Language is the biggest day-to-day worry for many people moving abroad. The good news: in several EU countries you can live, work and handle most of daily life in English while you pick up the local language. This guide covers where English gets you furthest, ranks all 27 EU countries, and explains why you will still want the local language in the long run.
Three kinds of “English-friendly”
- English is official or co-official: you can do almost everything in English (Ireland and Malta).
- English is not official, but proficiency is very high: most people and many services speak it well (the Netherlands, the Nordics, Luxembourg and others).
- English works in expat and tourist settings: but you will need the local language for paperwork, healthcare and smaller towns.
All 27 EU countries by English-friendliness
Here is where MoveMap’s model rates every EU country for getting by in English, highest first (illustrative scores only):
| Country | English* | Local language |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 98 | English |
| Malta | 95 | Maltese, English |
| Sweden | 92 | Swedish |
| Denmark | 90 | Danish |
| Netherlands | 90 | Dutch |
| Luxembourg | 85 | French, German |
| Cyprus | 80 | Greek |
| Finland | 80 | Finnish |
| Estonia | 75 | Estonian |
| Belgium | 70 | Dutch, French |
| Lithuania | 70 | Lithuanian |
| Portugal | 70 | Portuguese |
| Latvia | 68 | Latvian |
| Slovenia | 68 | Slovenian |
| Austria | 65 | German |
| Germany | 65 | German |
| Croatia | 60 | Croatian |
| Czechia | 60 | Czech |
| Greece | 60 | Greek |
| Poland | 60 | Polish |
| Romania | 60 | Romanian |
| Slovakia | 58 | Slovak |
| Hungary | 55 | Hungarian |
| Spain | 55 | Spanish |
| Bulgaria | 50 | Bulgarian |
| France | 50 | French |
| Italy | 45 | Italian |
You will still want the local language
Even in the most English-friendly countries, learning the local language pays off: it opens jobs, friendships and life outside the big cities, and it smooths bureaucracy. It also matters for status, because many residence and citizenship routes require a language test, often around A2 to B1 level. Treat English as your soft landing, not your long-term plan.
Match it to your situation
How much English matters depends on you: whether you will work remotely in English, need a local job, have school-age children, or plan to naturalize. The MoveMap check weighs English-friendliness alongside cost, documents and lifestyle to rank all 27 EU countries for your specific case.