Top 20 facts and stats about teaching and learning English

Are you interested in becoming a TEFL teacher and curious about the world of teaching English abroad? Do you have a passion for teaching and want to know more about learning English as a foreign language?

We’ve compiled a list of some of the most enlightening stats and facts about the wonderful world of TEFL. Here are 20 of the best:

1. There are an estimated 1.5 billion to 2 billion English language learners around the globe – that’s around 20% of Earth's entire population! This makes it the most spoken language in the world.

2. It’s no wonder that English is the language of business. It’s the lingua franca – the connecting language – for companies all over the world.

3. It’s estimated that there are around 250,000 people teaching English as a foreign language around the world.

4. New TEFL jobs are becoming available all the time – an estimated 100,000 positions open up every year around the world!

5. The global ESL (English as a second language) market is predicted to be worth a mind-boggling €64 billion by 2029 according to a study by Meticulous Market Research.

6. It’s estimated that the global online TEFL market is worth around €9.2 billion. 

7. There are approximately twice as many English language learners in the world than there are native English speakers.

8. You don’t have to be a native speaker to teach English as a foreign language. In fact, an estimated 80% of English teachers around the globe are non-native speakers.

9. One of the most popular TEFL qualifications is the CertTESOL, a course that’s accredited and externally moderated by Trinity College London, whose first English as a Foreign Language syllabus was introduced in 1937.

10. According to a European Commission report, 96% of pupils in upper secondary general education in the EU learn English as a foreign language.

11. The same report states that 99-100% of primary school pupils in Spain learn English as a foreign language.

12. Asia is considered to be the most popular place to teach English as a foreign language. China, South Korea and Thailand are among the most popular countries.

13. The best places in Europe to teach English include the Czech Republic and Spain, where Barcelona is proving to be increasingly popular with budding TEFL teachers from all over the world.  

14. Although Brexit has made it harder for those from the UK to study and work in Spain as a TEFL teacher, many top TEFL schools in Spain provide a visa service. 

15. Online learning is becoming increasingly popular for ESL learning. According to Exploding Topics, the overall global eLearning market is predicted to be worth €8.5 trillion by 2032.

16. Some of the hardest words for English learners to pronounce include ‘rural, ‘sixth’ and Worcestershire’. The most commonly mispronounced word is said to be ‘height’.

17. Every year, hundreds of new words and phrases are added to the English dictionary. In 2023, these included petfluencer, nearlywed and cakeage. TEFL teachers have certainly got their work cut out for them!

18. Teaching is one of the world’s oldest professions, going back over 2,500 years ago to ancient China.

19. Today, teaching is one of the world’s most trusted professions.

20. It’s not just a cliché… teachers really can change lives. 88% of people say that a teacher had a significant positive impact on their life.

Want to find out more about teaching English abroad? Contact TEFL Iberia today at coordination@tefl-iberia.com or check out our TEFL courses in Barcelona.