistan seven places above India.
We asked Grok why the Pakistani English accent is better than the Indian one but it refused to pick a winner on accent alone.
What Grok Said About the Accent
In one of its replies to a similar question posted by someone else, Grok said accents “are subjective, not ranked by quality.”
Grok explained that Pakistani English often carries the rising-falling intonation of Urdu, along with some Persian and Arabic sound traits. Indian English, it said, varies far more because it is shaped by hundreds of regional languages, and it has “stronger syllable timing.”
“Preference depends entirely on the listener,” Grok concluded.
Many Pakistani users in the replies offered a simpler explanation. Some said India has developed its own local accent, while in Pakistan it is largely the language of the educated elite, so “the barrier is higher and so is the quality.”
The Data: Pakistan Beats India in English
While Grok avoided ranking accents, the numbers on English skills do show a clear gap. In the EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) 2025, the latest edition, Pakistan ranks 67th out of 123 countries and regions with a score of 493. India ranks 74th with a score of 484.
Pakistan’s score is above the global average of 488, while India’s falls below it. India’s score also dropped by 6 points from the previous year, while Pakistan’s stayed unchanged. Both countries are still placed in the “Low Proficiency” band.
Pakistan scored higher than India in all four skills measured:
- Speaking: Pakistan 517, India 500
- Reading: Pakistan 512, India 494
- Writing: Pakistan 515, India 504
- Listening: Pakistan 470, India 457
The biggest gap is in speaking, at 17 points, which is the skill closest to what people mean when they talk about accent. In South Asia, Pakistan is also ahead of Sri Lanka (486) and Bhutan (473), but behind Nepal (514) and Bangladesh (506).
What This Means for You
The EF EPI measures how well people use English, not how their accent sounds. So the data does not prove that one accent is “better,” but it does show that Pakistani test takers, on average, read, write, listen, and speak English slightly better than Indian test takers.
That matters for jobs. English is a key skill for freelancing, call centers, IT exports, and work abroad, sectors where Pakistan and India often compete for the same clients. According to the index, Pakistani professionals in IT score 504 and those in operations score 515, while customer service workers score 486.
Where you live in Pakistan also makes a difference. Punjab leads the provinces with a score of 554, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (501), Sindh (491), and Balochistan (489). Among cities, Islamabad (529) and Rawalpindi (524) top the list, while Lahore (498) and Karachi (496) sit close to the national average.
Efforts to improve English skills are also underway at the professional level, with the British Council and ICAP partnering to strengthen English proficiency for future chartered accountants. For those who worry about pronunciation, AI tools are also stepping in, such as Google Translate’s feature that helps users fix their accent.
How the Ranking Works
The EF EPI 2025 is based on test results from 2.2 million adults who took the free EF Standard English Test (EF SET) in 2024. This edition included speaking and writing results for the first time, although those sections were optional, and most test takers were assessed only on reading and listening.
Since the test is taken voluntarily online, the results reflect people who chose to take it rather than a random sample of the whole population. Still, it remains the largest ranking of adult English skills in the world.
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